Do You Tell Your Shrink EVERYTHING?

[Broken_LCD]

I don't say everything. Most of the time I run out of time in the session and next week another issue more pressing comes to mind instead of what I was talking about last week. I don't tell her where I get my drugs from, and I don't tell her that my dad and I split scripts a lot, and random pills. Not because of my age or anything, because I'm an adult, I just don't want it to come back to him. I'm not home most of the time anyway, I do a lot of couch surfing, my father and I come together for pharmaceuticals.

I also like you don't tell her when I have major slip ups. I mean I'm a daily drug user, but I don't tell her most of the time when I really go off on a bender, unless it's really bothering me. Just because I know what she is going to say..."why did you, what were your feelings leading up to that, did something trigger you..." etc.

The only thing that is bugging me right now with her is that she wants me to think of objectives and things I want to get accomplished in therapy. But I don't want to do that yet, I just kind of want to talk to someone who is un-biased and doesn't know anyone in my life to get a different perspective and it feels good to bitch and complain to someone. I want to tell her that but I feel like I'm telling her how to do her job or something.

 

[eon_blue]

I make a point to try and be 100% honest with mine. In the past, I used to lie to my old therapist left and right. I'd go in for a session nodding in and out of consciousness while telling her "I'm clean, haven't used in weeks".

Like someone else above suggested, if you aren't going to be up front with your therapist then you might as well not waste your money. If you want to talk with someone that will put up with being lied to/manipulated, you might as well just stick with talking to those in your life that you've been doing that to all along. Save yourself the $$$ of a shrink.

(not directed at you personally junctionalfunkie, just a general statement).

 

[Libby]

Doesn't it cost like $100 an hour to see a shrink? How come drug addicts can afford to see shrinks?
Seriously... explain.

 

[Broken_LCD]

I go for free. In the state of Massachusetts it's illegal (so to speak) to not have health insurance either through the state (if you qualify) or employer or else you get fined. Each year you don't have health insurance the fine will go up.

Due to my income, where I go for treatment, and being on disability, (I have 2 different health insurances) I go for free.

It says it's $74 on the paper though that has all my info on it for the therapist. I see a therapist and psychiatrist both in the same building.

There are different clinics and offices that don't accept my insurance though, so I just steer clear of those. The one I go to gets help from the state I believe and will even set up transportation if you don't have any. I have a car (which is a piece of shit, but still a car, lol) so luckily I don't have to worry about that.

I don't know what it's like for everyone else on here. Before I was on disability I had like a $20 co-pay each visit.

 

[xxkcxx]

I've been trying to tell my therapist that I relapsed since it happened 2.5 months ago but whenever I get up the nerve she says something that makes me think she will react very negatively.

I don't want her to tell my psychiatrist or tell me she won't see me anymore unless I tell him (because he has me on sub maintenance).

I know it would be helpful to my sobriety if I could talk about the relapse with her and subsequently learn some coping skills for when I am craving.

 

[junctionalfunkie]

Doesn't it cost like $100 an hour to see a shrink? How come drug addicts can afford to see shrinks?
Seriously... explain.

Because some of them have rich fathers who would rather not see their adult children commit suicide. I basically had to lay this out in plain English to both my parents before they agreed to help me. It's all chronicled in this thread from last summer:

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=391539

The day David Foster Wallace's suicide was reported in the paper, my Dad called me up, and said "Find a good shrink. Now."

Anyway, Miss Wench, she's a "Licensed Professional Counselor," according to her business card. She has practiced EMDR on me (see my thread about that) and also some CBT.
I don't really care what her official title is. She's helped me infinitely more than any other counselor/therapist/shrink/whatever.

BTW, I skipped my session today. I am not proud, but it's been an exhausting fucking week. I'll tell her next week, for real.

 

[paranoid android]

Before I see ANY therapist I ask a lot of questions about their confidentiality policy. Some therapists will sing like birds if they get even the dumbest subpoenas. Others, like my former therapist, take patient confidentiality so seriously that they'll go to jail for contempt of court (she has twice, in two separate cases).

So first, I would make sure my therapist was more like the latter. Then I wouldn't (and didn't) keep anything from her. Part of the healing is to discuss things you feel guilty about. My old therapist used to compare therapy to light. You shine light in all the dark places, and become honest about what you see, in order to get better. But really, it's up to you what you tell your therapist.

Thats one reason why i havent told my shrink about anything that could be used to much aganst me in court. Like all the very illegal shit i did in my past. But im pretty sure that in canada they can't say anything like that in court because of doctor patient confidentiality.

I asked that and basically she said she would only be able to go to the cops if i had threatened to harm someone in some way. But im just too paranoid to say any of that stuff plus it's not that releveant to my current problems anyway.

Doesn't it cost like $100 an hour to see a shrink? How come drug addicts can afford to see shrinks?
Seriously... explain.

Luckily in canada psychiatrists are paid for just like GP's for everyone by the government. Only for that i would never be able to see either really. Unfortunatly in the part of canada i live in the waiting list is about 8 months unless you show up at thne ER with your wrists cut. Even then you may not get into see one that easy unless it's the one at the psychiatric hospital if you get sent there for a psych assesement.

