Posted by daisym on November 6, 2005, at 0:58:29
In reply to Depressing T stories, posted by fairywings on November 5, 2005, at 23:58:25
My therapist describes himself as a "minimalist" when it comes to sharing. He uses metaphors but rarely tells stories.
I think there are many philosophies about the value of telling old stories. Some therapists really believe in getting it all out and talking about traumatic events a lot. Others don't believe that reliving the past is useful or healthy and instead focus on coping skills.
I often complain that half my therapy time is spent on discussing therapy itself. I want to talk about my feelings for him, I want to be sure I'm doing therapy "right" and I want to know what he is thinking and what comes next. Sometimes I think I veer off in these discussions to avoid my issues but, I do know that understanding how he works and being able to talk about how it is making me feel, has really helped me to keep going. I think you should ask your therapist how he works, how he feels about retelling stories of your past and what his general philosophies are. It isn't rude to ask...I think it might help you understand his comments better.
I hope it gets easier for you soon.
poster:daisym
thread:575853
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20051025/msgs/575858.html