I was diagnosed in 2010, and right from the start the team I work with had me seeing a therapist. She was not very good though, she made me uncomfortable and her approach wasn’t very fitting for my needs. After she nearly breached/basically breached confidentiality about 4 months after seeing her, I starting to get thoughts that she wanted to destroy me. It got out of hand and I had this long standing idea in my head that therapists wanted to kill me. So I stopped going and just stuck with seeing my psychiatrist.
That wasn’t the first time I had seen a therapist. In middle and high school I had seen a few for emotional problems and the same thing happened, it wasn’t a good fit.
Very recently though I’ve been getting overwhelmed and anxious about the future, things that if I told my pdoc he would just prescribe me another med or up my dosages. He would talk me through it a little bit but I need coping techniques. My medications have me stable right now, and they provide a firm foundation for me to build on. Now all I need is something to build with and I can’t provide that to myself. Hopefully the therapist I’m seeing on Wednesday can help me.
What I’m posting this all for is to see if anyone has any ideas I can utilize to make my visit fulfilling, useful, helpful, etc. What kinds of questions should I ask? How open should I be?
She sounded really nice on the phone. I called her Friday evening, she got back to me Saturday but I missed the call, so she called me back again today and got me in for a Wednesday morning appointment. The fact that she’s so prompt makes me feel hopeful.
The only advice I can give you is find someone you’re comfortable around. If you’re not comfortable you’re not going to be very giving in terms of information they need or receptive. I see a psychiatrist, a nurse and an occupational therapist. All of them are very nice and considerate even when I do odd things like put blood work off for months.
When i was first diagnosed in april 2010, i was sent to a clinic. I started seeing a therapist, a psychiatrist and a case worker. The psychiatrist was terrible and the therapist made me feel very uncomfortable but the case worker was great. But i left the clinic and found a different therapist eventually i found one who was good.
It took me about 2 years and 10 different therapists to find someone I felt comfortable and safe with. I’ve found that the first session should also be about you interviewing them and that you are comfortable with their office atmosphere and waiting room. You are going to be paying them for a service, make sure they are qualified. Ask stuff like:
how many years of experience do you have
Where did you first learn about sz or whatever; What is their specialty?
I personally am losing faith in therapists, especially for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a brain disorder, meds are the mainstay for this illness. My last therapist tried a bit harder, she seemed more receptive and enthusiastic.
I was not as well as I am today, maybe this is why therapy worked out for me better with the last therapist.
My advice to you is to keep asking the therapist questions - they are not god or untouchable. Ask them about their experience, do they they enjoy what they are doing, whatever comes to mind, as long as it is reasonable.
I dont have much of a choice with my therapist, I basically have to stay with her, because of insurance purposes, but it is clear to me that she is not the type to stick her neck out to help the patient/client. She even said that our sessions might be shorter than usual, because I am basically stable. Go figure
i hope the session went well and she made you feel comfortable, finding some one to talk to is very important, remember if you are not happy or comfortable leave and find some one else.
take care
p.s i just hope my one actually turns up, that will be an improvement on the last session…!
My appointment went really well. The woman is very down to earth and receptive, something I can’t say for a lot of social workers that I’ve met. I have to admit, I was a bit emotional during the session but she worked me through it and the fact that she got me to calm down makes the relationship feel stronger, even though it’s young.
