Is Therapy over used?

[Osiris]

If you are using therapy to get by, not working for yourself, it's not going to work anyway.

Exactly. Therapy is a short term thing and when utillized properly, you use it then walk away better adjusted and equipped to handle what was difficult for you.

Eh.... I could say that yes, it's probably a bit overused... but on the flip side, I think medications are a much worse dilemma in our society... I'd rather have people overuse therapy than psych meds.

I agree. I see too many parents that ask "What can we give them?" rather than "How can we help them?" Kids in a lot of cases are just kids. growing up can be hard especially if there is a trauma involved. Meds for kids are often the convenient "hush it up" tool.

I'm Canadian... don't group me with the Americans...
Therapy may be over used... but generally people have a set time frame with one... say 6-12 sessions. I was a different case.. I had no friend or family support so I got to see her long term to try and work through being abused and being diagnosed with a personality disorder.

And that is the way it should work. You get what you need and go when you need it, not lifetime commitment like I see a lot of Americans do.

I dated a girl who had a mother that was so dependant on her Psychiatrist, they didn't buy a new family car without talking to him. THAT is unhealthy.

I wish more people saw therapy like you do TK, it seems a lot healthier that way.

 

[whatireallywant]

To me, the problem is more that antidepressants are prescribed by doctors who aren't experienced enough in psychiatry to prescribe medication for mental illness. In my experience, GPs simply aren't experienced enough to treat mental illness.

As far as being over prescribed, I wonder on what basis you make that determination. I hear that a lot, and usually it's just yet another piece of conventional wisdom based on repetition that may or may not be true. Your experience is by far not unique, but one doesn't have to be suicidal to want, need, and deserve alleviation from suffering. I've never had anyone give me cogent reasoning or statistics about the overprescription of antidepressants. The truth is, if you're not depressed they don't work. Even if you are depressed, they don't always work. Antidepressants are also not happy pills, as some people think. They don't suddenly make your life happiness and light. Most of us who take psychiatric drugs do so despite the side effects because we aren't functional without them.

As I said before, I'd rather antidepressants be over prescribed than not available. It may well become like antibiotics, where we figure out eventually when they are required and when they are not. Psychiatric drugs are very new, and the medical community is still learning how to use them appropriately.

Oh, I think they should be prescribed in some cases, it's just that in my specific case, their side effects are worse than the problem to begin with. I have not had this problem with other medications. I've had a few medications with side effects, but none recently except for antidepressants and painkillers. The painkillers were when I was in some very severe (physical) pain, and I didn't really notice any side effects in the painkillers. I'm sure they had some, but the relief from the pain was so great that it outweighed any side effects that the medication may have had.

However, antidepressants had side effects that made me unable to function. When I was working, they made me so sleepy that I made mistakes in a job that I could normally do with no problems. Taking them shortly after losing a job last year, I was so sleepy that I could not leave my apartment to have any kind of social life, and I was also unable to look for a job.

They apparently don't have the same side effects on different people, and sometimes it's a matter of finding one you can live with. For me, I can't take the time to find out, I'm too busy with either work or looking for work. I can't afford the time to sleep 20 hours a day trying different meds to find out which one will work for me.

 

[DC_DEEP]

I agree. I see too many parents that ask "What can we give them?" rather than "How can we help them?" Kids in a lot of cases are just kids. growing up can be hard especially if there is a trauma involved. Meds for kids are often the convenient "hush it up" tool.
<...>
And that is the way it should work. You get what you need and go when you need it, not lifetime commitment like I see a lot of Americans do.

And it's not just the kids, either. I think the people who "overuse" or "misuse" psychotherapy substitute their therapist for a best friend - just someone to talk to.

Properly used, psychotherapy shouldn't simply be a confessional. Listening is an important part of the job, but it's a small part of the job. The next small-but-important part of it is identifying the underlying issues and problems. The biggest, and most important part of it, though, is for the therapist to teach the client how to recognize those underlying issues and deal with them. But that's the part that most of the clients dismiss.

 

[frizzle]

Outlets are healthy. Pay a random stranger X amount of money per hour to tell you "How does that make you feel?" seems a strange and unhealthy addiction.

Really if people cannot rely on themselves, they have no hope.

