How can therapy help you?
How can therapy help you? Wondering what the therapeutic process looks like? Wondering what to look for when choosing a therapist? Ask me anything!
I have considered therapy in the past, but my concern is that I will fall into some kind of "telling me things I already know and can figure out for myself" mentality. How does a guided therapy session improve a situation that I already find ways to think through critically.....but always only ever after the fact?
I feel like it isn't making much sense, or that I am coming off as like a "I know everything" kind of person. Just I worry that I will be told like "You are sad from your breakup. You have anxiety because of control issues. You should try meditation." (see all these things I can say to myself)
What more is there from the therapy?
@butterflyKiKi Excellent questions! Therapists are trained to actively listen to you and help you develop self awareness about what you want in your life. We are non-judgemental and a safe way to talk about anything that concerns you. Therapists are also trained in scientifically proven techniques to help you make significant changes in your life. For example, with CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), your therapist will help you analyze antecedents / triggers to negative situations, the thoughts and behaviors related to those situations, and teach you alternative skills to cope in new more functional ways. Therapists have so many tools to teach you new ways of living your life, like using thought journals, rehearsing new skills, and building awareness. A skilled therapist will also be goal oriented with measurable and timed outcomes to help you benefit from therapy on a long term basis. 12 weeks of therapy can have life long benefits. Seeking help with life challenges has never been more in demand and accessable. Whether it's online therapy or traditional face-to-face, I hope you can also experience the benefits of professional therapy.
I showed your question to a therapist, a CBT specialist. From memory, this is roughly how she responded.
She agreed with you that you can figure out most things for yourself, after the fact. She said people who have the ability to think things through in that way tend to do well and make rapid progress in therapy.
CBT doesn't work like that, though. For a CBT therapist it's essential to understand the client's underlying pattern of thoughts that is repeatedly causing them problems. It's not about coming up with a technique for solving each individual problem after it pops up like a game of whack-a-mole.
Seeing and addressing the underlying pattern is much more difficult to do on your own, although it's not impossible. That's where a skilled therapist is useful, to help you discover the path through the forest where you are now only seeing tree after tree.
CBT is only one of many approaches to therapy, and a specialist in some other approach might respond to this quite differently. Even among CBT therapists, there are differences in approach. The approach described here is the traditional CBT approach based on a "formulation" (an understanding of the underlying pattern of thoughts).
@butterflyKiKi
@KarenWolfLPCC
When dealing with several conditions, is it better to take one that specialize in one of them, or take one that take any topic? how I make sure that one is enough equipped for deal with specific conditions? I noticed that usually those who specialize in something have more reticences to take patients who have multiple conditions (including one that fit in their speciality and one that doesnt not) than those who don't specialize in anything. How can I ensure that a therapist is enough equipped for deal with patients/clients with multiple conditions? Honnestly I tried many styles of therapy and different therapists, but 7cups was more helpful than any of them, than all of them together...
side note: here laws are stricter than in the USA about who can provide therapy.
@TortueDesBois
Thank you for your comment. You probably have seen therapist profiles that outline approaches and specialities, and you can also check the therapist's state licensing board to make sure a therapist is licensed and in good standing. Rather than putting too much emphasis on a therapist's specialty, it might be more worth your while to check reviews from clients and talk to friends who have benefitted from a skilled therapist The therapeutic alliance and collaboration between therapist and client is by far the strongest predictive factor in successful treatment, even across different issues. During the first few sessions you can determine if you feel comfortable with the therapist and do you feel like to you are working as a team. Check out the attached article. I think Dr. Wampold does a great job talking about this subject. I'm curious, what country are you from? How are the licensing requirements different?
@KarenWolfLPCC
In Quebec, psychotherapy is regulated under Bill 21 which states that only psychologists and physicians can offer psychotherapy. Other professionals such as social workers, family therapists, counsellors and occupational therapists may also offer psychotherapy if they hold a valid license from their regulatory body and have a psychotherapy permit delivered by the Order of Psychologists of Quebec. Other canadian provinces have other regulations which are different from quebec.
I had a lot of bad experiences with psychologists and therapists, both in private and public sectors. but in public, you can't really search for the best fit, they match you automatically with the next available when is your turn. it was one of reason why i also i also tried in private despite the high cost.
@TortueDesBois
Interesting. In Quebec psychologists provide regulatory guidance to counselors and therapists. That relationship does not exist in the US, where therapists, counselors and social workers create their own regulatory bodies. I know for me, I'm very engaged with our licensing board. Not only in ensuring I am qualified and in good standing, but also in offering guidance, research and skills training. One thing I love is how many more options clients have in accessing mental health services compared to 20 years ago. Whether private, public, online or even listener services like 7 cups offers...there are options.
@KarenWolfLPCC "How can therapy help you? Wondering what the therapeutic process looks like? Wondering what to look for when choosing a therapist? Ask me anything!
