I not too long ago noticed an advert on social media by one of many massive on-line remedy directories. In it, two ladies are discussing remedy. One says that she is making an attempt it, however she isn’t certain she likes the therapist. Nonetheless, she looks like she wants to stay it out.

“Why?” says the opposite. “You aren’t married to them!”  

The message is, there could also be somebody on the market that’s higher for you, so why put up with somebody with whom you’re feeling “meh”? 

Decide the Proper Therapist for Your Present Considerations

And this may increasingly, in reality, be true. Not each therapist is the most effective match for each shopper or each problem. And ethically, a shopper has the precise to self-determination. You’ve got the precise to and usually are not obligated to stay with somebody you don’t really feel helps you. 

As a therapist, I work with particular person adults and give attention to high-functioning ladies over 30 with ADHD who’re coping with overwhelm. I additionally work with adults who’ve suffered from a traumatic incident or collection of incidents.   

I really like what I do. There’s little that’s extra rewarding than serving to somebody heal from their damage.  

On the identical time, some individuals love working with me, and a few, not a lot. And a few simply aren’t certain once we start. I perceive. It’s powerful to really feel “uncooked”, weak, and search out somebody you don’t know. 

And these days in and close to most city facilities, you usually have a selection of seeing somebody who makes a speciality of what you want. This is usually a double-edged sword. A number of decisions give prospects together with feeling overwhelmed. Why not decide a couple of therapists and see the place it goes?  

That could be place to start out.  However long-term, is extra higher? Listed below are some methods to consider that.  

Seeing A number of Therapists

Seeing a couple of therapist or therapy specialist at a time could also be useful within the following situations: 

1. You simply began the method and are nonetheless buying round.  You’ll have gotten a couple of names and carried out a couple of appointments with a number of therapists and are nonetheless determining who you’ll keep on with. In that case, it might assist to see a couple of of us for a number of weeks earlier than deciding. 
2. Or, these (or healers) complement one another’s work in serving to you. For instance, a psychiatrist sees you for treatment administration, when you see a chat therapist to work by means of, say, your anxiousness a few life change, or parenting points. Or, you do acupuncture for continual ache, however do psychotherapy along with your therapist. These mixtures normally run easily, as a result of the practitioners are serving to you in several areas of concern. 

When is Seeing A number of Therapists Good?

One other instance can be that you simply see one therapist along with your partner for {couples}’ counseling, when you see one other in your particular person problems with parenting, anxiousness. This can be complementary, however, relying on the problem, it may sometimes get a bit sticky. 

For instance, you might be working by means of sexuality points along with your partner, and on the identical time, you began working by means of the reminiscence of a sexual assault with your individual therapist. On the identical time, the {couples} therapist desires to work on, a way to extend bodily connection, and that basically feels arduous for you that specific week or set of weeks, given what’s been arising along with your particular person work. 

Quite than cease one remedy or the opposite, here’s a “finest observe” suggestion. It might be useful to tell each therapists that you’re working with the opposite and the fundamentals of what you might be doing. Not as an infinite operating report, however simply to offer the fundamentals, particularly in the event that they appear to be engaged on conflicting targets. 

When you really feel comfy permitting your particular person and {couples} therapists to talk to one another, you’ll be able to signal a launch for them to talk. Ethically, they’d not reveal any greater than is required to assist coordinate your therapy properly.  This might assist so that you’re not getting contradictory or complicated directives or suggestions.  

You don’t have to do that, however each your therapies are prone to profit if they’re extra knowledgeable concerning the different problem you might be engaged on. General, this will nonetheless perform properly, since you are seeing these therapists to work on various things. One is, your self. The opposite is, your relationship.  

When Can Seeing A number of Therapists Get Sticky?

 Consider the next state of affairs. In case you are seeing two completely different therapists to work on the identical problem for a long-term interval, you might need to be extra cautious.   

