Once I said to my therapist "I'm sure you hear this kind of thing all the time", and she said "No, this is like top 5".
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Unfortunately, the ethical implications of this would be troubling. Refunds would have the effect of reinforcing whatever the patient did that session. If doing or making up wild stuff is what gets you a free session, some people are going to realize that. If other patients catch wind of one person getting a refund, they may end up doing and saying wilder things, too. Patients' best interests would take a backseat to the entertainment of the therapist, and that's pretty messed up if you think about it.
Yeah, ethical therapy person gotta ruin the fun. Sorry guys. But there is potential in a refund model. It could go far if it's used to reward positive things, like putting the most effort into working out an issue, or making the most personal growth over a period of time.
And double pay for lazy depressed people!
/sj
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Therapist here. I’ve had clients say this “I’m sure you hear this all the time” line to me before. It’s always a little surprising to me, because while, yes, we do hear a lot of the same type of traumatic stories, we’re trained to regard every single patient as unique. And that’s because they are. No one’s story is like any other’s. There may be similar elements, but they’re ultimately all very different due to the details. Just as you regard everyone you know as highly different, we see our patients the same way.
Don’t ever be afraid that your therapist sees you as “just another X-type person.” And if you get the sense they do, get a different therapist.
Honestly the only time I’ve said this it was a relief to know that the answer was yes, because while it sucks others are hurting it made me feel far less alone and obscure.
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Like she could have you bend over and she'd put a paper on your back and write on it?
Must be in therapy for self esteem problems.
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When I used to smoke, I started bumping into this therapist in D.C. outside my building on a busy street downtown. She had actively tried to get on some Bachelor-esque reality show (it may have actually been The Bachelor). Eventually, she told me about the time she pissed in a boss's coffee mug. Or my favorite: the time she did blood magic to prevent rain from ruining her and her friends' beach weekend. She eventually said she needed to stop meeting me for smoke breaks, because she was dating someone, and if we kept it up, "she would take what she wanted." Therapists, man. Definitely very stable.
...and that is how I quit smoking.
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...and that is how I quit smoking.
That's probably the healthy mindset that leads to better relationships. If I'm being honest, I lean a bit more toward, "...good times, I should take up smoking again..."
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Honestly the only time I’ve said this it was a relief to know that the answer was yes, because while it sucks others are hurting it made me feel far less alone and obscure.
The suffering of others is very comforting.
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Sorry, I didn't mean to strike a nerve. Also sorry to hear you and your spouse have some difficulties with mental and physical challenges in today's world. I hope you can find some understanding people to cooperate with.
Intent deducing should also go both ways, I did interpret your posts in a somewhat light-hearted manner in line with the comm vibe, but it also just doesn''t sit right with me using real disorders people have as an insult. I replied in it in the same format as you did but you seemed took offense when I did it even though you used the same format in your comment.
Anyway, I wish you good luck in your journey and thanks for reading.
As I said, it was not an insult - that you choose to interpret it that way is on you.
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As I said, it was not an insult - that you choose to interpret it that way is on you.
I really don't understand why people find it acceptable to make a joke where the punchline is accusing someone of having a mental illness.
To me there is very little difference between that and putting someone down.
Why is it funny to accuse someone with making a minor correction of having OCD?
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I was describing my insane in-laws for the record.
I, personally, would ruin this method. I usually end up massaging my therapists and there really isn't a slot to explain that on the insurance forms.
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I, personally, would ruin this method. I usually end up massaging my therapists and there really isn't a slot to explain that on the insurance forms.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Is it odd that a patient exists to assuage therapists?
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I really don't understand why people find it acceptable to make a joke where the punchline is accusing someone of having a mental illness.
To me there is very little difference between that and putting someone down.
Why is it funny to accuse someone with making a minor correction of having OCD?
wrote last edited by [email protected]-
BECAUSE it was a "minor correction" made in a context where most would not consider it important or even germane as it was a casual conversation, not a classroom or office setting.
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Again, you chose the harshest possible interpretation with "accuse" - as if I were attacking, berating, or belittling them. I didn't say anything aggressive like "Who cares? Take your OCD issues & stuff it where the sun don't shine!" (I'm sure worse could be said, too - I'm just not thinking in such a manner.)
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I (and many others, it seems to me) find it better to be accepting and honest of one's own faults - more trust and respect is earned from others that way, as well as gaining a level of self-confidence from facing your demons. If the person who I was addressing actually has an issue with OCD (or any other mental divergence from "the norm"), then acknowledging and accepting that fact is commonly understood to be the first step towards taking control of it. If they don't have such an issue (or think they don't), then being made aware of how their actions come off to others isn't a bad thing, either.
Either way, accepting the facts of how others perceive you, and being able to laugh about how absurd or silly those interpretations can sometimes can be shows that you don't take yourself or others too seriously, and that you know who you are and are comfortable with it. IMHO, this is a level of maturity everyone should try to reach as soon as they can because once you have that larger perspective on the world, the easier it becomes to work with it.
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I really don't understand why people find it acceptable to make a joke where the punchline is accusing someone of having a mental illness.
To me there is very little difference between that and putting someone down.
Why is it funny to accuse someone with making a minor correction of having OCD?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Oh, and maybe you should consider not thinking of the term "OCD" as an insult. Maybe that's where our difference in perspectives lie: I simply don't consider it an insult, but what it actually is: a mental condition (or perhaps it's more accurate to say it's a symptom that's indicative of one). People are okay talking about depression, ADHD, etc. - why not the same for OCD?
It's a factual condition, not an insult - unless someone decides to make it one, which unfortunately happens all the time. Some people use the word "Jew" as a slur - does that then make all utterances of the word a slur? No, that's absurd. Intent matters, and the same applies with any other words/terms like OCD.
I suggest listening to and/or watching some early George Carlin routines like Class Clown. Much of his comedy was based upon how words are used and interpreted.
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Oh, and maybe you should consider not thinking of the term "OCD" as an insult. Maybe that's where our difference in perspectives lie: I simply don't consider it an insult, but what it actually is: a mental condition (or perhaps it's more accurate to say it's a symptom that's indicative of one). People are okay talking about depression, ADHD, etc. - why not the same for OCD?
It's a factual condition, not an insult - unless someone decides to make it one, which unfortunately happens all the time. Some people use the word "Jew" as a slur - does that then make all utterances of the word a slur? No, that's absurd. Intent matters, and the same applies with any other words/terms like OCD.
I suggest listening to and/or watching some early George Carlin routines like Class Clown. Much of his comedy was based upon how words are used and interpreted.
I don't think of it as an insult generally, but it reads like an insult in this context to me since you certainly weren't using it a clinical sense and it doesn't land as a joke imo; now you can say that's all on me if you want but communication has 2+ parties involved. Even if it wasn't meant as an insult, it is still ableist language in this context imo and I will call it out even if it makes people uncomfortable.
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I don't think of it as an insult generally, but it reads like an insult in this context to me since you certainly weren't using it a clinical sense and it doesn't land as a joke imo; now you can say that's all on me if you want but communication has 2+ parties involved. Even if it wasn't meant as an insult, it is still ableist language in this context imo and I will call it out even if it makes people uncomfortable.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Well, I'll admit I'm older and perhaps less sensitive to that notion than I should be - particularly as I never heard that term until the past decade or so. There are times when I can definitely see the issue, and then there's times like this that I just don't - or just think the sensitivity towards the topic is being taken too far beyond reasonable expectations. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the point.
