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Smarteenie
21-03-07, 21:23
Hi there. I just wondered if anyone could help. I have been undergoing pyschotherapy for panic attacks and have to say I'm finding it all a bit frustrating! I've been attending weekly sessions since October 2006 and although we have talked about aspects of my past that have been difficult, we do spend a huge amount of time not saying anything at all while my therapist is obviously waiting for me to say something significant. The therapist has never mentioned ending the treatment and every time I ask a question I get the response "Well, what do you think?". I do feel that I need to be guided and advised more so I am sure that CBT is the way to move forward. Maybe I'm just being a bit unkind but is there anyone who has found that psychotherapy makes a difference?
Thanks for your help.
:wacko:

honeybee
21-03-07, 21:35
i went to see a ciounsillor and it was like that, i stopped wasting my money... think it might help but with just a different person perhaps???

Ger
21-03-07, 22:12
I know what you mean. I've been having counselling for a few months and don't feel that it's going anywhere. I just ramble on about my worries and the counsellor is nice and sympathetic, but.... I think it might be the wrong method for me. The last time I went to the doctor he mentioned CBT but I just told him I was already having therapy. But I think I'll see if I can change to CBT too as it sounds really focussed and specific for panic/anxiety. Maybe counselling is better for other things.

Dying_Swan
22-03-07, 13:42
Hello all.

Just read this and think CBT would probably be more helpful. When my panic disorder started, I had months of counselling/psychotherapy, and it just got worse. A lot of the sessions were pretty silent, and nothing very helpful ever came out of it.

Then I had CBT and it was totally different. Although it was a slow process, I made huge progress and would really recommend it to anyone going through anxiety problems.

I am sure that counselling is helpful for some people and some problems, but am not convinced it often does much for anxiety disorders.

Good luck xx

skylight2007
22-03-07, 20:32
Hiya smartinee, just being reading the post, and the preffered therapy is CBT simply because they work on the way we think and the associations we make to certain events or things, the website mind has an excellent article on CBT. Hope you find it interesting, I know I did!!! http://www.mind.org.uk good luck. Sky

999madmax
22-03-07, 22:55
Hey there,
well last year i had CBT for 3 months and i had found it really helpful - They go with what is going on with your life and help you understand what the issues are and how to help yourself.
I had phycotherapy the last few weeks and i had found it not helpful at all :lac: - They just sit there in silence and await for you to talk and see if you personally can see a pattern and how you would like to change it!
I really hated that as i didn't know how and why this sort of therapy is available?! :lac: :wacko: :lac:
It does work for some people but my advise is to have CBT - The best therapy i have ever heard and known of!!! :yesyes: :D :yesyes:

Rain
23-03-07, 15:36
Hi,
When I read your post I could really relate to just how frustrating psychotherapy can be. I had psychotherapy a few years ago and my therapist was one of those who uses the technique of basically not saying anything so you will feel obliged to fill the silences and supposedly say what's really on your mind. In my experience it was horrible to talk about something really difficult and be met with a blank stare. The sessions got more and more frustrating, I needed some kind of feedback badly, even if it was just a grunt or a nod. Eventually I began to really dread the sessions and used to gabble about anything I could think of just to avoid the long silent moments. It became a test to see if I could actually keep talking for an hour at a time without drying up.
I convinced myself the therapist was ultimatly going to start joining in so I kept on going even though it became a farce. I was in a terrible state of anxiety at the time and the last thing I wanted to do was 'give up' on this one thing I thought might help me. Finally I could stand it no longer and stopped going. All I felt was relief.
A while later I had cognitive behavioral therapy. What an enormous difference. The therapist chatted away to me, made lots of jokes and generally was very interactive in a relaxed way. I made loads of progress and found it easy to really discuss my problems.
I think the key thing here is not the type of therapy but the therapist themselves. If you are not 'clicking' with your therapist and finding the whole thing frustrating, try someone else. Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

Smarteenie
23-03-07, 17:43
Hi guys. You've really helped - I thought it was just me that felt this way. I am paying sssoooo much money for the privilege of chatting to myself for an hour which I do normally anyway. I am so pleased others have had the same experience and found it as equally frustrating. I will put myself out of the misery of attending my sessions and dig out a CB therapist. Is the mind website the best place to go to find a therapist in my area or is there somewhere else I could look too? Thanks for everything.

skylight2007
23-03-07, 18:06
Hiya check out the bacp, british associations of counsellors and pyschotherapist website ,bear in mind private counselling can be expensive, on the other hand, cbt on the NHS, the wait can be long. Good luck , sky