The talking service has terrible service!

[Little Retail Rabbit]

Last chance up! I'm quitting!

I had a "session" this morning. It was arranged for 11:00. She didn't call me until 11:30. I was already copping by 11:25, and when I picked up the phone I did say to her that our appointment was for 11 and she said she must have made a mistake in her diary. Well, yes, you fucking did K. Last week was at 11 too and we picked it because it was the same time.

Well, this so-called session was then finished in another 5 minutes. I had tried the "thought diary" technique she had suggested and found it rather unhelpful. It had just made me too upset and focused on the cause of my upset so I ended up in tears and throwing things (something I don't generally do!). I hadn't really been given much instruction in how to use it anyway, so maybe if I had been coaxed through it step by step and so on, it might have worked. Well, all she said was "oh...well I don't know what else we can do then!"

Are you fucking kidding me? I try ONE technique and you're all outta aces? Are you reading from a fucking prompt sheet? Or better question, are you even fucking qualified. I doubt it because everytime I've spoken to you, you've said you're going to ask your supervisor about something we've discussed. This is not therapy. I told her I couldn't arrange another session right then because my work rota is changing (true) but really it was a ploy to get out of talking to her. I'm going back to my doctor and telling him that iTalk is not working for me.

[Sapphire Silk]

Are you fucking kidding me? I try ONE technique and you're all outta aces? Are you reading from a fucking prompt sheet? Or better question, are you even fucking qualified. I doubt it because everytime I've spoken to you, you've said you're going to ask your supervisor about something we've discussed. This is not therapy. I told her I couldn't arrange another session right then because my work rota is changing (true) but really it was a ploy to get out of talking to her. I'm going back to my doctor and telling him that iTalk is not working for me.

You're right. This is not therapy.

Has this lady actually spent ANY time getting to KNOW you?

When I was in therapy, I saw my therapist several times a week for the first couple of weeks. She spent a lot of time getting to know me. She gave me homework, and we discussed it.

Some of the things we tried didn't seem helpful at first. We discussed that to. I explained why I didn't think they helped. She used that information to modify her plan. Sometimes she encouraged me to take a second look after we'd worked on other issues . . . and I found that I had improved enough that the early homework made much more sense and was actually quite helpful.

The problem is not the talk therapy. It is:

1) The talking on the phone. Your therapist can't see you to look at your body language and see how that matches what you say. She can't build a personal relationship with you because the telephone is inherently impersonal.

2) She's made no effort to know you, so she can't make a good plan that fits your needs.

3) She gives up too easily.

4) She's not invested in her work. If she were, she'd be calling you on time, EVERY time.

You need a face to face therapist. Please don't give up on therapy. It sometimes takes trying several therapists before you find the right one.

[fireheart]

I have Borderline Personality Disorder and was in and out of therapy for years. The latest therapist I was seeing seemed great but nobody seems to want to take it seriously enough to actually do any, you know, useful therapy... and then for various reasons I couldn't get in touch with my T's office to get another appointment so basically I'm ou tof therapy that I probably need.

Another BPD patient here!

I'm slowly getting better, although I'm not entirely out of the woods yet. The one thing I need control over (and we haven't touched on yet) is the black-and-white thinking that comes part and parcel.

[Little Retail Rabbit]

Thanks Panacea. Glad to know that I'm not just being picky or something, that it isn't just me being too harsh. Heck I gave her more chances than I probably should have! I'm not going to quit therapy altogether but I'm definately going to quit iTalk. I don't feel that the woman has made any real effort, everytime we've spoken its been for 20 minutes tops, and normally less than that. I was told to allocate an hour for each session and a whole hour has never been used. Well, at least I can say honestly that I tried, and I can go back to my doctor and just tell him its not working out.

[Seshat]

Definitely not you being too picky. That's just .. inadequate.