For some cause, this “many therapists for a similar problem” technique, longer than the “buying round” interval, is one thing I’m seeing extra of lately with some individuals. Is it an try to maximise restore quicker? Is it too scary to choose one and really feel such as you is perhaps “lacking out” on what the opposite provides?  I don’t know.  

Regardless of the cause, typically every therapist a shopper works with could not even concentrate on the opposite’s involvement on this individual’s therapy.  This might introduce a couple of problems.  In these circumstances, I consider that extra just isn’t all the time higher.  

This will particularly be true if you’re seeing somebody for trauma restoration utilizing an publicity technique, like EMDR or TIR (the latter is the therapy protocol that I work in).  On the identical time, you begin seeing somebody who makes use of a special therapy modality, resembling Cognitive Restructuring, to work in your trauma. And also you determine you want each remedies, you want each therapists, so you retain going to each.  Pay attention to potential pitfalls.    

When you do that, you might be getting completely different remedies for a similar problem: As an example, your anxiousness.  It’s not that one therapy is best or worse; it’s that they might counteract one another. One primarily engages the hippocampus a part of your mind (the Cognitive remedies), whereas the opposite (EMDR/TIR) primarily engages the amygdala. Each are efficient. And you might like each therapists. 

However when you “speak about” your trauma in the identical weeks that you simply work by means of it with these remedies, it may truly inhibit or interrupt the reprocessing that your mind must do with the Publicity remedy. *  An excellent analogy is coaching in soccer and gymnastics on the identical time – you get an total physique exercise, however you might construct up muscular tissues which can be working in several methods and will counteract one another.   

Whenever you do two completely different therapies without delay, the identical factor might occur. At finest, you’re feeling a bit higher, however you don’t know which therapy had the impact. At worst, you’ve got diluted each remedies for twice the cash.   

Be Trustworthy with Your Therapists

So in my work, I encourage the next as a finest observe. Enable your self some weeks to buy round and determine the place you need to begin. Be sincere with the individual you see about what you need. That is for you, in any case. If somebody tells me they need methods for, say, managing their upset, I’ll take a couple of periods to do that. I attempt to validate and deal with shopper issues. If that offers them what they want, that’s nice. But when there’s extra happening, I encourage that we glance a bit deeper at their points (or “cost”, within the TIR terminology.)  

Do one remedy first, with one practitioner, and when you really feel it’s benefitting you, enable your self time to proceed with them. An excellent rule of thumb is not less than six periods to determine whether it is serving to you. You may work with the therapist on figuring out the size and course of therapy.  When you really feel such as you want it, search the opposite therapy after you’ve got completed the primary.   

No matter you do, it’s a good suggestion to tell every therapist that you’re working with the opposite to allow them to proceed with good information. This is identical precept behind the protocol that pharmacists must be knowledgeable of all of the drugs you take, so you don’t get prescribed one thing that counteracts one thing else. In case you are comfy permitting these practitioners to talk to one another, you’ll be able to signal a launch for them to take action. Ideally, they will seek the advice of and determine both to coordinate therapy, or make suggestions on the right way to proceed. 

A collaborative strategy, the place you and your therapist are working collectively, retains everybody on the identical web page. You probably have issues about these of us speaking, I encourage you to speak about this with them. That may be one other alternative to attach on what’s necessary to you. 

You and even different therapists could have a special opinion. I encourage you to consider what you need out of remedy, and finally, it’s your remedy. On the identical time, contemplate these factors I’ve made as you begin and proceed your remedy journey. All the most effective to you in your course of! 

 The is perhaps useful to you. We’ve got 1000’s of therapists listed with us who would like to stroll with you in your journey. Discover the assist you want as we speak. 

*  http://www.appliedmetapsychology.org/research-publications/articles/mygdala-hippocampus-and-traumatic-memories/ 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

© Copyright 2023 GoodTherapy.org. All rights reserved.

The previous article was solely written by the writer named above. Any views and opinions expressed usually are not essentially shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or issues concerning the previous article will be directed to the writer or posted as a remark beneath.