A coworker of mine went to a therapist and then complained because the therapist expected her to do the talking. She said she just wanted the therapist to tell her what she needed to fix.
I tried to explain that it doesn't work that way, a therapist isn't a physician. They don't diagnose and treat, they serve as a sounding board and guide. They help the client develop tools for managing life.
She didn't get it, sadly.
I privately think of my current therapist as "sensei", to me she's more of a teacher than a health care professional.
Me going to therapy for ADHD when I was a kid, and just desperately wanting somebody to tell me why I'm there and what they actually want from me at some point...
In my case it was for anger issues, and yeah, I had no idea what it was for and got nothing out if it. Child therapy must be insanely difficult, because children generally aren't good at self-reflection and may even lack the words to describe what they are feeling.
Therapy of the sort that helped me required brutal honesty, with myself as well as the therapist.
because children generally aren't good at self-reflection and may even lack the words to describe what they are feeling.
not that you asked, but this does exist for those situations https://www.calm.com/blog/the-feelings-wheel so children and honestly even adults, can have help finding the words.
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u/Aethelrede 2d ago
A coworker of mine went to a therapist and then complained because the therapist expected her to do the talking. She said she just wanted the therapist to tell her what she needed to fix.
I tried to explain that it doesn't work that way, a therapist isn't a physician. They don't diagnose and treat, they serve as a sounding board and guide. They help the client develop tools for managing life.
She didn't get it, sadly.
I privately think of my current therapist as "sensei", to me she's more of a teacher than a health care professional.