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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by tarabara on December 15, 2005, at 19:22:05
i've been in therapy for about a year now working through ptsd for a violent rape in my teens. i have just been diagnosed with bipolar II this week by a new psychiatrist who actually took an interest in my 17 year history with depression. i saw my therapist later that day and he was surprised and questioned the diagnosis a bit. he suggested that we continue our treatment in the same way and continue where we left off. i seem to think that my condition could cause a lot of the problems with trust, boundaries, etc in my therapy. so often i take one step forward and two back each week. how do you address bipolar in therapy? is there a way to incorporate it? same old thing? thank you.
Posted by B2chica on December 16, 2005, at 9:01:12
In reply to bipolar and psychotherapy, posted by tarabara on December 15, 2005, at 19:22:05
i don't know if you have a counselor or a psychologist. if he has his phd or psyd then he should do some testing on you. their quite helpful in pointing the right direction of therapy and they help them on how to approach you and the 'issues' at hand.
hi tarabara, this is the first time i've seen your name...are you new? well welcome if you are.don't worry about the one step forward and two back each week, i think we all do a little of that (me especially).
if you want to incorporate this into your thearpy, many times they turn to using a CBT approach.
but i don't think they will Really change a whole lot in therapy for you unless you want it to.IMHO
best of luck
b2c.
Posted by fairywings on December 16, 2005, at 12:19:33
In reply to bipolar and psychotherapy, posted by tarabara on December 15, 2005, at 19:22:05
i think that most ppl take steps forward and steps back, steps forward and leaps back... the most important thing is that you like your T and feel a connection. have you trusted him up until this point? is he kind, does he listen, does he make you think?
a diagnosis isn't who you are, and it's not necessarily accurate. my guess is a lot of us have had different diagnosis from various practitioners. maybe, given the amt. of time you've been with your T, he knows better what the diagnosis is than the psychiatrist. or, like mine, maybe he's not hung up on a diagnosis - which i think is a blessing. sometimes diagnosis can really bog you down, not to mention make your life more difficult. just a thought. I hope that didn't come off too strong, or judgmental, i'm not trying to, i'm just saying does it matter to you, will it make a difference in the work you're doing, will it change who you are?
some psychiatrists specialize in bi-polar, and tend to diagnosis it a lot. from what i've been told at my T/pdocs office, it seems to be the diagnosis of the day. i'm not saying you're not, i'm just saying, if things have been pretty good, it shouldn't change between you and your T just because of a diagnosis. if you've trusted up till now, why wouldn't you continue to trust? of course trust for those of us with trust issues will always be a problem and difficult to establish, until we can work through it, no matter what the diagnosis. maybe talk to your T and ask why he thinks the way he does. maybe ask if once the meds kick in, and there's a significant difference in the way you feel, you could take a look at any bi-polar issues you might struggle with. if therapy is working for you, even if you have peaks and valleys, i'd stick with it. a good T is a blessing.
once you go on meds for bi-polar you'll know better if the pdoc has hit the nail on the head. and, if they do make a big difference maybe the pdoc could help you with the issues relating to your bi-polar diagnosis since he seems to have a grasp on it, and feels it applies to you.
i'm really sorry about your painful past. i hope your T has been able to help you through some of this.
fairywings
Posted by tarabara on December 17, 2005, at 21:50:51
In reply to Re: bipolar and psychotherapy » tarabara, posted by fairywings on December 16, 2005, at 12:19:33
it made me feel so much better to hear from you two. thank you so much. i think it confirmed what i was thinking. my psychologist has a phd, i've been with him awhile, he knows me, and fairywings seemed to describe him and our relationship above. thank you.
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