Hi
I've been told by various disparate people over the years I'd benefit from therapy.
I was just wondering, if you've had therapy
Please don't feel you have to answer everything, or indeed anything at all, if you want to word a brief response in your own way that would of course be just as welcome.
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Did it basically work. I guess, is your life, or approach to life, better than before
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Are you glad you did it
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What type broadly speaking - was it CBT focussed, or psychodynamic, or dialectic, and so on
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How often does one see the therapist (weekly, fortnightly, monthly, more than weekly) and does this reduce over time
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What's the minimum frequency you ought to see them to see a benefit (thinking about this from a financial perspective)
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If you have to stop part way through (e.g. can't afford it) could you possibly be in a worse position than when you started
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How many sessions, or months (or years) did it take before you saw benefit.
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How long/how many sessions did it take before you felt you'd derived maximum benefit and it was time to stop (or do you think it would have taken, if you were forced to stop for financial or other reasons).
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After that, did you stop and feel that was that, or is continuing to see the therapist an essential part of maintaining your 'improved' (for want of a better word) self. Or were you, for want of a better word, 'cured' of the things/thoughts/behaviours that were troubling you.
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Was there an initial uncomfortable period that got better, i.e. is it supposed to be great from the off or is there an inevitable hump of discomfort to get over. Is this indicative of the extent and type of your problems, or is this indicative that the therapist you're seeing isn't a good fit.
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Approx how much does it cost per session
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How did you find/locate your therapist.
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Did/do you feel uncomfortable with someone else knowing all your problems, almost that it gave them too much power over you, if so did this worry dissipate. Or do you feel this, but is it worth it in the long run for the overall benefits of therapy.
14) If you hadn't had the therapy, where do you think you'd be now/what would you be doing (very broadly speaking, like, I'd still have poor boundaries, or I'd still be in that job I didn't like, and so on).
15) Are there any tangible ways your life has changed for the better (I guess another way of phrasing the question above), say, I wasn't afraid to try x, or some such thing. Or is it more of an intangible thing, like, how I feel in myself. Or, both.
- Did you have a bad experience in therapy, if so what broadly speaking do you think was wrong and could/should have been different.
17) Do you regret going into therapy and wish you hadn't done it. If so why. If so, are there any tangible ways your life/approach has changed for the worse.
- Have you not had therapy as you feel you wouldn't benefit. If so why.
19) On reflection, do you wish you had had it sooner, or would it not have benefitted you before the time came for you to seek it.
20) On reflection, in terms of money well spent in your life, how does it rank (best money I ever spent, or ok value for money, or not really worth it).
20a) How many therapist frogs did you go though before you found your therapist prince/princess, and was it worth it.
20b) Is the higher price/age of the therapist a reflection of how good they are (I guess reflecting on greater experience) or is it actually unrelated.
20c) Was your therapist male or female, and did that have any impact (not sure what impact if any I mean but just putting it out there)
Thanks for your help, and for getting to the end of my what has turned out to be literal '20 questions'!! (For that express reason I have renamed questions 21-23) 