Experiences with Therapy

Post Reply New Topic

Dang! He does sound like one of a kind. In a good way.

Yup -- Old school, swore like a trooper, and broke all the rules.
By the end I had to write my own appointments in his book bc he couldn't hold a pen.

He often forgot to charge me (and it was a nominal fee too -- only paid by cheques -- old school).
I had to put my cheques in his bag and remind him to cash them.

No secretary.

One time he left a note on his door for me to meet him at a different location out of the building.
It was almost like a hunt to find him.
He was trying to increase my anxiety and stress level (exposure therapy) in real time.

We talked about his family as much as mine.
For the last year end he only had me and two other patients.

I had to help him find his adult diapers once.

We were very close.

Last edited by IsabellaLinton on 27 Aug 2022, 1:52 am, edited 1 time in total.

He seemed like a cool man.

Sorry you had to lose him.

I'm going through therapy at the moment, for my social anxiety of being out in public. I actually think it's pretty good. My therapist delves deep into things and does little mental exercises with me. Next week we're having some exposure therapy.

I have a feeling this might change the way I think about my self-consciousness when being out in public. Yes, it's that bad. I could have done with this therapy years ago.

Bad. I've not found one yet who is qualified to help me.

Went to see a woman who was going to do emdr therapy with me but she abandoned me after just one session and passed me on to someone more qualified. I'm still waiting.

I was not impressed with spending 15 years chasing "dysfunctional family" clues before I happened across a description of Asperger's which made sense of it all. Since then, I've had one major disaster of a 3-day program which was being run by the clueless apprentice of an intuitive healer. My best counsellor was barely trained, but cared about her work. I'd describe her skills as remedial parenting. I tried CBT before the DX, and found it useless.

I've tried a few. It seems the more I pay the worse the therapist was. My best experience was a (free) group therapy. I learned so much. Next best was a government subsidized one. The most expensive one still made me furious when I think of her. Every thought I had was wrong and I needed to completely change myself. I do understand that in the real world, the only way to cope is changing yourself, as you can't control others. But she made me feel so bad there's no way I'd listen to any of her advice.

I think for me group therapy is the best, less focus on myself and more information and more motivation to actually practice stuff. It's like a class in school and I love school. A one on one therapy is like talking to a doctor about what's wrong with me. It just doesn't feel comfortable.

I've had a counselor/therapist at uni who cried in front of me (when I came to talk over some issues), so I ended up comforting them. How can someone help you who can't help themselves?

The trouble with me is that mom and dad sent me to shrinks for decades before the autism spectrum was expanded to include aspies like me . So even when I was getting a decent therapist the therapy was off target because it didnt address the real problem.

I've found my pet squirrels (degus) more useful - they listen, don't judge, don't prescribe addictive chemicals that might have horrible side effects, and charge me only a bit of hay and seeds.

I'm glad I graduated from one on one therapy on Thursday. My therapist tried to take Germany and Sweet Pea away from me in the beginning. She realized that she couldn't take those things away from me without me being miserable, especially Germany.

There was a large psychiatric hospital which acquired a dog. Rigorous evaluation showed that the general improvement in well-being was equal to the addition of two psychiatrists.

I'm not in any rush for therapy to be honest because I don't think it will work but I'll take it and work with the therapist when it comes along

I was not joking - even small pets help.

Most dogs I meet are in poor mental condition due to an unhealthy environment for them. They know things we don't, and get frustrated when all the communication is one-way. They start as "fur babies" but are ready for adult life as dogs within a year. They should not need helicopter parents. I used to walk everywhere with a big dog, and he stayed in sight on residential streets, and got closer around more people, so that I was never told to get a leash for him even in stores. He would heel perfectly without a word said.
My good counsellor gave me the name for the Attachment Disorder I also got from my AS mother, but the most useful thing she ever said was "I don't know." We worked on trying to understand me together, as part of her education. People with more training won't say that, or even discuss their choice of labels.