Has anyone here been to a psychologist?

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I don't usually like them, but the one I am seeing now has ADHD, which I thought was pretty interesting.

If you're wondering what to expect, I'm guessing you'll be asked some questions about how school is for you, your feelings, relationships with others, how you doing.


*Callista
Psychologists are human beings, and therefore are as varied and variable as human beings are. There are good ones, bad ones, and ones that should be put in prison and never let out.


So true.

I noticed that too. I went to talk to one that was assigned from a doctor, he put on this sympathetic face (looked sad to the point of being annoying) when we spoke, i felt like "why the hell is he feeling sorry for me, i'm not here for depression, because i aren't anymore". When i looked up quickly at one point, he had another face on, more to the tune of "i've worked here for years and are tired of this s**t", but when he saw that i looked at him, he put on his "sympathetic face" again. He felt like a big fake to me when he did that.

I simply refused to go to him again, and told the doctor that had assigned him that it was totally wrong and that i went there for an AS diagnosis, not to talk about non-existant problems.

I saw a psychiatrist (briefly) years ago, who was probably in his 60s, and definitely a Freudian. All he wanted to know about was my relationship with my father, and wasn't very helpful.

Have never been to a psychologist, but have seen a psychotherapist for several years. What I appreciate about my psychotherapist is that she helps me find ways to cope with the physical and emotional manifestations of anxiety and depression, rather than trying to uncover childhood trauma.

Z

I've had my share of bad experiences with psychologists and psychiatrists. Most of them will assume that you have no insight into the human psyche because you are on the spectrum. Those who didn't know I had AS actually treated me with more respect and thought of me as an adult, not a child. This being when they had access to my IQ scores and cognitive profile. Not that I expect to be set on a pidestal because of my intellect, but atleast don't treat my like a 5 year old. On one instance, I even said jokingly "I should be de doing your job', she just smiled awkwardly. I've come to the conclusion that most psychologists have little to offer and provide me with little new insight. The only person who's been helpfull so far is the psychiatrist who diagnosed me and my doctor who diagnosed me with clinical depression. Female therapists/shrink are the worst because they live in a world of emotion that is far beyond my understanding and then they expect me to live in that same world (when even nt males don't). One one instance I was told to learn empathy Appearently that very same person was convinced that I was very empathic until I told her that I wasn't. I'm sure the mental health professionals are good at what they do, but sometimes they can be very disrespectful and stuck in their own perspective.

It will most likely start off pretty well, as you'll be able to get things off your chest...but the effects diminish over time.

But different psychologists have different approaches, and if you didn't like your conversation over the phone, you might not be happy with that particular one. Maybe you should consider going anyway just so you can get a feel for what your getting into.

is your psych familiar with spectrumites? Perhaps I could help you find one. Where do you live if you are comfortable mentioning (can PM me if you want). I enjoy google searches and maybe I can get info from an AS/ASD group in your area. I'm in the Baltimore/Washington DC area.

I've been to about 14 different therapists (psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers) and none have been any help at all. Some actually were harmful in subtle ways, and all were harmful in that they made me very frustrated and angry. But I don't know what else to do. I'm seeing a therapist now who is no help at all, and even seems annoyed with me.

People say you should find a good therapist but there is no way to do that. Every time you are starting from scratch, just calling someone from your list of providers, and all you know about them is their name. Then you meet them and they seem not-good for various reasons, but you have to decide if maybe there can be something good there that might help -- in which case you stay for a few months and get increasingly frustrated -- or if you have to go back to blindly picking someone else out of a hat.

I've seen two psychologists in my lifetime. The first one was adequate. While she provided me with some useful insight from time to time, her methodology was Rogerian, which meant the dreaded F-word: feelings. She often asked me how certain things made me feel, and I just couldn't give her the "right" answer. So I coped with the "no, how did you really feel?" responses by memorizing the right answers and regurgitating them during the sessions. Another time, she tried to get me to share my bullying experiences in great detail. I was smart enough to refuse, to avoid retraumatizing myself; after all, how would her knowing those details help her? Eventually, the law of diminishing returns set in, and my parents discontinued the therapy.

The second psychologist I was was horrible. I was supposed to see her to get tested for ADD (it was in the late 90's), and ended up with depression for two weeks afterwards! How? When she gave the test results, she did it with both me and my parents in the same room. Apparently, I had "immature emotional development", so my mom was crying and my dad was sitting with his head between his hands. I had to sit there like a ghost watching all that, while the stupid therapist talked in that sickeningly sweet tone of voice. To this day, I have very little trust for talk therapy, and if need be, will only see someone who's a pill pusher.

I actually have three threads, all titled "Uncomfortable Experience with a Psychologist" followed by a subtitle, from a while ago. Use the search feature if you want to read them.

Shame that a lot of you seem to have had bad experiences with psychologists.

I've had my share of good and bad ones [psychologists and counsellors], but I've learned that a good one is invaluable.

I've seen my current psychologist for over a year. She's great in that she listens to me, and we're able to bounce ideas off one another. She also helped see me through some nasty depressive episodes and helped me process some past events so I've been able to move forward. We have a good rapport and I feel I am talking to a friend more than a therapist.

Her approach is based upon CBT, which I've found generally helpful. She's also the one who is fairly certain I'm AS and is tailoring her treatment as such, and I'll take that as a DX for now because I suspect it might be the closest I'll get to a professional opinion.

One counsellor I saw at university managed to spot in about ten minutes what a lot of other psychologists, counsellors and doctors missed over the course of ten years - that I had big issues with my mood swings and my mood issues mania AND depression. I credit her with helping me get the appropriate treatment.

I've had some bad ones too. One psychologist seemed disinterested in what I had to say and I gave up after two sessions. Another counsellor yelled at me and said it was my fault for being abused. Yet another psychologist was okay but seemed more interested in writing notes than communicating with me, which I found alienating.

It's true psychologists vary as they are human, like all of us. I find that going to a session with some sort of agenda really helps with its productivity, because I get my concerns addressed and my psychologist has a good idea of what to discuss, instead of having to improvise on the spot. I also find that it helps to have a proactive attitude, and I'm always willing to brainstorm with my psychologist about how best to deal with my issues.

I've seen uh... 5? 6?

The ones that are all into "and how did you feeeeeeel about that?" are useless for me, because I'm pretty unaware of and can't speak about my feelings. Some actually get autism and can be very helpful, giving me concrete things to do to help my anxiety and are otherwise very solution oriented. So, it depends on you and it depends on the psychologist what to expect. I recommend showing up with some questions you'd like to ask of her to see if she's the right one for you.