<p>Some people have vacation homes, some go overseas, some send their kids to private school, and some have boats. Some have large medical bills that they consider in their monthly budget that they have simply adjusted to over time as well as possible. These families may not have saved for college or retirement. There is always a trade off and it is never, ever easy.</p>
<p>That’s just it…I don’t know that I’ve bought into the merits of therapy. My sister spent years in therapy…her depression remained quite severe, but the therapist did encourage her to “remember” being assulted by a teenaged uncle as a child (my parents say they were never left alone together.) How do you even know if your therapist is competent or not? If your child is over 18, you don’t even have access to what is going on in therapy, unless your child chooses to tell you.</p>
<p>Missypie-I also had a family member my dad who spent years in therapy and in and out of mental hospitals. I never saw much progress. He received his care from the VA and his psychologists and Dr’s constantly changed.
With other family members I have seen that change can happen. With one child who had huge fears he went from someone who was afraid of sleeping away overnight to signing up for a month long backpacking trip. I also saw a LD/ADHD child who thought he was stupid find his strengths and given guidance on how to make changes in his life to make things happen.
I also have a family member who has had numerous therapists. Some good, some not so good. I think the right therapist can make be life changing.
I got curious to see what the new school one of my kids is attending offered in the way of counseling. It looks like they have a full time staff of psychologists, professional therapists, LCSW’s and a psychiatrist and psychiatric nurse. Plus some interns. A center with locations at various parts of the campus with regular hours each day. While looking I noticed they have this group which sounded interesting to me: I will share it as you might look for something at a university near you. If follows-
GROUP COACHING FOR STUDENTS DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD
This group experience is designed to promote growth and independence by helping students with ADHD overcome the performance and self-management difficulties inherent in ADHD. Orientation to the group process is required prior to your first group meeting.
They also have a brochure which explains the program. I think sometimes things are out there but you have to search.
Places you might consider asking about therapists- your Dr’s, teachers, school counselor, the psychiatrist or neurologist you son’s get his meds from, The person who did his initial testing, your clergy, any support groups you might have been involved with when your son was younger. The health center at his CC or at an area 4 yr college. They should have a list. The hospital psych ward.</p>
<p>There are different types of therapy. If you student agrees that you come to an initial meeting you can be there to discuss the types of therapy used by the therapist in what situations, and ask questions. Some feel the need to talk back to your feelings, some think you should ignore them like roudy passengers on a bus. Some want to dig deep into your past, and others see the value in coping skills for today. Some suggest a worry room where all you do in that one room is worry.<br>
Everyone is different, every need is different. It is valid to ask the type of psychotherapy used.</p>
<p>Regarding your sister, I’m so very sorry. Depression can be the result of a traumatic event, the death of a spouse or a divorce, or it can be biological in nature. With the latter you can learn coping skills, but you may never be ‘healed’. It may be episodic in nature, but it’s always there. It’s very hard on family members who often feel helpless. It certainly would help explain your healthy scepticism.</p>
<p>“Yes, I’m sure my son would love to chit chat with a nice lady in the church counseling office, but that’s not really what we need.”</p>
<p>LOL!</p>
<p>From the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/what_is_psychotherapy_for_children_and_adolescents[/url]”>http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/what_is_psychotherapy_for_children_and_adolescents</a>
<a href=“http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/53_what_is_psychotherapy_for_children_and_adolescents.pdf[/url]”>http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/53_what_is_psychotherapy_for_children_and_adolescents.pdf</a>
<a href=“AACAP Home”>http://aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/psychotherapies_for_children_and_adolescents</a></p>
<p>"Different types of psychotherapy: (alphabetical order)</p>
<pre><code>* Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) helps improve a child’s moods, anxiety and behavior by examining confused or distorted patterns of thinking. CBT therapists teach children that thoughts cause feelings and moods which can influence behavior. During CBT, a child learns to identify harmful thought patterns. The therapist then helps the child replace this thinking with thoughts that result in more appropriate feelings and behaviors. Research shows that CBT can be effective in treating a variety fo conditions, including depression and anxiety.
