Posted by bleauberry on November 22, 2009, at 7:44:50
In reply to No benefit to adding psychotherapy to medication, posted by SLS on November 20, 2009, at 15:27:50
I did psychotherapy twice...weekly for 6 months each time.
It was helpful but only for the half hour or so following the appointment. Ya know, a good counselor can lift your spirits, give confidence, get you relaxed and feeling better. The problem is, as soon as you leave, get in the car and start driving in the real world again, all of that evaporates real fast.
I think the best uses of psychotherapy are:
1. When there is a definite life issue involved...divorce, death, loss of career, etc.
2. For pure biochemical depression without a life crisis component, I think psychotherapy serves a good purpose to help keep the patient on track while waiting for the medicine to hopefully kick in. It's almost kind of like having a cheerleading squad in your corner to send you back into the boxing ring each round with a renewed sense of confidence, hope, and patience. Without the counselor, we might abandon our meds too soon. They can help keep us on the path our doctor has chosen for us, or spot a situation where a doctor has made an obviously gross error.
poster:bleauberry
thread:926342
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20091117/msgs/926520.html