Therapy and counselling

cordelia · 05-24-2007, 07:16 PM

Has anyone out there tried therapy or counselling ? If so did it help and how long did it take before you started to feel better ?

Also, was it worth the money in the end.

Any insights would be helpful !

Aurian · 05-24-2007, 07:34 PM

I have been to three different counselors at different points in my life.

Counselor 1 - I went to a counselor at about 12 or so for depression. It was a bad experience because the counselor seemed to be looking for "money" problems. Everything I said got twisted into something bad and I was in tears at the end of every session. I eventually stopped going and even got a letter scolding me for "giving up!" The nerve...

Counselor 2 - I then went to another counselor to fix the problems caused by the first and for my depression caused by bullying at school. I found him a bit helpful, but he pretty much just had me talk and then listened. He didn`t really do much to help me fix the problem.

Counselor 3 - I was in an abusive relationship that ended less than a year ago. My ex convinced me that the relationship was bad because there was something wrong with me. I went to counselling to "fix" the long shopping list of problems my ex kept saying I had. This counselor knew that my husband was being abusive, but I wasn`t ready to listen and he wasn`t ethically allowed to try force me to see. Instead he worked on building up my confidence, self-esteem and trusting in myself. This was a slow process as my ex was working on tearing those things down. I was slightly ahead of my ex and I eventually broke from his spell and left.

I had weekly counselling for awhile to clean up the mess left behind by my ex - my trust in myself was shattered and I had a lot of bad things I believed about myself because my ex pounded them into my head.

This counselor was the best one because he listened, but if I was going on the wrong track, he would step in and tell me why it wasn`t a good thing to say/do. He also did a lot of talking myself, even debates. He also gave me homework, books and assignments so I could practice some methods on my own time.

Sometimes its a matter of finding a counselor who resonates with you. I am very glad to have found that last one. I think if it were not for him, I`d still be trapped in that relationship or in rock-bottom esteem.

The last counselor was also free because my workplace paid for it through the Employee Assistance Plan.

05-24-2007, 07:16 PM	#1
cordelia Offline Bronze Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 143	Therapy and counselling Has anyone out there tried therapy or counselling ? If so did it help and how long did it take before you started to feel better ? Also, was it worth the money in the end. Any insights would be helpful !

05-24-2007, 07:34 PM	#2
Aurian Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Vancouver, Canada Gender: Female Age: 30 Posts: 2,364	I have been to three different counselors at different points in my life. Counselor 1 - I went to a counselor at about 12 or so for depression. It was a bad experience because the counselor seemed to be looking for "money" problems. Everything I said got twisted into something bad and I was in tears at the end of every session. I eventually stopped going and even got a letter scolding me for "giving up!" The nerve... Counselor 2 - I then went to another counselor to fix the problems caused by the first and for my depression caused by bullying at school. I found him a bit helpful, but he pretty much just had me talk and then listened. He didn`t really do much to help me fix the problem. Counselor 3 - I was in an abusive relationship that ended less than a year ago. My ex convinced me that the relationship was bad because there was something wrong with me. I went to counselling to "fix" the long shopping list of problems my ex kept saying I had. This counselor knew that my husband was being abusive, but I wasn`t ready to listen and he wasn`t ethically allowed to try force me to see. Instead he worked on building up my confidence, self-esteem and trusting in myself. This was a slow process as my ex was working on tearing those things down. I was slightly ahead of my ex and I eventually broke from his spell and left. I had weekly counselling for awhile to clean up the mess left behind by my ex - my trust in myself was shattered and I had a lot of bad things I believed about myself because my ex pounded them into my head. This counselor was the best one because he listened, but if I was going on the wrong track, he would step in and tell me why it wasn`t a good thing to say/do. He also did a lot of talking myself, even debates. He also gave me homework, books and assignments so I could practice some methods on my own time. Sometimes its a matter of finding a counselor who resonates with you. I am very glad to have found that last one. I think if it were not for him, I`d still be trapped in that relationship or in rock-bottom esteem. The last counselor was also free because my workplace paid for it through the Employee Assistance Plan. __________________ How to spot a loser and understanding the abused victim: http://www.drjoecarver.com/3/miscellaneous2.htm Excellent articles!