Posted by raisinb on April 28, 2009, at 22:35:05
In reply to axis two features, posted by deerock on April 27, 2009, at 12:32:18
I have kind of a funny aside to this thread. When I went in for my session Thurs, my therapist said "I finally figured out how to open the window!" I looked over and the DSM-IV was holding it up. I laughed and said "it's doing good service! What if you need to diagnose somebody?" She laughed and waved that away.
I think what I'd say is that diagnosis can sometimes be a negative influence in therapy. It creates distance between therapist and client, and those "Axis II" etc. features almost never make a client feel heard, not to mention feeling unique and special.
We are all so complicated, rich, and individual. Diagnoses might be a tool for your therapist to begin with you, but I don't think they are particularly helpful in a deep, transformative therapy. To accomplish that, you and your therapist should be in a place of deep relationship, in which acceptance without judgment and labels (I think) is a prerequisite. This might be why your therapist was reluctant to share it.
Don't worry about the labels. They were written by people trying to formulate a coherent theoretical structure in a field that is young and unsure. And, in a field that deals more with inchoate, individual, emotional conflicts. Not that they can't be useful for sending in forms to your insurance company. But for your relationship with your therapist, I doubt they are. Relationships aren't build on labels. They're build on deep understanding, which is the opposite.
poster:raisinb
thread:893029
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090421/msgs/893401.html