 

[Dave]

Depends on which province you're in. In Alberta apparently the only psych treatment that you can get fully paid is in the hospital system, which means that you need to do the whole outpatient thing. If you're strapped, then it's worth it, but if you can afford it the ability to choose your psych is well worth the cost. I just wish that all psych treatments were at least partially covered, but hey, we have to give those oil companies a break, right?

Grumble grumble grumble.

 

[Libby]

GPs for free??
Luuucky, last time I had to go to the doctor it cost me $85 (something like $50 american) just to see some retard for 2 minutes and have them tell me what I already knew so I could get the damn prescription for the treatment which was only $16 ( 8 bucks american). Wish could fill out ones own prescriptions, seriously it wasnt for anything like morphine, think it was penicillin.
When I was using hard out, I never went to a doctor, it's like $85 are you serious? i could get high for that, lol.

I also wish I had a rich father who cared if I committed suicide, but whatever, lol.

 

[paranoid android]

I thought psychiatric treatment as in psychiatrists who have MD's not psycologists who can't prescribe drugs where covered all over canada. Wouldnt surprise me if it is different in alberta since those poor oil companies need as many breaks as they can get after all .

In my province we are lucky in the fact that psychiatrists are fully covered, so are GP's and the vast majority of specialits as well as most medications. Guess we have to be lucky with something 8). If your on social serviices here you get all your meds fully covered unless they are special authorization meds (for some reason i tend to need a fair bit of these ) then you have to submit your claim to the government on why you need the medication and why the shittier ones that are covered for everyone arent good enough for you.

They are really picky on some of these especially drugs like zyprexa and maybe some of the newer more expensive atypicals. i have only once gotten a special authorization drug request covered on the first try. That was for wellbutrin. Imagine wellbutrin (every form of it) being special authorization when it went generic god knows how long ago and almost every other newer anti-depressant is fully fucking covered.

$85 Libby holy shit. No way could i afford that since i need to see a GP and shrink regularly. If i lived in a country where doctors and meds wherent covered id have blown my brains out by now either because of neuropathic pain or untreated bipolar disorder. It's hard enough to deal with as is but when i wasent getting treated i cant count how many times i came close to offing myself.

 

[Dave]

I don't know about psychiatrists, I'd guess that they would be treated like any other specialist MD. Meaning (I think) that they're covered.

Here I am complaining about having paid to see a private psychologist, and in other countries you have to pay $85 just to get a prescription refill. Fuck. That. Noise. Medical care is a right, not a privilege.

 

[junctionalfunkie]

absent_minded, nice to hear from you, even under the circumstances. Sorry about your relapse. Seattle in the wintertime just about killed me last year.

My phone number is the same, but I'll PM it to you just in case

Be strong, brother. We can both do this.

Dave, how's it going? Another reason I'm hesistant to confess this is I fell it might indicate that my EMDR didn't work.

 

[Dave]

It's going. Currently benzo'd and tipsy, but that's more from the day than anything else. Still, not indicative of someone who is healthy. I've been finding that traces of my issues are still around, and pop up. At this point, I've been isolated so long I have real issues making new connections with people, and that's unfortunately something that EMDR can't fix. Not to mention the usual real life issues that I wasn't really noticing before since my issues were in the foreground.

How many sessions did you do? There are many paths one can explore in the... I dunno, EMDR state. I found that I actually hit a wall at one point. My psych offered to try to help me get past it, but I was doing so well without it that I didn't think it necessary. I still wonder if that was a good decision. Maybe you need to try another path?

I dunno though. Ask me again when I'm sober.

 

[ocean]

I don't see anyone now but over the summer I saw a therapist.....I had only been once when I was younger but this past summer I tried again. Overall it was a good experience and yes- I told her everything.
Everything I could get out in my hour haha

I feel like-whats the point in going if you aren't going to be honest. For me-the point of therapy is to get better-to help you deal with your problems....how are you going to do that if you aren't telling the truth?

Unfortunately my therapist didn't really help me find a way to deal with my problems- She kind of just added them on for me....but she did make me realize that I have control. Though everything in life seemed very much out of my hands- There were aspects I could take control of. (myself)....I had to figure it out on my own I guess.

 

[junctionalfunkie]

Dave, I guess I did about 8 sessions. We got my negative model down to a zero, and the insights between sessions were incredible. We used the audio/palm vibrator, and LED machine.
I've never been so impressed with something that at first appeared so fruitcakey. I feel brand-new and extremely optimistic. Before she went on 3 weeks vacation, she taught me some CBT techniques I think it was you who recommended.

I'll shoot you a PM with details.

 

[mrs_mia_wallace]

Doesn't it cost like $100 an hour to see a shrink? How come drug addicts can afford to see shrinks?
Seriously... explain.

It depends on the shrink. If you're using insurance, it's the same as seeing doctor... like a $10/20 co-pay.

If you see them without insurance, most shrinks I've known charge $150+ an hour.

My psycholgist charges $220 an hour but he mostly works in treatment center and only sees patients on the outside for consultations and some short periods of time if someone has trouble finding help after they're discharged (I'm his only long-standing patient).

