psychologists/psychiatrists experiences

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I'm quite curious about everyone here's experience with therapists, whether it was helpful or not, positive or negative, ambiguous, or whatever anyone has to say in relation to said topic. I'm looking for anyone's experience from their point of view, how it effected them directly, indirectly, extra extra... I'm thinking about the entire picture of how being in therapy influenced the rest of whomever's life, not only the actual sessions themselves, but all the ramifications of them, such as what one had to do to muster insurance or money for payment and all the way up to all the people they had to speak to in order to accomplish it. for instance, after I see my therapist, I have to talk to the old accountant lady. if this thread flowers, i'll probably post my own...
but anyhow, much thanks for any consideration!

Well, fortunately, the costs were always covered for me. As to the experience, not one of the times I've needed therapy has anyone mentioned Asperger's syndrome. I found this without them. So I don't know that it's relevant. The first counseling I had at age 10 involved people who didn't know how to deal with me, who assumed my problems were due to parental neglect (which was a fact but not severe enough to explain all), and who either thought I was sexually conflicted because I was wearing jeans (just like every other 6th grader) or who tried to earn my trust by giving me treats. They failed. Go figure. Later I had biofeedback therapy because of circulatory trouble I was having from being so tense all the time. My physical therapists taught me to do the relaxation routine wrong and made no effort to correct me. The talk therapist called me intolerant and took notes more than offer suggestions. When I developed anxiety attacks a few years later during pregnancy, a kindly therapist did his best to help me learn to let things go that I was obsessing over (little irritations, traffic frustrations, things that really are good to let go) and repeatedly suggested the book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (And It's All Small Stuff)" to help with that. Well, he wasn't wrong and he wasn't entirely right either... The key was to keep a pregnant lady off medication and the fact that I wanted this badly as well must have told them that I still had the right priorities. I told him about my stims, however, and he chalked them down to my nervous need to get things in order (I have a lot of stims connected with making things feel even in my body, how my eyes feel, how my arms are resting, etc. I had brought up the possibility of OCD). But I have a lot of other stims, a LOT. So I haven't bothered with therapists since then.

I was fortunate in that my first psychiatrists was also autistic so that really smoothed the rails for me considering that I was diagnosed as an adult.

I've talked with several psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and therapists. All but two of them were idiots. Those two were actually pretty good but many of these professionals are so ignorant, they couldn't find their way out of a paper bag. Seriously they need more help than their clients.

You need to be very careful about selecting a competent therapist. Interview them first. They have the power to help you as well as the power to totally ruin your life. I'm convinced the ones that will attempt to ruin your life are definitely in the majority.

In general I'd have to say that every experience I've had with psychologists has been negative. They've ranged from 'no idea' to downright insulting. The NHS psychologist that I've had to deal with on several occasions has been a never ending stream of hilarity making such 'great' statements as:

"Well in the olden days it was easy to spot an autistic person - they were the one in the corner crying and sucking their thumb" - Progressive thinking at its best

"Asperger Syndrome is kind of a 'rubbish bin' term" - Great, why not say 'umbrellla term' if you insist on thinking this way

and the classic "You have to learn to stop getting upset" - Do you think I don't know this? How might be useful

Thankfully I've also had some dealings with the private sector and while it might just have been sheer luck, one woman in particular has been fantastic. Very helpful, very supportive and very friendly. Then again, she's an Aspie too.

Not too bad.

I only sought out Dx/Verification within the last year, so I was quite selective in locating someone who knew what they were doing.

I wanted a Yes/No answer and documentation. Nothing else. No "therapy", no nothing.

It took a while but I found one. Worked out OK.

my experience with psychologists and psychiatrists is that they equivocate with a list of symptoms that are BS and that it is a means to an end, money. it's f****d up. there's patronizing and then there's being patronized, which is to say deceived and swindled, and these are competent people. it's a perversion in how they will "go through the motions" with you, when actually it's their job to explain the motions to you. There were countless times when an opportunity is at hand to do so and they simply chock it up to an insufficiency in the patient, a vague blanket such as "you know, it's all relative".

but here i'm wondering if anyone out there can answer about how to "find your way out of a paper bag", but in a way that is actually informative, rather than a way you may see a reflection on an unfortunate occasion of you looking back at and through your transparent self.

this is a challenging question... for example, another way to put it is.. MrMisanthrope could rise to the challenge and explain why everything worked out OK... and (...of course?) how he can take any confidence in said yes or no response.

this is not something that will tolerate reasons and proofs that are only aggrandized, and it is not something that pontificates.

I have only the one experience - after 50 years. So far, I'm quite happy.

