Posted by Dinah on April 21, 2010, at 11:20:18
In reply to caught up over issue of diagnosis, posted by deerock on April 21, 2010, at 10:01:39
I like your old therapist's point of view better. At least your new one doesn't put the actual label on you, and does see you as an individual.
It's a fine line to walk to acknowledge that you have issues or challenges, and still be accepting. Does this therapist seem accepting of you as you are, while maybe still wishing to see you feel better by learning to react differently? Acceptance makes all the difference to me.
I don't know whether the fact that she hasn't experienced the same things you have means anything really negative. My therapist and I are completely different personality types. I'm always surprised when he shares that he does feel the same things I feel. I have way too responsive a nervous system and he's wonderfully phlegmatic. So he can help me learn to regulate my responses in a way that a less phlegmatic therapist might not be able to do. Like when my young puppy from a skittish breed came to live with us and our older dog from a very calm and sensible breed. She'd get anxious about things, and glance over to the older dog, see her calm response, and calm down herself. It helped her grow into a sensible and unskittish representative of her breed. Even though she naturally has a more finely tuned nervous system than her foster mother. It can be good to have a very different therapist, as long as they are calm and accepting about those differences.
In my opinion.
poster:Dinah
thread:944317
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20100405/msgs/944335.html