littlealiengirl:

lunaobsessions:

b4us:

A reminder to all of the mentally ill kids seeking treatment and other people new to the psych system:

If you absolutely hate going to your therapist, you have the wrong therapist

If you feel like your therapist doesn’t understand you, has misdiagnosed you, or is focusing on the wrong things, you have the wrong therapist

If your therapist is too old to understand the things you’re going through, like cyberbullying or LGBT related issues, you have the wrong therapist

If you feel like therapy isn’t working for you, YOU HAVE THE WRONG THERAPIST!

I went through five therapists before finding mine. FIVE. Sometimes it takes a while to find someone who works for you, but you do NOT have to be stuck with a therapist you don’t enjoy seeing or you don’t feel is helping you!

Also even if you like your therapist, if you feel their method is not helping you, talk to them about it! They may be able to find you someone with a different method that can help you more. I’ve had 3 different therapists and none of them were bad or wrong they just each had a different style of therapy and one worked better for me than the others.

I think even people who have been in the psych system for years need to be told this, because a lot of people feel trapped. They feel obligated to stick with the one they have or they feel all therapists are the same. (And of course after years of experience, a lot of people can end up with a lot of therapists that are bad in the same ways.)

And, unfortunately, a lot of people are trapped. Thanks to long wait lists. Thanks to therapists not taking their insurance. Thanks to not having much variety in their area. If this happens, you need to way if the therapy you’re in is hurting more than it’s helping and make a decision based on whether you think no therapy would be better than what you’re dealing with.

I’d also like to point out age rarely has anything to do with how much they understand a topic. The best therapists are willing to listen and learn, and being younger doesn’t mean they understand the shit you’re going through. A cishet 20 something whose never faced cyberbullying isn’t necessarily going to be better on those topics than someone in their 50s, especially if the one in their 50s is more open to listening to what’s going on in your life. And *especially* since lgbt+ middle aged people exist.

My best therapist was middle aged, but he actually listened to the shit I was dealing with and asked me to clarify things he didn’t understand. My case manager is in her 40s and is similar. But I’ve dealt with plenty of mental health professionals closer to my age that dismissed things because they didn’t fit their idea of how things work. Because they’re not poor, because they’re not bi, because they’re not disabled.

So willingness to listen is way more important in how much someone’s going to understand what you’re talking about. If you feel more comfy with a younger therapist than an older one, that’s fine, but don’t automatically assume that an older one is going to not get where you’re coming from and that a younger one is.