My parents paid for him in the beginning because they loved him (they would call him up every time something bad happened and just ask waht they should do instead of having to think about it themselves.). But when my dad noticed I really liked him/enjoyed talking to him he started using him as leverage to get me to do what he wanted ("if you don't eat that whole plate of potatoes, I'll send you to a different therapist...") so my psych stopped charging me once it began to interfer with treating me.

Now there's no way I could afford him on my own (see him a minimum of 10 times a month) but he sees me anyway and often at really inconvenient times (weekends, later in the evening). He is amazing and has stuck through more shit with me than my parents have. I owe my life to him and would not be right now if he hadn't come into my life.

I know a few people who've got psychs that don't charge for whatever reason or have a major sliding-scale (my friend pays her psych $15 a session). The generalization that everyone in the medical/mental health profession just wants to make money is really false, a lot of people in the field just want to help their patients and aren't trying to scam as much money as possible (although admittedly some do, watch out for them ).

 

[drug_wench]

Anyway, Miss Wench, she's a "Licensed Professional Counselor," according to her business card. She has practiced EMDR on me (see my thread about that) and also some CBT.
I don't really care what her official title is. She's helped me infinitely more than any other counselor/therapist/shrink/whatever.

fair enough - i remember reading ur EMDR thread
EMDR fascinates me
gd luck on telling her wat happened - i admire u for doing so and it sounds to me like shell respect u for doing so

i know title doesnt really matter and i dont want to seem anal about who ppl r seeing or anything i just think it helps to go to the right professional for u - and if u dont know wat ur professional specialises in then it seems a little pointless to b putting out money on them!
some ppl in this thread speak about their 'therapists' like they might b more likely to b counsellors but again i might b wrong

 

[mrs_mia_wallace]

fair enough - i remember reading ur EMDR thread
EMDR fascinates me
gd luck on telling her wat happened - i admire u for doing so and it sounds to me like shell respect u for doing so

i know title doesnt really matter and i dont want to seem anal about who ppl r seeing or anything i just think it helps to go to the right professional for u - and if u dont know wat ur professional specialises in then it seems a little pointless to b putting out money on them!
some ppl in this thread speak about their 'therapists' like they might b more likely to b counsellors but again i might b wrong

Hmm. I see your point, although I don't think that someone neccesarily needs to speciailzie in one area to be able to treat people that struggle with that condition effectively since so much overlaps.... for example, my psycholgist specializes in eating disorders but he has been really helpful/effective in treating my drug addictions (not just with stimulants but also heroin). I certainly wouldn't rule anyone out because they don't specialize in a certain area.

As for the counselor comment, I'm not sure what/who you're referring to... mine is a clinical psychologist (PhD)...

 

[drug_wench]

no, mia - i more meant therapists/psychologists (even better) vs counsellors
therapists/psychologists practise various forms of therapy like the ones discussed (EMDR/CBT/psychotherapy/other forms of therapy) while counsellors just listen and give advice much like we do on TDS (only theyre qualified to do so)

i wudnt rule anyone out cos they dont specialise in a certain area either, just pointing out the difference
i never said urs sounded like a counsellor - to b dealing with eating disorders, u wud hav to b a psychologist
likewise my psychotherapist seems to practise in CBT as well and has bn great with my addiction although i prefer my drug counsellor for this as shes bn thru addiction herself

 

[junctionalfunkie]

fair enough - i remember reading ur EMDR thread
EMDR fascinates me

Yes, I would look into it. I am the most skeptical person in the world when it comes to that 'weird stuff,' which is the same way I felt about acupuncture, and that is another thing that basically solved a significant number of physical and emotional problems in a matter of weeks when i discovered it 3 years ago.

gd luck on telling her wat happened - i admire u for doing so and it sounds to me like shell respect u for doing so

Thanks, Have decided I'm definitely going to.

i know title doesnt really matter and i dont want to seem anal about who ppl r seeing or anything i just think it helps to go to the right professional for u - and if u dont know wat ur professional specialises in then it seems a little pointless to b putting out money on them!
some ppl in this thread speak about their 'therapists' like they might b more likely to b counsellors but again i might b wrong

I could be completely wrong about this, but I always assumed the two terms were more-or-less interchangeable. Perhaps it's different where you live, but i always assumed that psychiatrists are obviously the highest echelon of mental-health professionals, the only ones who can legitimately be called "Doctor" (aside from Ph.D's, I think), and the only ones who can prescribe meds. Psychologists reqire a master's degree at least and are second-bananas to the headshrinkers, and therapists and counselors have varying qualifying requirements depending on their specialty. Here in Texas, for example, I believe an LCDC (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor) needs only a four-year degree and possibly less.

Anyway, I've seen all four types over the past 20 years, and I just call them all "shrinks." It's kind of an endearment.

And just for the record, I did know my counselor's specialties before I even met, and later chose, her. I found her on Psychology Today's website, saw that her specialties included depression, addiction, and relationships, as well as being qualified in EMDR, which i was curious about at the time (and thankfully fucking so!).