 

[sbeBen]

Jason I think I need to hire you as my official interpreter.:redface: When I wrote this in a previous post: "Given the fact your country is barely bigger than a postage stamp I can't understand about what any of you would have to be depressed." I should have expanded on the thought because I was thinking about what you refer to in your 2nd paragraph quite eloquently and succinctly.

If you are born and bred in Exeter, England and after university get married and settle in Manchester or even Northern France. You will never be 3,000 miles from your parents or the people with whom you grew up.

On a slightly different note I never understood why St. Jude was the only saint who read the classifieds or needed a public thank you.:tongue:​

Some English parents do actually move away to America or Australia for example. Any way this is a minor reason for having no depression in England. Isn't transport better nowadays to overcome this problem? Also, peoples families still drift apart. It is not meant to be a competition as to which country is the most depressed! Any way figures show that Scandinavian countries have the highest suicide and depression rates. It is thought this is due to the lack of daylight hours! (SAD syndrome) So they are the winners!!! Yey!

 

[DC_DEEP]

Outlets are healthy. Pay a random stranger X amount of money per hour to tell you "How does that make you feel?" seems a strange and unhealthy addiction.

Really if people cannot rely on themselves, they have no hope.

Outlets are indeed healthy, frizzle, but you are still failing to understand what real, actual therapy is all about. Your comments clearly illustrate that you really have no concept of what a competent therapist actually does.

Everyone has some situations that they just do not know how to cope with. For some people, those situations are more serious than for some other people. A good therapist is not just someone to tell all your problems to; he or she teaches the client coping skills.

And if there are imbalances of neurotransmitters, that complicates the problem. It's arrogant and ignorant to think that a person with clinical depression should just "think happy thoughts and get all better." People cannot always rely on themselves to make depression go away. That's as foolish as saying "people with cancer have no hope if they can't rely on themselves to get better."

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Wow frizzle, you sound so big and hard!

You've obviously never had anyone die or been abused or had anything 'bad' happen to you. And that's why you're such a level-headed, well balanced individual. Well done you!

In response to the topic. Perhaps it is overused: I would not recommend medications since its not healthy to medicate the mind. Suicide risks etc. Is therapy overused or is mental illness more widespread than we would like to believe?

 

[Principessa]

*SNIP* Is therapy overused or is mental illness more widespread than we would like to believe?

Sadly, mental illness is more wide spread then we would like to believe. :frown1:

 

[DC_DEEP]

Wow frizzle, you sound so big and hard!

You've obviously never had anyone die or been abused or had anything 'bad' happen to you. And that's why you're such a level-headed, well balanced individual. Well done you!

In response to the topic. Perhaps it is overused: I would not recommend medications since its not healthy to medicate the mind. Suicide risks etc. Is therapy overused or is mental illness more widespread than we would like to believe?

Anyone here ever heard of "chronic pain depression?" The causes of depression are as varied as individuals.

Frizzle, this may sound a little harsh, but I wish you could experience a good, intense, clinical depression so that you would understand why sometimes people can't just "rely on themselves" to get better.

 

[sbeBen]

Outlets are healthy. Pay a random stranger X amount of money per hour to tell you "How does that make you feel?" seems a strange and unhealthy addiction.

Really if people cannot rely on themselves, they have no hope.

At the tender age of 19 you have a lot more to learn.

 

[Principessa]

Anyone here ever heard of "chronic pain depression?" Yup, a friend of mine in Jersey has that. The causes of depression are as varied as individuals. Ain't that the truth! Frizzle, this may sound a little harsh, but I wish you could experience a good, intense, clinical depression so that you would understand why sometimes people can't just "rely on themselves" to get better.

Hahaha, he couldn't handle it. He'd end up being one of those random mall snipers.:tongue:

At the tender age of 19 you have a lot more to learn.

What Frizzle doesn't comprehend about depression, sex, women, US History & politics, racism could fill the Grand Canyon. He is sooo young. I try not to get angry at him for stating his woefully uninformed opinions as if they were absolute truths; but it is hard.

 

[B_Think_Kink]

I think therapists for the majority of people and problems are a waste of time and for the weak. Most people should be able to stand on their own two feet and deal with their problems on their own and not rely on someone else. Obviously some cases are too severe to not treat on their own, people who can't leave their own houses, or cases that greatly effect their general lives, but because therapists are so easy to come by, all you need is money, people rely on them instead of theirselves which is quite sad and of course furthers our problem of a weakened culture.

