Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Should therapists self-disclose?
Dr. Richard Grossman:
One last thought on this topic (from me). If you have experienced “voicelessness”, finding a good therapist in my experience, is very difficult. When people ask me how to do it, I do not have any easy answers. Training/experience is important, smarts are important, and “kind of human being” is important. For me, the third factor is the most difficult to assess quickly—particularly in an era of supposed neutrality. Professional or friend’s recommendations are not enough—one has to make the assessment oneself. And one has to use every bit of information available. In a sense, one has to be excellent at reading people quickly—but often in therapy relationships, just as in non-therapy relationships, we are drawn to what we know. And what we know is/was damaging. So we have to be careful. If a therapist is willing to self-disclose and trust, IMO, that is a positive measure of the third criterion. But clearly, on its own, self-disclosure is not enough. When auditioning therapists, we have to listen to every word the therapist says, and we have to ask ourselves the same question the therapist asks: “Who is this person.” Every therapist will be different and every therapy will be different. Finding the right match is, in my view, critical.
Richard
mudpuppy:
Glad to hear your wife is doing well Doctor G. No sure thing by any means with lung cancer.
I've never been through therapy myself but have known a few therapists.
I'm sure, or at least hopeful, that this is merely anecdotal, but the few I have known seem to me to have been considerably more in need of intense therapy themselves rather than dispensing it to others.
Are the disturbed inordinately attracted to the field of psychology the same way, just as an example, smart, handsome, rugged dudes are attracted to the timber industry? Heh.
mud
Dr. Richard Grossman:
Hi Mud,
Thanks. Sadly, only 15% of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive 5 years—which is why early detection is so important. If it is caught early (before symptoms appear) approx. 75% survive--my wife was lucky enough to fit into this category. I hope your wife continues to do well…
--- Quote from: mudpuppy on July 13, 2011, 06:29:17 PM ---I've never been through therapy myself but have known a few therapists.
I'm sure, or at least hopeful, that this is merely anecdotal, but the few I have known seem to me to have been considerably more in need of intense therapy themselves rather than dispensing it to others.
Are the disturbed inordinately attracted to the field of psychology the same way, just as an example, smart, handsome, rugged dudes are attracted to the timber industry? Heh.
--- End quote ---
Yup. If I were a smart, handsome, rugged dude, you never would’ve heard from me……...or maybe you would have:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zey8567bcg
Richard
CB123:
Richard,
You made my morning! I woke up and "tuned in" to VESMB with a cup of coffee and found your youtube link.
Oh my goodness. Big smile!
CB
Hopalong:
Uh-oh.
Poor Mrs. Mud.
We don't even know if Mud can carry a tuuuuuuuuuuune...
and now she's going to have to listen to this!
(At least let her help pick out your outfit, okay, Mud?
She does have good taste in lumberjacks, so that bodes well...)
:lol:
Hops
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