I feel like there should be a discussion here about "therapy" vs. talk therapy vs. psychology etc. (hexbear.net)

submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by Guamer@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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When people talk about "therapy" here, they most likely are thinking of bog-standard talk therapy, where you just go in and kinda, well, talk to someone about your life, problems, etc.

For some people, it's enough to just get things off their chest, talk about things out loud with someone and helps them deal with their issues. I personally see such a therapist monthly and find it beneficial to my mental health.

For others, especially those with more intense troubles and traumas, it may not be, and would probably be served better by someone more specialized with said traumas.

Like any medical profession, the quality of individual therapists and mental health experts can vary widely, from chuds to libs to comrades and everything in-between. there's a solid chance you may not get the perfect fit on try 1, I didn't.

I just feel like some people are dipping their toes into Scientology-ish "all therapy is bad, never seek professional help for your problems" stuff, which I think is disastrous advice.

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[-] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

mostly just kumbaya bullshit with little rigour

I already said drugs can be helpful. If you want to take a specific case of someone trying all sorts of therapy and none of it working to broad-brush therapy as "kumbaya bullshit", I can just as easily tell you about my cousin who rejected trying therapy for undiagnosed problems, self-medicated through at least a half-dozen substances that his college buddies had access to, but eventually simplified his self-treatment by drinking himself to death.

unless you’re lucky enough to find someone who truly knows what they’re doing.

Unless of course the amateur (and presumably "rigorous") self-prescribing pharmacist is lucky enough to find a drug that works and fixes everything without any further assistance required.

[-] SuperNovaCouchGuy2@hexbear.net 3 points 1 month ago

If you want to take a specific case of someone trying all sorts of therapy and none of it working to broad-brush therapy as "kumbaya bullshit"

However, OP already stated that:

"all therapy is bad, never seek professional help for your problems" stuff, which I think is disastrous advice."

So what I think they mean is that from the perspective of the long suffering person trying out different therapists without success (not from OP's perspective), therapy seems like "kumbaya bullshit" because it hasn't solved their problems. Therefore, it might be unfair to say that such individuals generally tend towards pseudo scientific attitudes out of a place of arrogance (like killionaire god emperor m*sk).

[-] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

The OP didn't call therapy "kumbaya bullshit" so I didn't let that broad-brushing stand unanswered, especially because the most common implication of that is "(specific trendy drug) will solve your problems because it solved mine" like there's some silver bullet waiting to be found.

from the perspective of the long suffering person trying out different therapists without success

I was speaking from the perspective of someone that had to live with (for a time) someone who didn't even start therapy at all (except bragging about lying during initial counseling before dropping out of college), going the all-American route of "nothing is wrong if no diagnosis is made," and instead self-medicated while gradually wasting away, starting to steal from me to keep the self-medication going to the point of me having to move out for my own sake.

If you want to be generous in one interpretation, I'll take the other.

[-] gueybana@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago

I’m really sorry you went through that, and my intention wasn’t to minimize your experiences. I’m merely saying what I did out of personal experience and a sense of desperation.