When people talk about "therapy" here, they most likely are thinking of bog-standard talk therapy, where you just go in and kinda, well, talk to someone about your life, problems, etc.

For some people, it's enough to just get things off their chest, talk about things out loud with someone and helps them deal with their issues. I personally see such a therapist monthly and find it beneficial to my mental health.

For others, especially those with more intense troubles and traumas, it may not be, and would probably be served better by someone more specialized with said traumas.

Like any medical profession, the quality of individual therapists and mental health experts can vary widely, from chuds to libs to comrades and everything in-between. there's a solid chance you may not get the perfect fit on try 1, I didn't.

I just feel like some people are dipping their toes into Scientology-ish "all therapy is bad, never seek professional help for your problems" stuff, which I think is disastrous advice.

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[–] imogen_underscore@hexbear.net 7 points 2 months ago

i've posted about this before but here goes. i largely agree and sympathise with people who say talk therapy is bs. imo it's at best akin to writing in a journal with some accountability. at worst it's capitalist realist conditioning. however, there is a HUGE difference between talk therapy with some dude with a bachelor's degree and going to see an actual brain doctor, a psychologist, or cutting-edge structured therapy like DBT. i'm autistic and suffer from chronic MDD and i used to meet the BPD criteria too. i was basically completely disillusioned with "therapy" writ large, until i checked into the psych ward where luckily i was able to have sessions with a real psych and then get enrolled in a DBT program through which those sessions would continue along with group therapy. i consider the DBT program the most successful mental health intervention i have ever undergone. i still suffer greatly, but i am largely a lot more stable and able to exert much more control over the harmful coping mechanisms and self-destructive urges that overwhelmed me in the past. i would recommend it to anyone suffering from any kind of long term mental health issues or disorders, especially those related to emotional regulation.

the tragedy is that "therapy" for most people, insofar as it's what they can afford or have access to, is the former talk-therapy example which can range from useless to harmful for folks like me. i wish stuff like DBT was available to more people. still i think it's important to draw the distinction.