My psychologist is only interested in helping me with what I consider to be problems. He wants to help me find solutions to those problems in the context of AS - so the solutions are not going to be the same as if an NT were seeking help. He doesn't want to mess with aspects of my AS that don't bother me.

I guess time will tell, whether his help will be effective - but I'm feeling encouraged & hopeful.

o snap. If any Londoners are reading this can you reply to my thread please?

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt92806.html

apologies to the thread starter

Therapist are a waste of your time. They don't have to have a degree in any particular area or a degree at all. Most therapists are very arrogant and ignorant. They seem to have very little knowledge and tell you useless things. They pretty much tell you stuff that is commonsense and expect you to pay them for that.

The one I'm seeing now is kind of a douche, or seemed to be from the first meeting, but we'll see if he's any better in subsequent sessions. I told him I was getting my life together by going back to school to go into the radiography field, and he smirked and said, "Waste of time. All those jobs get outsourced to India now. Just be a nurse." Wow, he's so knowledgeable about my chosen field, which has nothing to do with his field! I guess when you get a PhD, that means you can judge other people's chosen professions, or just call them lame!

Radiology... isn't that taking x-rays? How do you outsource taking x-rays?

LOL, seriously. I think he was thinking along the lines of the work being processed overseas via computer/satlink, or some such thing...which isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility, I suppose, but I'm also interested in MRIs and how to get certification for other common procedures, too.

Well, I am undiagnosed currently. I will say that I haven't been to a whole lot of "therapist" in my life. I saw a psychiatrist three or four times. The guy was really nice and a great listener, but I didn't really feel like I got any "help" from him. He just agreed that I was probably suffering from depression and anxiety and prescribed some medication and sent me back to the family doctor. I don't really fault him... I didn't really get into any stuff that could be considered to be asperger's related. I have seen the random counselor here and there and have been instructed to exercise or meditate to relieve anxiety.... not a bad idea, really.

Long story short... my experiences have been pleasant and reasonably helpful. The problem for me has been that I have always felt that there had to be more going on. Mostly because I have never really been able to get good relief for my anxiety and because my "symptoms" don't totally fit the description. There's probably a lot more, but that is enough to explain why I have felt like the diagnosis and the "help" have been only reasonable.

Presently, I am seeing a therapist that I started to see for depression and anxiety. I see her about every two weeks. She is really great in the sense that she has been very keen to listen to me praddle on about how I don't know if depression an anxiety are my only issues. I, too, have discovered the Asperger's "connection" and am trying to get someone to evaluate me. This thereapist is actually proceeding as if I actually "have" AS because she says that even if I don't have it, I am clearly identifying with it and that I have many of the characteristics. She has a "whatever seems to work for you" sort of attitude and I really like it. She has even helped me figure out how to get a referal for an assesment and she has been trying to learn some stuff about AS. Maybe I am super lucky.... I don't know. It is the best therapy experience I have really had. I don't feel any better, but I feel like I am getting some place. Does that make sense?

I have had a lot of experience going back to when I was around 9 or 10. Some experiences have been enjoyable especially when I was a kid as it was the only time I had a chance to talk with another person who I felt could communicate with me at me own level. As I got older the experiences seemed to go downhill except for the few encounters where I met a therapist who was weirder than I was and then it was interesting. At some of the clinics and institutions they try to do physical stuff with you and sometimes that's good and sometimes it's bad and sometimes it's funny as they typically think people like us are stupid and helpless. As you get older the bell curve of professional conpetence becomes more clear and you begin to understand that many of those 'experts' aren't very good at much of anything and some are excellent so it depends on how your luck runs and who you end up meeting over your lifetime.

lots of experiences.
the current one is fantastic because he is a psychologist who is an AS specialist.

instead of telling me i need to overcome "emotional trauma" and take risks in areas of life involving vast numbers of social people, he is validating my need to retreat and simply paint and focus on happiness. i have never heard that before.

He suggests I try to carry a notebook and write things down because of my executive functioning issues and short term memory problems.
I have never heard that before.

he suggests sunglasses inside (and we had a laugh as it means i can avoid eye contact with them on - hehehe- ) and he suggests an IPOD and music to block out too much sound that overwhelms. He also suggests ear plugs for the same reason.
i have never heard that before.

He suggests diaphragmatic breathing and it is already reducing my anxiety and my stims.


Years of therapy, thousands of dollars with other therapists.

And finally a good, regular AS specialist who is offering practical and straightforward solutions to problems that have caused havoc my whole life.

All the other therapists tried to turn me into a nice little 'social" NT package with ssri's and trauma therapy. and all that happened with them was that i felt lousier and more fake the longer i went to their sessions.