I want you to pretend just for a moment:
You have been physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by someone who you trusted more than anything.
Your parents are so involved with your siblings life that they pretty much don't exist.
You have pushed every person you ever considered a friend in your life away from you for some unknown reason.
I want you to be tired, moody, and surrounded by happy people.

People are not created able to solve all their own problems. The stressors today far outweigh what they did 15 years ago. People usually don't fake issues to see a shrink. People all want to make change. No one wants to be under the care of someone else.

Therapy is over used, people are offered therapy now for things they should easily (supportive family or not) take in their stride. We have a lot of stresses now that man in more primitive times didn't have, in first world countries we've removed the stress of never knowing where your next meal was coming from, living 14 to one room, the high likelihood that some of your children would die, epidemics sweeping across the country wiping out swathes of the population. We've exchanged one lot of stresses for ones that should be more manageable, but because of programs like Oprah and the ready availability of therapy we're taught that we can't cope.

The advancement of life in general. We didn't worry about computers, or paying $150 for a pair of jeans. Societal influences like magazines or posters depicting picture perfect men and women was not an issue. When you were growing up women were seen as to be in the home tending to children. Today it is not like that.

 

[viking1]

The advancement of life in general. We didn't worry about computers, or paying $150 for a pair of jeans. Societal influences like magazines or posters depicting picture perfect men and women was not an issue. When you were growing up women were seen as to be in the home tending to children. Today it is not like that.

Very true. Sadly, though, it's all for the almighty dollar. All of this is driven by greed...

 

[Not_Punny]

LOL -- be kind to frizzle. He's 19 -- and hopefully hasn't been exposed to the "bad stuff" that other 19/20 y/os (and older!) on this site have been exposed to.

So let's not drive him to drink or depression.

-- he's young
-- he lives in a culture that really does frown on "weakness" of all kinds
-- he's very intelligent and communicative but, in some areas (like this), a little short on life experience.

P.S. Don't bite my head off, frizzle. I've championed you before!

 

[viking1]

LOL -- be kind to frizzle. He's 19 -- and hopefully hasn't been exposed to the "bad stuff" that other 19/20 y/os (and older!) on this site have been exposed to.

So let's not drive him to drink or depression.

-- he's young
-- he lives in a culture that really does frown on "weakness" of all kinds
-- he's very intelligent and communicative but, in some areas (like this), a little short on life experience.

P.S. Don't bite my head off, frizzle. I've championed you before!

Unfortunately, it's not just frizzle. It's most people who haven't been through being depressed, or any of the other bad things mentioned here.
I have heard this so many times. They say: "get over it", "snap out of it",
or whatever. It really is condescending. I feel like clobbering somebody every time I hear it...

 

[B_Think_Kink]

LOL -- be kind to frizzle. He's 19 -- and hopefully hasn't been exposed to the "bad stuff" that other 19/20 y/os (and older!) on this site have been exposed to.

So let's not drive him to drink or depression.

-- he's young
-- he lives in a culture that really does frown on "weakness" of all kinds
-- he's very intelligent and communicative but, in some areas (like this), a little short on life experience.

P.S. Don't bite my head off, frizzle. I've championed you before!

I was 18 when all this happened to me. He may be young, but that is no excuse for being naive to things such as mental illness.

 

[Osiris]

I was 18 when all this happened to me. He may be young, but that is no excuse for being naive to things such as mental illness.

I think hearing this about you TK kind of puts me in awe of you. You have overcome a lot it sounds. That is no easy task.

 

[B_Think_Kink]

I think hearing this about you TK kind of puts me in awe of you. You have overcome a lot it sounds. That is no easy task.

Thanks I guess? That's really only the beginning. Every day is a work in progress.

 

[Osiris]

Thanks I guess? That's really only the beginning. Every day is a work in progress.

One step at a time babe. One step at a time. I still think you are doing great. Look at how many people in their 40s aren't doing near as well or as much as you to get it together.

 

[B_Think_Kink]

One step at a time babe. One step at a time. I still think you are doing great. Look at how many people in their 40s aren't doing near as well or as much as you to get it together.

It's just lame to see someone going on and on about how therapy doesn't work. I'm living proof it does.