Experiences with Therapy

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A psychologist wrote "depressive episodes with psychotic features" on my medical record

I asked "what kind of 'psychotic episodes ' did I allegedly have?"

He said "is your thinking always accurate to reality?"

"No" I answered

"Give an example of a time your thinking was not accurate to reality" he said

"Nobody's thinking is always accurate to reality " I answered

On the medical record for that day he wrote"without psychotic features ". (But he failed to fix the previous medical record.)

Later I emailed my primary physician and asked that she change "with psychotic features" to "without psychotic features"

She told me that she is "unable" to change someone else's report and the psychologist doesn't even work there anymore

Great

From now on any prescription I get will be for "psychotic features"

Some counselors put on smoke and mirrors and don't do anything positively. At least, not enough to justify their income

When Richard Feynman was being evaluated for the Army, he was asked if he thought people were watching him. He had just left a group of about 30 other men sitting and waiting, without much else to look at, so he said "Yes." He'd just been a watcher himself. The examiner kept his head down, and asked for details. Richard turned around to count faces, which attracted more attention, so he reported the new data. He was rejected on grounds of insanity. Later won a Nobel.

I was not successful with the first 3 I tried, they were all about "feeliings" and kept asking how I felt about things. I had no idea since I don't recognize my emotions. I found the 4th one "got me" and he used writing and reading to reach me and teach me self assertive behavior and how to make healthier choices. He explained to me about my sick family dynamics and "maladaptive" behavior patterns that I learned in that very sick situation. I progressed rapidly and got healthy in a lot of ways, have done better ever since. Finding the right therapist was like finally finding daylight and I have never looked back. Diagnosed at age 68 about 38 years after that therapy and I had the final answers to why I had such a miserable youth and earlier life. Nobody knew! If the first tries at therapy are not helpful, keep looking, the right therapist and right therapy can make all the difference for a lifetime.

What kind of therapy this is like asking what are you experiences with life like can you be more specific?

therapy for me is bittersweet:
i'm on a free medical plan so i've often been shifted from one therapist to another. And i've had to revisit details, painful details, with total strangers. and they don't all respond the same and i can't read their expressions so i feel "unveiled" and vulnerable. i'm used to my issues being shut down too, so it's a mess. my current therapist is great but the direction we are going gets to be a bit vague. it's probably because i can't explain my feelings well. And when i brought up autism, he wasn't unsupportive, but he didn't initiate help, i had to put myself out there (and the numbers gave me the runaround...not his fault). i don't know....it's like signing up for a deep tissue massage and getting light gentile hands.

My experiences with therapy were mixed, depending on the therapist:
1. The first one did teach me a few useful things but could not get the "key" to me - moderately positive experience;
2. The second one misinterpreted me, which resulted in trying to reinforce my unhealthy habits - harmful experience;
3. The third one did help me climb out of insanity and learn to recognize my needs and feelings not to fall back to it - overwhelmingly good experience (though a lot of hard work).

_________________________

According to your post, it sounds like Richard gave the correct answer to the examiners question and the examiner took the answer out of context. (Literal misinterpretation)

I guess it might be better to answer the questions fully, with context.

On the other hand I am strongly considering never going back to counseling for that reason.

Sooner or later, the counselor will misunderstand the client, and the result is (subject to imagination)

That was not, by far, my first bad experience with a counselor.

Cost benefit analysis doesn't seem to be worth it , even when the insurance pays for the whole thing

The counselor could do anything they want, legal or illegal. Short of winning a civil lawsuit you can't do anything about it

(Besides I don't want to imagine what other "miscommunications" would occur if I kept going to counseling)

Now, any psychotropic prescription I get will be for misdiagnosed "psychotic features"

The psychologist was doing his "best" and "trying to help"

His "best" was not as great as he acted like it was

Not enough checks and balances (inherent to the system)


(Flying squirrel)

For that reason, among numerous other examples, I don't feel like I could trust anyone

"Pick your battles" is good but some people pick all the battles