Psychotherapist

[Truetomyself]

Could someone please explain to me what psychotherapy is and how it has helped them? Especially if it has helped with trauma from the past. How does it work and how does it help?
Thank you.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Truetomyself,

Thank you for your post and your question. This is a tough one since no two therapists are ever the same, and no two therapists will ever work the same way.

Just to clarify first, when you say psychotherapy, do you mean psychodynamic psychotherapy?

I'm asking because psychotherapy in general is also known as 'talk therapy' or even 'counselling' and that can include virtually anything, where as psychodynamic is more specific in nature.

Here is a 101 type link which includes some different types of therapies in psychotherapy:

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/psychotherapy

RT

[Dorothy1]

Hello Truetomyself,

that is indeed a really good question

I would say that therapies differ across different types of therapists

Counsellors would be suitable for life stressors, some types of anxiety, stress in general, family relationship issues, etc...

Psychologists are generally specialised, for example in trauma, children therapies, anxiety, etc...

Clinical psychologists deal with more serious issues and are not specialised generally. In that I mean that they can deal with a wide range of problems, from anxiety to personality disorders, etc...

I would suggest to someone experiencing traumas to consult a psychologist or a clinical psychologist (referrals can be obtained via GPs). Again it depends on the nature of the trauma, how it is perceived and how it affects one's functioning.

How does it work? It depends on the therapist. Research shows that "letting it out" seems to be very helpful! Writing in a journal, talking, etc...

I hope it helps

Kind regards

Dot

[Truetomyself]

Thank you both for your help. It has made things a little more clear.
I have tried psychologists but that has not really worked for me.
There are so many therapies that it can get a bit overwhelming at times.
I truly appreciate all of your help.
Thank you.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Truetomyself,

I'm glad that things are feeling a bit clearer now - it certainly can be overwhelming! There are also so many different types of therapies that it can be hard to know what might work for you.

I think the key to remember though is that it's not really about the therapies or the techniques - but about your relationship with your therapist. Do you feel comfortable with them? Can you open up to them? Do they make you feel safe and not judged? In a sense it doesn't matter who you see because what matters the most is how you feel.

The other thing that I think is important is knowing that even though the list of therapies can be overwhelming, it just shows how many different approaches there are.

Just because one therapist doesn't work for you, doesn't mean therapy doesn't work for you.

I wish you the best of luck.

RT

[Dorothy1]

Hi truetomyself,

I agree with RT, you have to find someone who suits you first. You might have had bad (or not so positive) experiences but if you really feel the need to talk to someone, maybe give it another go.

You could have a look at the reviews online and see if you get a good feeling about someone.

All the best

Dot