Re:Have we overestimated the effectiveness of psychotherapy?
by pmoriarty on Saturday July 14, 2018 @12:24AM
(#17528814)
Therapy has really helped me, for a number of reasons:
- It helped reduce my stress level and helped me cope.
- My therapists have made constructive, useful suggestions and provided insights that I hadn't thought of on my own.
- I've faced and dealt with things I've avoided facing and dealing with on my own.
- I've come to understand myself much better.
Those things alone are worth their weight in gold for me. That said, I've completely avoided CBT and related short-term, "evidence-based" therapies. Instead, I've preferred to work with therapists who have more of a Jungian, depth psychology approach, which are a much better fit for me.
In addition to therapy, in recent years I've been eating a lot healthier, started exercising and supplementing nutrients that I was deficient in and all of these changes have had a very positive effect on my mood, health, and energy level.
I also journal a lot, and that also helps me to destress and put things in perspective. It's often almost as good as talking to someone.
Back to the subject of therapy: I believe it's absolutely critical to find a therapist that you like, respect, and can easily talk to and open up to. The other half of the equation is your own willingness and ability to put in the hard work of both confronting the difficult issues you need to in therapy and following through outside of therapy. Without all of these things coming together, the results are likely to be disappointing.
- It helped reduce my stress level and helped me cope.
- My therapists have made constructive, useful suggestions and provided insights that I hadn't thought of on my own.
- I've faced and dealt with things I've avoided facing and dealing with on my own.
- I've come to understand myself much better.
Those things alone are worth their weight in gold for me. That said, I've completely avoided CBT and related short-term, "evidence-based" therapies. Instead, I've preferred to work with therapists who have more of a Jungian, depth psychology approach, which are a much better fit for me.
In addition to therapy, in recent years I've been eating a lot healthier, started exercising and supplementing nutrients that I was deficient in and all of these changes have had a very positive effect on my mood, health, and energy level.
I also journal a lot, and that also helps me to destress and put things in perspective. It's often almost as good as talking to someone.
Back to the subject of therapy: I believe it's absolutely critical to find a therapist that you like, respect, and can easily talk to and open up to. The other half of the equation is your own willingness and ability to put in the hard work of both confronting the difficult issues you need to in therapy and following through outside of therapy. Without all of these things coming together, the results are likely to be disappointing.