Hi everyone. Today for my letter T post in the #AtoZChallenge, I want to talk about therapy and other forms of support when you’re dealing with mental health problems and/or when you want to grow as a person.
Generally speaking, therapy isn’t for personal growth, although as a person you may grow when overcoming mental health problems. What I mean by this, is that your therapist isn’t just a sounding board and they aren’t your friend. If you’re feeling pretty good overall, formal therapy at least here in the Netherlands isn’t what you should be looking for. After all, therapy is aimed at helping you, in as little time as possible, to overcome your mental health problems. Here in the Netherlands, in fact, there’s a limit on the number of psychotherapy sessions you can get covered by health insurance. Of course, you could pay out of pocket for more, but if you’re reasonably well-adjusted, why should you?
Coaching and counseling are much more affordable and accessible because anyone can call themselves a counselor or coach. This also means that you’ll find coaches or counselors who align with almost any spiritual or psychological teaching. There are Enneagram coaches, for example, even though the Enneagram is actually nonsense. Did I, a person who frequently writes about herself as an Enneagram type 4, just say that? Yes, I did.
There are, of course, also coaches or counselors who do work within the framework of science-based psychology and education. For example, many people call themselves ADHD coaches and they do (I assume) have some knowledge of the current ideas surrounding ADHD.
Psychotherapy is, here in the Netherlands, often heavily protocol-based depending on your diagnosis or main problem. This is also what I’ve often found frustrating. Like, when I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, my psychologist wanted to do schema-focused therapy, but the modes and all that didn’t fit in with my experience of being plural.
At other times, therapy didn’t suit me because, while I sort of understood the theory, I wasn’t able to apply it in practice. This is why I eventually stopped doing dialectical behavior therapy.
I personally don’t do well with therapies that are merely focused on skill-building or that are primarily verbal (talk therapy). I have had the most success with art and movement therapies. I currently do movement therapy based on the Sherborne method. This is a sensory and attachment-based therapy approach. For example, today my therapist brought a multisensory tool called CRDL. When both of us touched the tool with one hand and touched each other’s hands or arms, the CRDL made different calming sounds. This is helping me regulate far better than any DBT skill helped me.
A Multitude of Musings 
Interesting about the movement therapy. I hadnt ever heard of that type of therapy, but I am glad it is helping you regulate and works well for you!
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Thank you. I’ve done movement therapy several times and it has usually been very helpful.
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Therapy can be useful, but it depends, doesn’t it?
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I agree. In fact, it depends on many factors, including the therapist/client relationship and whether the therapist’s approach fits the client’s needs.
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I have seen different counsellors over the years and really didn’t get much out of seeing them, one told me that since I talked to my mum each day there was no need for me to see her. I think many are useless
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I’m so very sorry you haven’t had luck with counseling. I have rarely had a good responsible clinician in my nearly 20 years in mental health treatment either.
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CRDL sounds really interesting.
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Thanks. The CRDL is a piece of equipment, for clarity’s sake, not a therrapeutic method. The therapy is called Sherborne.
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OK, thanks!
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Therapy here in the US is starting to be covered reasonably well by insurance, so it’s not necessarily an in and out quickly kind of experience. You can go for a personal issue and it doesn’t have to be tied to a formal mental illness diagnosis. Of course, the key to successful therapy of any kind is finding the right match with a therapist.
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I agree with that last comment and myself haven’t had much luck finding a suitable therapist.
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The touch and calming sounds therapy sounds interesting. I think touch makes a big difference in how I feel. Not based on therapy or any diagnosis of anything.
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Thank you for sharing. The CRDL (the touch and sound-based piece of equipment I mentioned) is only one way in which the therapist tries to help me regulate.
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My long term therapist who just retired work with me on the ACT (acceptance and commitment theory) until he retired last year. My new therapist has talked more about dealing with my anxiety with … oh, I can’t recall the name of it. Exposure therapy I think? Where you are slowly given more and more of the thing that causes anxiety until you get “used to it.” The doctor I used to have was a great fit… but I am still deciding about the new one. She sees things a bit differently so we are taking new approaches. I hope the CRDL tool helps you out!
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Thank you for your kind comment and for sharing your experience. I’ve heard of ACT and my former clinician (psych nurse practitioner) wanted to work with me using that method, but I never quite got along with him in the first place and also didn’t understand how ACT could help me personally. I’ve never done exposure, but it makes sense if you’re anxious about specific situations. I can also however see how merely thinking about it could be anxiety-inducing especially if it’s suggested by a therapist you don’t really know well yet.
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You are most welcome. Yeah, my therapist said we would start with just pictures and slowly advance (sound, video, etc.) to the things I am anxious about.
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