Transitioning from a counselor to an "official" th

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Since the end of the last school year, I have been seeing an on-site school counselor to deal with teacher relations, classroom anxiety, and social difficulties. It seemed like he was forced on me because our meetings were a result of an accomodation in my IEP. I was very distrustful of him, and was impatient with his time management (he spend immense quantities of time discussing how his children were, how the weather affected where he needed to park, and how he felt about nearly everything.) I was told later that this insipid exercise was a demonstration of how conversations are supposed to work What an inane activity. Nevertheless, I am more familiar with him after 6 or 7 hour long visits. I almost enjoy our meetings because his social insight is valuable, and he has an appreciation (or at the very least a tolerance) for my strange sense of humor.
My mother would like me to get a therapist, and since this particular gentleman has a private practice I am wondering if it is worth becoming a patient of his.
My questions:
Have you found therapy to be effective in prompting appropriate responses in spontaneous social interaction?
Do you find it to be a waste of time and money? (As I suspect )
Would it be strange to prepare an interview for him? I do have some questions for him in regard to his methodology. My apologies, I just really wanted to use the fish.

It seems a bit odd. And when he was called on it, he made up a story about how that's supposed to 'help' you. Traditionally in therapy you don't know anything about the therapist. It's like some rule of theirs about 'boundaries' and 'transference' and stuff like that.

I might look for someone with experience with AS, and give that a whirl.

I have a psychologist and a psychiatrist........

They have been instrumental in helping me "deal"....

They are shrewd, intelligent and honourable.

60% of the success of therapy, is balanced on the relationship between therapist and client.

Find one that you respect.......and by all means interview them, They are working for you after-all.

And keep searching until you find one that fits you......

Take good care and good luck,

Mics

I wouldn't settle for this guy. Sure, you had to see him as part of your IEP and eventually you became moderately comfortable/familiar with seeing him. But if you're thinking of transitioning to a therapist outside of school, don't sell yourself short and go with this guy in private practice just because he is familiar. If he wasted so much time on irrelevant conversation and then justified it as 'demonstration of social interaction', I wonder how effective he is in his private practice. A good therapist is going to be upfront with you about their techniques, and will incorporate your input and goals into your therapeutic plan. A good therapist will also be able to manage their time effectively and adhere to boundaries. I don't know too many good therapists who will discuss their children during a session, that's a step further into breach of boundary than some other personal disclosures might be. The question in the back of my mind is "if he is willing to discuss his children in here, how well does he keep my confidentiality when he is home/outside of here?"

I have my bachelors in psychology, but have always retained a strong suspicion of therapists/therapy- even as I was studying it. From an academic standpoint, I understand that therapy can be helpful. But the key is that it needs to be the 'right fit' both in approach and in relationship/rapport between client and therapist. A poor fit is at best not worth the money or time, and at worst more damaging than helpful. Unfortunately there are a number of poor therapists out there, some who shouldn't be practicing at all. That said, in my personal experience I have found therapy to be helpful and beneficial for me; I am very happy to have found a therapist who 'fits' both in therapeutic perspective and in experience working with clients like myself. There are some really good therapists out there too, ones who take their ethical and therapeutic commitments very seriously and hold themselves to very high standards of practice.

If you are willing to give therapy a try, I say go for it. But, take the time to look around for a therapist you will mesh well with. It might take some trial and error at first; try a couple visits and if you're not getting a good sense, try someone else. Don't settle out of convenience (in this case convenience of familiarity with this school therapist). Therapy is not necessarily a 'quick fix' so it is worth it to take the time and reflection to find someone you respect and can/want to work with.

Your suggestions make sense, but it just takes so long to get used to someone new...
I was definitely concerned about his confidentiality and time management when he began discussing his children. He's familiar with AS and PDD-NOS (Every time I am evaluated, my diagnosis switches from one to the other)
I will most likely ask him if he has a recommendation for an appropriate therapist.