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Went to a shrink Last fri and wound up walking out of or section. the doc was how to say. Don't know he just pissed me off I got up left. 5 min in.
Don't think I will see another any time soon
So say what you want
(You know I'm wasting all my time)
You've gotta mean it when you say what you want
(You're only safe when you're alone)
And everybody's on your mind
Saying anything to get you by
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Five minutes is not long enough to assess anyone, nor to get a good idea of what the doctor is actually like. What was the problem? Why did he "piss you off"?
I would urge you to give more than five minutes of your time to something like that. If you don't want to be helped, a doctor won't be able to help you. If you don't commit to asking for help, you can't possibly expect anyone else to commit to helping you. That's your prerogative, but you must realise that there is very little we can suggest that a doctor can't, and a doctor can help you on an individual basis much more than any of us. If you are genuinely depressed, you should see someone.
If it's specific to that doctor, find another doctor. But it sounds like irrational behaviour to me.
David
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The last time I used a shrink - ended around a year ago - the experience was entirely positive and rewarding, and extremely helpful. But, like many of us, I had a couple of *really* shitty experiences of shrinks when I was in my teens / twenties (which made me avoid therapists for 20 years or so).
Five minutes does seem a bit short to judge someone, but in principle if you felt that you weren't communicating effectively there is little point going on with a particular therapist. As far as I know, (virtually) all reputable therapists would treat the first session or more as seeing whether patient and therapist were compatible, and while you may have been unusually quick in deciding that, in principle it is certainly your perogative to make that decision.
But please don't give up entirely on seeing someone!
You might want to have a think about what you expecting from a "shrink". Is there a specific situation, or set of behaviours, that you would like to change? In which case a therapist using a cognitive behavioural therapy (usually goal-foccussed and short-term) might be appropriate. Are you just looking for some assistance in sorting and prioritising the various pressures you're obviously under? In which case, a "counsellor" may be useful. Is it important to you whether a therapist has experience of the particular pressures of being gay in a predominantly straight world? And a million other things - all boiling down to "what am I looking for help with?"
Any therapist is a guide and a help, but the person actually has to do the work themselves. And a bit of advance work identifying the right kind of therapist for you is probably a good idea.
Brief rundowns on kinds of approaches are at
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/psychotherapy.aspx
and
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/cognitivebehaviouraltherapy.aspx
- obviously UK-centred but might be helpful.
all the best!
NW
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. ... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night devoid of stars." Martin Luther King
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timmy
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Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13800
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I took several sessions with a psychologist to be able to trust him. The eventual outcome was worthwhile. I made sure that I used him and his resources to help areas where I knew I needed help, and allowe dhim to suggest other areas.
However, at first I trusted him not at all.
I would not say that the process was pleasant, but it was useful, and it allowed me to understand areas where I had not dared open the lid of the box in case I did not like the contents.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
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