What is realistic to ask of my therapist?
I started therapy with one therapist, but for a couple of reasons I had to switch to another in June of this year. I've been seeing her weekly. I was really excited to see her at first but after several sessions I'm just confused.
Most of our sessions focus on family dynamics between my parents, me, and my brother. This is totally important to talk about - I get that - but we haven't addressed my anxiety at all. She said she was trying to realize the core of my anxiety, which I think(?) we've started working out, but anytime I come in and start to talk about the anxiety that has plagued me that week she kind of blows right past it. Last session she told me that I needed to make a list of what I'm trying to get from therapy because she 'doesn't understand my anxiety'. As we rarely talk about it, of course not!
I do see the importance of talking about family dynamics...I went on a trip with a friend overseas and traveled solo for part of the journey and did really well anxiety-wise...I was feeling more empowered and my friend and I being so busy was a great distraction. So yes, coming back home kind of started up the anxiety again but it wasn't the ONLY thing.
So, here's what I want to accomplish:
- find a way to set goals for myself (she says I have none, I told her I didn't know how to set any and we never talked about it again).
- discover and practice coping mechanisms, particularly so that when I feel anxious or upset that I don't immediately get exhausted and/or give up, but can instead work through it.
- see if there's a possibility I can be off medication. This one's tricky, because my therapist has said a couple of times that my health concerns are probably just a way for me to get attention from my family (*I* don't agree) so I'm not sure if she really thinks anything is "wrong" with me in the first place.
I think I would be good with just those three things. Is it okay to go in with a set of demands? I just feel like she's not taking my anxieties very seriously or really helping me cope with them or learn to cope with them. It's just kind of a lot of talk therapy but she's not super empathetic when it comes to what I have to say.
I am so confused.
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