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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can be used to treat older adolescents who have chronic suicidal feelings/thoughts, engage in intentionally self-harmful beaviors or have Borderline Personality Disorder. DBT emphasizes taking responsibility for one’s problems and helps the person examine how they deal with conflict and intense negative emotions. This often involves a combination of group and individual sessions.
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Family Therapy focuses on helping the family function in more positive and constructive ways by exploring patterns of communication and providing support and education. Family therapy sessions can include the child or adolescent along with parents, siblings, and grandparents. Couples therapy is a specific type of family therapy that focuses on a couple’s communication and interactions (e.g. parents having marital problems).
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Group Therapy is a form of psychotherapy where there are multiple patients led by one or more therapists. It uses the power of group dynamics and peer interactions to increase understanding of mental illness and/or improve social skills. There are many different types of group therapy (e.g. psychodynamic, social skills, substance abuse, multi-family, parent support, etc.).
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Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) is a brief treatment specifically developed and tested for depression, but also used to treat a variety of other clinical conditions. IPT therapists focus on how interpersonal events affect an individual’s emotional state. Individal difficutlies are framed in interpersonal terms, and then problematic relationships are addressed
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Play Therapy involves the use of toys, blocks, dolls, puppets, drawings and games to help the child recognize, identify, and verbalize feelings. The psychotherapist observes how the child uses play materials and identifies themes or patterns to understand the child’s problems. Through a combination of talk and play the child has an opportunity to better understand and manage their conflicts, feelings, and behavior.
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Psychodynamic Psychotherapy emphasizes understanding the issues that motivate and influence a child’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings. It can help identify a child’s typical behavior patterns, defenses, and responses to inner conflicts and struggles. Psychoanalysis is a specialized, more intensive form of psychodynamic psychotherapy which usually involved several sessions per week. Psychodynamic psychotherapies are based on the assumption that a child’s behavior and feelings will improve once the inner struggles are brought to light.
</code></pre>
<p>Psychotherapy is not a quick fix or an easy answer. It is a complex and rich process that, over time, can reduce symptoms, provide insight, and improve a child or adolescent’s functioning and quality of life. </p>
<p>At times, a combination of different psychotherapy approaches may be helpful. In some cases a combination of medication with psychotherapy may be more effective. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are trained in different forms of psychotherapy and, if indicated, are able to combine these forms of treatment with medications to alleviate the child or adolescent’s emotional and/or behavioral problems. "</p>
<p>Note; It is rare to find a Child Psychiatrist who takes insurance around here, let alone someone who will accept the relatively low wage for providing therapy…</p>
<p>He has Asperger’s, so once anyone shows an interest in what he has to say, you can’t shut him up. He knows he monologues and is grateful when anyone listens to him. That is one of the reasons I fear I won’t know if he has a competent therapist or not - he would love anyone!</p>
<p>My employer (a hospital system) provides an EAP that will schedule a few sesssions with an EAP counselor. If the issue requires further sessions, you are referred to a psychologist, LCSW or psychiatrist depending on the situation.</p>
<p>Our special needs daughter has been seeing a wonderful LCSW weekly for about 4 years.
