My therapist, in the group room, with a candlestick
Recently, my therapist started leading a group that I'm in. Most people who've done any kind of intense treatment (inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, etc), have probably had this experience (myself included) but it's pretty rare that my therapist now either facilitates or...
We can still see you
Sometimes I think that blankets should be banned in group therapy. Now really, how much are you getting out of group if your head is under the blanket?
Elephants and betta fish
I’ve been in an outpatient eating disorders group for awhile now. There’s nothing special about it — it’s just a weekly / bi-weekly group at a treatment center, with women of all ages and ED diagnoses Everyone either has to be in outpatient therapy at the center or have done some kind of intense treatment...
Change in Perspective
In anticipation of the third season of “In Treatment” starting this fall, I’ve been “re-watching” season one. I say “re-watching” because I never finished watching it in the first place. When I first started watching the show, I would watch one patient at a time — week one through week nine. Then I would choose...
Unworthiness traps
As someone who's struggled with an eating disorder for longer than I would like to admit, I've definitely had periods of falling into the "I suck at recovery" trap. It connects directly to the "I am wasting everyone's time and don't deserve help" trap as well as the "I'm actually fine and asking for...
The “I don’t knows”
It has occurred to me lately how often I say "I don't know" in my appointments (possibly even more often than I say "I know" !). My therapist has come to totally disregard the phrase, which for me, has become very versatile:
Type 1: the how-did-you-feel-in-that-situation "I don't know"
My very non-scientific stages of recovery eating
Recently, my friend and I were discussing the pros/cons of her stepping up the level of care in her treatment. Interestingly, “eating in program” was on both the pro and con list. She thinks it’s easier to eat while in program (as opposed to on your own), but that some of the food sucks and...
What do you mean you can’t see the clothes?
The emperor allows himself to be duped because of his own self-delusions. Therapy, she says, deceived her into thinking she was in more in control of what was happening to her than she was and that "through reason, determination and an outlay of cash" she would be able to overcome a lifelong depression."
How quickly do you open up in therapy?
This could have been such a great article, had the question just been tweaked a little bit. (Therapy Watch: Diving In – How quickly should you open up in therapy?) Rather than “How quickly should you open up in therapy?” I think that “How quickly do you open up in therapy?” Or, since the article...
Therapists are like Starbucks Drinks
Choosing a therapist these days can be like ordering a drink from Starbucks: I’ll have a grande CBT lite DBT Gestalt-free psychotherapy with two shots of psychoanalysis and breve IPT. This image came to mind have after dinner with a friend last night. She’s been in therapy for several years, and has decided to switch...
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