Social Anxiety Support

honeybun · 09-28-2009, 03:45 PM

I've been seing a psychologist for a year, the sessions usually consist of me talking about my recent experiences, then they repeat back to me what i've said seemingly to gain an understanding of it and then they link it to my past experiences. It all seems too simple.
I feel like I'm growing from talking about whats goin on in my head and being listened to but not much advice is being offered to me on how to change my negative thoughts.
Is this standard practice or am I missing out on something I could be getting elsewhere?

deeds14 · 09-28-2009, 08:57 PM

You may need to tell the therapist that you've found previous sessions helpful but that you want to get more education/goal setting from them. I'm sure that when you first started therapy, you really benefitted from having someone do mostly reflective listening. Your therapist will probably be happy to hear that you've grown from that and are ready to do more work.

drealm · 09-28-2009, 09:47 PM

$110 a pop once per week or every two weeks for three years on and off depending on whether I have money or not.

Aside from that sinkhole, not much long term accomplishment. I don't need it as much as I use to, at the time I went in I was severely depressed and had suicidal thoughts. I'd say having a strong person in my life trained in therapy did give me the courage to stabilize my depression and find irrational thoughts.

My depression pretty much subsided and I'm left with SA. Therapy didn't help much with any real change in SA. I think if I'd gone with a more practical therapy like exposure exercises, CBT ect it may of been better. So far just a big dent in the pocket.

odd_one_out · 09-29-2009, 03:20 AM

It is standard practice for certain schools of therapy. Do you know the type of therapy you are receiving? Many therapists do not deviate from their methods, so it might be the case that you would have to find someone who specialises in a different type of therapy. With anxiety disorders such as SAD, CBT is recommended.

Drew · 09-29-2009, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by odd_one_out

With anxiety disorders such as SAD, CBT is recommended.

This is a good point. CBT is the therapy with the most research backing it's effectiveness for SAD. You might consider bring it up to your psychologist and see what they say. If it's something outside of their experience, they may be able to refer you to someone else.

honeybun · 09-29-2009, 12:16 PM

Thanks for the advice, I will bring it up with them next time and see how it goes.
I've never actually spoken about how I'm being treated to the psychologist I always just go along with the flow of it and leave it to the professional to decide, it makes sense I should have stronger input.
Also fortunately my treatment is covered by all the tax I've paid over the years, so money isn't an issue right now, though finding the time is.

09-28-2009, 03:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
honeybun Status: SAS Member Join Date: May 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25	Your experience in therapy I've been seing a psychologist for a year, the sessions usually consist of me talking about my recent experiences, then they repeat back to me what i've said seemingly to gain an understanding of it and then they link it to my past experiences. It all seems too simple. I feel like I'm growing from talking about whats goin on in my head and being listened to but not much advice is being offered to me on how to change my negative thoughts. Is this standard practice or am I missing out on something I could be getting elsewhere?

09-28-2009, 08:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
deeds14 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 256	You may need to tell the therapist that you've found previous sessions helpful but that you want to get more education/goal setting from them. I'm sure that when you first started therapy, you really benefitted from having someone do mostly reflective listening. Your therapist will probably be happy to hear that you've grown from that and are ready to do more work.

09-28-2009, 09:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
drealm Status: SAS Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: California Gender: Male Age: 22 Posts: 292	$110 a pop once per week or every two weeks for three years on and off depending on whether I have money or not. Aside from that sinkhole, not much long term accomplishment. I don't need it as much as I use to, at the time I went in I was severely depressed and had suicidal thoughts. I'd say having a strong person in my life trained in therapy did give me the courage to stabilize my depression and find irrational thoughts. My depression pretty much subsided and I'm left with SA. Therapy didn't help much with any real change in SA. I think if I'd gone with a more practical therapy like exposure exercises, CBT ect it may of been better. So far just a big dent in the pocket.

09-29-2009, 03:20 AM	#4 (permalink)
odd_one_out Status: Active-but-odd Join Date: Aug 2006 Age: 32 Posts: 1,209	It is standard practice for certain schools of therapy. Do you know the type of therapy you are receiving? Many therapists do not deviate from their methods, so it might be the case that you would have to find someone who specialises in a different type of therapy. With anxiety disorders such as SAD, CBT is recommended.

09-29-2009, 12:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
honeybun Status: SAS Member Join Date: May 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25	Thanks for the advice, I will bring it up with them next time and see how it goes. I've never actually spoken about how I'm being treated to the psychologist I always just go along with the flow of it and leave it to the professional to decide, it makes sense I should have stronger input. Also fortunately my treatment is covered by all the tax I've paid over the years, so money isn't an issue right now, though finding the time is.