lol
Hey, yes I'm aware of that Kavinsky - willing and able to do the work with the right kind of support. An example of a bad experience is sitting in a waiting room for 3 hours to end up talking to a psychiatrist who immediately tries to change your medication without having a respectful dialogue about your medical history. Another bad experience would be your family encouraging you as a teenager to go see their friend who is a therapist, who already thinks they know everything about you and you can't accomplish anything because an ethical line has clearly been breached and there's no actual confidentiality afterall.
Thanks cwmbrancity - I'm glad you pointed me back to CBT. Some of my friends have had success with it, and yes it does relate to my diagnosis. I appreciate the link, too.
no psychiatrists in the us?
Obviously you didn't read my post.
You should ask people around you where you live. It's a people thing. There's no process besides talking to people. Or asking psychologists for their advice (read: ask them about finding a suitable therapist, instead of managing your depression). In any case, your best off asking people in the area you live.
Apart from this, I can't help you, I'm afraid. I do have experience with mental workers though. And not all of them good. So I can relate to the importance of your question. I was between 13-16 at the time, so basically dependent on what others decided for me. At that age I certainly didn't have any idea what a right fit would be. Or even the importance of it. So all I can tell you, is that it can realy help if you at least have an idea about what that right fitting therapist would look like.
It's nice to have a bit of validation re: bad experiences - thanks for that, goDel. I've asked for a referral a few times now, and either the therapist I was referred to wasn't taking new patients or the referring psychologist/psychiatrist was too busy to give me much help. BUT, you are right - talking to others in the area about this is important. It's just like asking your friends about any other doctor they go to... assuming you have friends who don't stigmatize mental illness. Happily, I have good friends.
my perspective is that it may well depend on your level of insight - i find many are geared towards dealing with people currently in the grips of something distressing which is causing prolonged periods of depression, and they provide relief from that distress. for me, although anxious and depressed (at quite low levels, but chronic enough to be complicating) i understand and have continued to do stuff because my depression started at a time where i couldn't avoid activities preventing me from finding space to consider everything. i personally find someone who will have a conversation much more preferable, as they'll clarify my ideas or provide new ones that add to my ability to know what i am managing and how i might go about it. the lack of dialogue from most, i find only frustrating.
totally with you there, logboy. I hate feeling like I am in the driver's seat the whole time - dialogue is important to me. Feeling like I'm under observation has always felt creepy to me. The lack of dialogue can also happen when a therapist is unfamiliar with alternative lifestyles - they're so blown away by how different you are from them it takes them awhile to understand where you're coming from. Anyway, thanks for sharing.