About Therapy/Counseling

by Mad Sweeney 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  Mad Sweeney

  If it becomes obvious to strangers on an Internet message board that you should get therapy/counseling:

  GET THE THERAPY/COUNSELING!

  My wife and I are in therapy both separately and together. We're not crazy; we're getting help talking through issues we've never had to face before from a professional who knows how to talk us through things. He doesn't know jack squat about JW doctrine (or didn't before our sessions), nor does it matter. He doesn't tell us what to do, he helps us figure out what we want and formulate our own plans for acheiving it.

  People who could benefit from this sort of help but don't bother are doing themselves, their loved ones, and the world around them a disservice.

  None of us are in this life alone. There is no need to face problems alone. Help is out there. Support is here on JWN, but real change is within you and it takes a professional to help you release it.
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  d

  Me personally I do not believe therphy can really help a person.But yet again I could be wrong.I sometimes try to find symbolism in my dreams with dream analysis and discovering the Unconscous.
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  wasblind

  Mad,

  I tip my hat to you, and you are exactly right, you don't have to be crazy to seek help

  as a matter of fact it show that you are not crazy because you had the good sense

  to seek help in order to work through things
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  Lady Lee

  d

  I have seen people totally turn their lives around and stop sabotaging themselves. The changes were slow but remarkable. These were people who had no reason to believe life could be better than what was handed to them. But they wanted something better. Something different but had no idea how to get it or what stopped them from achieving it.

  A good therapist will never tell you what to do but will often reflect back to you the things you have said, the inconsistencies that get in your way and help you see the pieces.

  I used to have a large jigsaw puzzle on my office wall. For some people life is like being handed a jigsaw puzzle without the box and therefore no picture. They just threw all the pieces in the air and hoped you would find them all. I would tell them the pieces are theirs. My job was to help them sort out the different parts, find what was missing and put the pieces together.

  Anyone who feels depressed, or overwhelmed, or confused, or just can't seem to get things together, or keeps finding themselves in the same type of situation over and over can benefit from some professional help. Some people need just a short period of time. Those who have been traumatized need a lot more help putting their puzzle together.
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  Lady Lee

  Mad

  I couldn't have said it better. Congrats to you and your wife. Regardless of why you are going, just the fact that you are talking to professionals who know how to help you find the pieces to your puzzle will be a huge help.
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  OnTheWayOut

  It's important to recognize that you don't need to be suicidal or totally introverted or hearing voices to benefit from therapy/counseling.

  But I do recognize that the vast majority of people will not go, even when they are unable to let go of bitterness or unable to save their marriage. For most, it's about money- no insurance coverage. For others, it may be their misconceptions or their desire to bottle up their problems and tell nobody.

  Reminders like your thread are good, but As someone who no longer expects that eople will go, I appreciate thatJWN is here.
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  Mad Sweeney

  Me personally I do not believe therphy can really help a person.But yet again I could be wrong.I sometimes try to find symbolism in my dreams with dream analysis and discovering the Unconscous.

  How can someone believe in a Freudian concept like the unconscious and not believe in therapy? No offense, but have you ever taken a psychology class?
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  mamalove

  Therapy is great. It does help. They are professinals and I have always been amazed at how they can help put things in perspective, etc.
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  james_woods

  I sometimes try to find symbolism in my dreams with dream analysis and discovering the Unconscous.

  How can someone believe in a Freudian concept like the unconscious and not believe in therapy? No offense, but have you ever taken a psychology class?

  He and I have a thread going on the Zen dream-state of automotive maintenance.
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  ssn587

  Gee, you mean go to therapy instead of the tried and untrue, prayer, door to door, meeting attendance, answering at meetings, meditation, talking to the window washers. Well crap no wonder. Therapy is definitely the way to go, don't go to the kingdom hell for help you won't get it. Window washing is not the education and experience one needs to adequately help others.