I honestly don't know. However, I know that it takes me awhile to get through things. Like for one, how much of this 7cups do I need or want? Is 7cups also like an addiction to addressing one's problems that you just keep coming back to? OR is it an area where therapists gather to get clientele? But in being honest, those are the things that I think about. I have many times logged in, thought about chatting with a listener, and then just logged out w/o doing anything. IF I were to choose a therapist, I think they all go by a set of rules or standards. Like a bag of marbles, they may all look so different. Some are larger, some are smaller, others have strips or twirls of colors and splotches. You could have a thousand shades of marbles, but they all, every single one of them all have one thing in common. There all round. So, in essence, no matter what the problems are, no matter how they sound or what's being described, if your issues fit within that certain criteria, then you, the therapists, will just advise certain things to that group. Then for another group, it happens again, but maybe tweaked in a different way. If such was so important, why wouldn't these skills be taught at an early age of child development? Why wait for the child to grow up, being exposed to the wheels of life and either grow up to be successful, not successful, or drugged out and living in a half alive half dead state of why or how did I get here kind of state? I know, there are millions of humans, and well, we all can't get taken care of, so the "Cup" does run over, and those that can't stay in the cup, get left out. We are all trying to survive in one way or another, and those that can afford to pay for the help that they may possibly need, may just be able to stay in the "cup" of life and make it and do things in their lives that make them feel accomplished and busy enough to not really think too much of what can or could be a 180 degree turn of negativity that they can or could be looking at. Now I write, but I write visually and type, so if you can just imagine, standing, and seeing the things that you enjoy the most in front of you, and not even worry about the blur of the things that hasn't happened to you, then sure you've done well enough with yourself, your family and have "made" it to a point in life that you keep going through that momentum. But it's that reverse angle behind, that to so many, that is not a reverse, but that's their main view, and the 180 degree reverse to them is what they want so badly, but can never seem to make it there. Rich, poor, middle income, homeless or whatever the social status, were all human, were all the same, but it's the times, or maybe the circles in which others have been able to become apart of that sets themselves apart from the other circles that they could have been in. That brings to light, that no matter what we do, no matter what is said, every single one of us now, that is aware of the surroundings of what we've been exposed to, has in some sense already been experienced by those before us. Ever wonder when you see posts on social media about someone breaking up, how repetitive it sounds? Ever wonder WHY there is always news reports of this issue or that issue? How about the school dropouts, or those that have been addicted to drugs or any type of addiction that takes them away from a productive and fruitful life that would benefit not only just themselves but everyone. It's those issues, those mistakes that keep getting passed down to the next generation over, and over and over and over and over again. Those are the cycles that never stop. They never do. Learn from the past they say, don't do as I do, but do as I say.... or if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying. Ever wonder why the humans take so darn long to develop to the point to where they are finally able to be on their own? No? Well I have, and even though I think a lot, I do or have come up with one possible reason...It's because it would literally take us years to learn that hey, if you touch that hot stove you will get burnt...but what do we do, we touch it anyways. 
We, have the keys and answers to every single problem out there, we all do. But it's that ability to learn from those mistakes from the past that really should be learned and taught. But it won't happen. It won't. The idea can, but the action to make it happen won't effect the masses that it would need to blanket in order to have a truly successful world wide society that worked all in one accord to become an efficient society. When were younger, we like the new, we like the cool, we like so much that is so attractive that the lessons of life, well that's just not cool and well he or she isn't doing it so why should I. Just let me floor it in this brand new shiny car that I'm in to see how fast I can go, and consequences, what's that? Don't forget about that sharp curve or that light up ahead that's about to turn red, but you'll be going to fast to stop in enough time. Probably a long winded response to possibly a short intended response that you were expecting, but hey, It's 12:30 am and I think more at this time of night.
Anyhow, I could go on, but I think I lost my train of thought, and I honestly want to get back to watching Netflix in which I'm watching the movie "Wanted" with Angeline Jolie 
Night! 
I'm wondering what others think about face-to-face therapy vs. online or e-therapy? As a therapist who has experience in both, I see pros and cons to both. Face-to-face or traditional therapy is often inaccessable to a large segment of the population. Without insurance, it can be unaffordable and there can be transportation or scheduling barriers. On the plus side, the non-verbal communication is helpful in building the client-therapist relationship and communicating important therapeutic information. E-therapy is a newer format that seems to be attractive to younger or more isolated individuals who are comfortable with texting or chatting as way to connect with others. It's certainly more affordable and accessable to those who are seeking help. I have also learned that important therapeutic information can be gained in other ways beyond non-verbals, such as word choices, frequency of responses, and sentence organization. What do you think?
@KarenWolfLPCC for being honnest, my experience on 7cups with listeners was more helpful for me than any therapy I tried in face-to-face (and I tried several, included on very long term).
So i would guess online therapy would be more helpful for me. I'm just a bit reticent about the exchanging offline message things, the way it works on 7cups right now, and would prefer a live chat format.
After I have a specific anxiety issue when being around of people, mainly alone in a room with someon else and the door closed. worse if i am being watched or approached. But all the ones I seen wanted keep it in a closed room, and then I was in panic all the time and unable to say anything. Online I don't have this type of issue of course, and no selective mutism.
But I wonder about alternate online and in-office meetings with a same therapist, could combinate advantage of both. even if in my case its something that would be gradual, and probably with intermediate step of video chat between text based and in person. its definitly something I would explore if there was an option of live chat on 7cups with therapists near from me (and who speak my native language).
