Posted by Tabitha on January 1, 2003, at 17:42:39
In reply to Re: Questionnaire for rating your therapist... » Dinah, posted by IsoM on January 1, 2003, at 1:25:02
> Thanks for some feedback on the questionnaire, Dinah. I really don't know how much use it is for others, but when I read Tabitha's thread on how long she'd been in therapy & its costs, it got me wondering.
>
> Mind you, I'm still wondering...
> Does all therapy seem to go on for so long? I realise that problems aren't created overnight, & can't be solved overnight then either, but some therapy never seems to end. So I thought there might be some good in the questionnaire & its rating.
>Reading this I thought "oh, dear, I've become the poster child for endless therapy". There are different ways to look at it though.
1) You can think of therapy as medical care for an acute condition, so that not having to go at all is a sign of health, and being able to end the treatment is a sign of success.
2) You can think of it as medical care for a chronic condition, so that having to go is a sign of illness, but there is no expectation of a permanent cure and no shame in long-term treatment.
3) You can also think of it as continuing education. In that case, going to therapy is a sign of curiosity and willingness to learn. When I was feeling most positive about therapy, I thought of it as education in self-awareness and understanding how people work. The topic seemed worthy of a lifetime of study and I felt fortunate to be able to receive private lessons from an expert teacher. I also felt a little smug that since therapy can also be considered medical care, some of my lessons were covered by insurance.
Just some food for thought.
poster:Tabitha
thread:1989
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20021230/msgs/2007.html