The Ingredients of Good Therapy
Treatment for Depression: Getting Help
There are many different approaches to psychotherapy, but all good therapy shares some common elements. To start with, make sure that your therapist has a state license. While psychotherapy isn’t always comfortable, you should feel reasonably at ease with your therapist. In the best case, the two of you will be, or will become, a good match. Of course, both of you must respect ethical and professional boundaries.
It’s important that therapy provide some relief. Your therapist should not only offer reassurance and support, but also suggest a clear plan for how the therapy will proceed. You and your therapist should agree upon realistic goals for the therapy early on. While well-defined problems might be addressed relatively quickly, you may need to approach more difficult problems from many angles, which will take longer.
Since mood disorders can have a broad influence on relationships, work, school, and leisure activities, therapy should address these areas when — or if possible before — they become a problem. Therapy isn’t just for uncovering painful thoughts, although that’s part of the work. Good therapy also addresses how you can adjust, adapt, or function better. And it helps you understand the nature of your distress. You should feel that your therapist approaches the important issues in your life in a way that’s unique to your needs, not from a one-size-fits-all perspective. Pertinent issues springing from your culture, sex, and age, as well as individual differences, should shape the direction therapy takes.
If a doctor other than your therapist prescribes antidepressants for you, the two should communicate. If they don’t do so on their own, you may want to encourage collaboration by asking your therapist and doctor to speak regularly. Your therapist ought to understand the medication portion of your treatment, encourage you to take medications as prescribed, and help monitor your response.
Although it’s not uncommon to feel stuck at times, don’t persist for months with that feeling. Some difficult problems take a long time to unravel, but you should sense progress. If you don’t, it’s a sign that the match between you and either the technique or the therapist isn’t right. If four to six months have gone by and you don’t feel better, it’s a good idea to consult another therapist.
There are many different approaches to psychotherapy, but all good therapy shares some common elements. To start with, make sure that your therapist has a state license. While psychotherapy isn’t always comfortable, you should feel reasonably at ease with your therapist. In the best case, the two of you will be, or will become, a good match. Of course, both of you must respect ethical and professional boundaries.
It’s important that therapy provide some relief. Your therapist should not only offer reassurance and support, but also suggest a clear plan for how the therapy will proceed. You and your therapist should agree upon realistic goals for the therapy early on. While well-defined problems might be addressed relatively quickly, you may need to approach more difficult problems from many angles, which will take longer.
Since mood disorders can have a broad influence on relationships, work, school, and leisure activities, therapy should address these areas when — or if possible before — they become a problem. Therapy isn’t just for uncovering painful thoughts, although that’s part of the work. Good therapy also addresses how you can adjust, adapt, or function better. And it helps you understand the nature of your distress. You should feel that your therapist approaches the important issues in your life in a way that’s unique to your needs, not from a one-size-fits-all perspective. Pertinent issues springing from your culture, sex, and age, as well as individual differences, should shape the direction therapy takes.
If a doctor other than your therapist prescribes antidepressants for you, the two should communicate. If they don’t do so on their own, you may want to encourage collaboration by asking your therapist and doctor to speak regularly. Your therapist ought to understand the medication portion of your treatment, encourage you to take medications as prescribed, and help monitor your response.
Although it’s not uncommon to feel stuck at times, don’t persist for months with that feeling. Some difficult problems take a long time to unravel, but you should sense progress. If you don’t, it’s a sign that the match between you and either the technique or the therapist isn’t right. If four to six months have gone by and you don’t feel better, it’s a good idea to consult another therapist.
posted by MJ @ 11:23 AM
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