What are the good, the bad and the very ugly sides of going to a therapist? - I mean ANY kind of therapy, for body or mind...

[MrsThierryHenry]

...I have an interview coming up at a therapy centre and I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a bit of info.

I need to get an idea of what works for clients when they go to see a therapist, whether it be for issues of the mind, complementary therapy, physiotherapy, osteopathy - the lot! NHS included. I have just three questions:

1. If you've had good experiences, what stands out for you? Ditto for bad experiences.

2. What would put you off going to see a particular therapist/ therapy centre?

3. What would encourage you to try a particular therapist/ therapy centre?

Thanks so much for your help!

What probably works best for clients when they go to psychotherapy and other talking therapies is a commitment to work at the process rather than an assumption that it will 'cure' them without any hard work.

I guess that is transferable to physiotherapy too.

It would put me off going to a 'hippy dippy' therapy centre. I also think if a centre offers lots of different therapies it wouldn't appear as 'specialised' or professional.

Personal recommendation would encourage me to try a particular therapy/centre.

I agree, the personal recommendation thing is gold dust, isn't it? I found all my DS's childcare providers that way and it's worked brilliantly for us.

Interesting that you'd find a polyclinic (is that the right term?) off-putting.

thank you! xx

IME of psychological help

1)counsellor (NHS)- bad. way beyond his competence, his advice did more harm than good - .and irritatingly keen to flog private sessions with him.

2)psychologist (private on top of NHS post) - very very good. have recommended him to others. very very much on top of his subject area. and compassionate, yet down to earth.

I would want to know about professional qualifications/membership of professional bodies, and would feel more reassured by someone having an NHS "day job" as well.

oh for private work - transparency as to cost and likely length of treatment v. important.

i'm a physio, anything you want to know from my perspective?

Blimey, big brief
Reasonably minimal experience, but dd has had physio (NHS) & Bowen therapy (reasonably hippy dippy, imho ) & oesteopathy. All very kid focused.

Good experiences: therapists who were set up for children - esp as I had a toddler & baby with me! lots of toys; therapists who listened to me AND (preverbal) dd; feeling unrushed.

When I was choosing (esp for Bowen/private physio) I did a lot of talking to therapists, & was looking for: people with relavant experience, who could talk confidently about the specific issue, people who sounded interested in dd/generally nice > 'selling'; websites that looked professional/gave me a sense of expertise (eg lots of qualifications, even if i didn't know what they meant...). I also liked people who could explain the therapies quickly & clearly.

No problem!

I guess it depends on what types of therapies are offered. There are some that would complement each other ie complementary therapies. I'd have concerns around how the therapies are managed and if appropriate legal requirements were being met - ie how can you ensure that all therapists are registered with the appropriate bodies and are meeting all new and changing requirements.

Re therapy -have seen pyschotherapist

1. agree with missisboot with psychotherapy -its a commitment and also an understanding that it may seem bad at times and there will be an element of trnaferance.

1. pushign too hard to see you again -have had this with my therapist (when I wanted to drop sessions cos I Was about to have a baby and didnt want to traipse into london for 3 times a week)

1. personal recommendation/referal by trusted doctor is why

re bad experiences on alternative therapy -you need to feel that they are listening to you , you have therapy explained (eg how long take, side effects etc) -this has worked fantastically with my acupuncturist. Not so well with completely shit cranio osteopath who implied my womb was wrong (I went to see her after 2 miscarriages - very fucking tactful). as a result would never do this again and was completely scornful of suggestion that I'd want to take my dd to see one post birth (as she might have been traumatised by ventouse delivery..)

It's important to me that they have qualifications and association memberships up the wazoo. Not that this stopped a number of psychologists I saw from being utter, utter, utter gits.

Eventually I found a psychologist who was utterly lovely and sorted me right out. The thing is, people don't realise how many different approaches there are out there and how that is complicated by personality - you really do have to have the confidence to keep searching for one who suits you. I'd probably not be inclined to go to a centre precisely because, if I didn't like the first therapist (or two, or three) I'd be more embarrassed to try and change to a colleague than if they are working independently iyswim.

Went to an osteopath once. Alarmed by his habit of drinking two full cans of RedBull during a half-hour session and his complete ignorance as to what was the difference between him and a physio .

Have had LOTS of physio over the years. Found them astonishingly competent (bar one) but not always aware of how much pain they were inflicting.

um, that's all I think

Yikes, PHDlife, am by your osteo story. I've been to two osteos over the years, both have been amazingly brilliant, ultra-professional and sorted me out very quickly. Have also been to brilliant phsyios, just as you have (though I'm sorry you've needed so much physio care - hope your body's working better now).

I want to thank you all for posting (within the endless remits of this big brief !). It's given me much food for thought and I'm also really sorry to hear about all of your bad experiences. Poppy34, what on earth is a 'wrong womb'? Sounds like a nutter to me.

Hopefully I'll shine all the more at my interview for having sought your opinions!

Dragonbutter! Howdy! I'd love to know, actually, what makes the difference between someone who benefits from therapy and someone who doesn't. Are there qualities inherent in your patients which you observe from the get-go?