He works with her on all kinds of life/relationship/anger issues. Someone for her to vent to and learn from other than us. He has been so essential to her growth.</p>
<p>Previously, sessions were covered by the mental health plan in our coverage but it was inferior to medical visit coverage. NOw, in last year, there was legislation that required parity. So each mental health visit has the same low ($15) copay as a medical office visit with an in network Dr. </p>
<p>We know we are fortunate.</p>
<p>If you live in a nice area (middle class-upper middle class suburb) then often times the county will have decent mental health clinics. They are usually sliding scale. They can at least get the ball rolling and often times can refer you to other places that will work with you if they are unable to help. Also, if your child is in college then the college should have a counseling office set up.</p>
<p>Therapy is like every other service. You can get a great therapist and then there are some who should not be in the profession. Most are somewhere in between. I have found the people most resistant to the idea of therapy are usually some of the people who need it the most. Like my mother. LOL.</p>
<p>At his 4 year college, Son loved his therapist… she was just out of school and “smokin’ hot.” His cc doesn’t have any mental health services…the website provides the phone numbers for county mental health and a suicide hotline.</p>
<p>Shrink -
That’s a great list! I wanted to point out that my post prior to yours was in no way intended to diminish any one type of therapy, only to point out in very general terms that what the OP had observed may be a very different therapy that would be available to her student, and that it was valid to ask. Knowing what type of therapy being used helps people understand it’s not ‘just talk’.</p>
<p>Missypie–I sympathize. I’ve seen several family members go through lifetimes of therapy, meds, etc, and rarely show much change. When they do, it seems like it’s random and temporary.</p>
<p>As far as college counseling centers, my D used one once. She’d had a traumatic incident occur during the summer (violent in nature) and was having trouble coping the next fall. The counseling center wanted to talk about her relationships in her family (which had nothing to do with the violent incident.) she never went back.</p>
<p>I think it’s often like religion–it works if you believe in it. Unfortunately, I’ve stopped believing. (nor could afford if I needed it, anyway.)</p>
<p>Years ago when I was in therapy I lost my health insurance and could not longer go to the health clinic I had been seen at (clinic was run by insurance company). The therapist had a private practice also and she recommended a psychiatrist to me. Both charged me less than the standard rate as they would not be dealing with the insurance company for billing.</p>
<p>Are there any major universities with psych grad programs in your area? One of my sisters-in-law is a psychologist, and when she was in grad school getting her Ph.D. she saw clients as part of her training. I believe during that time her cases were supervised by a faculty member.</p>
<p>Both my kids saw psychologists at a certain point in their lives, and it was very good for both. With S, he saw his psych. for about 6 months. D met with hers about 6 times. Neither was covered under our insurance. You would fall over if I told you how much D’s charged. However, seeing her really helped my D in that it gave her some much needed perspective and tools for dealing with her issue. This was not something I would have been able to do for her myself, even though we are very close. I just didn’t have the experience and background to offer good advice.</p>
<p>One way to find a good therapist is to look into professional groups and conferences. People who are respected in their field are often leading seminars and workshops</p>
<p>My daughters psychiatrist is not on our ins. However, because of the medication she is taking & because there are only 5 drs in Seattle who * are on * our ins, one whom I am seeing and who won’t see others in same family, one who she used to see, but had so many health problems herself she was always canceling or a no show for appt, another who wasn’t much better, and two who aren’t taking new patients.
We pay out of pocket- about $180 every three months.</p>
<p>You would think it would be better as ins is a major sticking point for union contracts, but mental health coverage isn’t regarded the same as major medical ins.</p>
<p>Some people may not agree with me on this…16 years ago when I had to go see a therapist, my firm had EAP and paid up to X number of visits per year. I opted to pay out of pocket and never submitted any claims. Many insurance companies share claim information, and they let your employers know how they are spending the insurance money. I know people’s medical information is suppose to be confidential, but I don’t quite believe in it. In my line of business, everyone is suppose to be mentally tough, I just didn’t think it was a good idea to let my employers know I was in therapy. 16 years ago, I paid $200/hour out of pocket for a while. One day, when I asked myself if I wouldn’t be happier to spend that $200 at NM, then I knew I was fine and I stopped going.</p>
<p>I am a big advocate of therapy because I know how much it helped me, but at the sametime I wouldn’t necessary let my employer know about it.</p>
<p>what is “NM”?</p>
<p>Neiman Marcus, or Needless Mark Up.</p>
<p>Ahhh! Obviously I am not changing enough.</p>
<p>After an evening with my son: BOY does he need therapy!!! But I have determined that the therapist has to be with someone familiar with adolsecents and adults with Asperger’s. He’s always going to have some “odd” behaviors and I don’t want to pay someone to try to “cure” him of his Aspergarianisms. With him it will have to be “this is what you have to do to succeed at school and work” and “this is the [compulsive, impulsive] behavior you can engage in in the privacy or your own home.”</p>