My Theory on Failure of Therapy - Mental Health Message Board

mouse62 · 05-12-2004, 10:14 AM

My Theory on Failure of Therapy:

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, I welcomed all of the psychological techniques that were introduced to me as a way of coping with life. These included group therapy, for anger, depression, stress/anxiety, and addictions. Then there was lots of media coverage and exposure to help us, for example, getting child abuse out in the open where we could all deal with it as a society.

Now in this new century I think all of these talk therapy programs are a complete joke.

Why? Because as much as these techniques are about changing oneself in order to cope, there was certainly an expectation that as more and more people started expressing those things that made us angry, stressed, and depressed, WE WOULD REVEAL AND EXPOSE AND CHANGE THOSE THINGS. And what has happened is, if anything, people are running around and making life even more stressful, anger-provoking and ultimately depressing than life was ten years ago.

A specific example: Road Rage. First people go to their therapsits for anger management. Then the media gets these people on the air to talk about those things that drivers do to cause incidents. I believe that the next necessary step is, there should be CONSEQUENCES and CHANGES made, people as a whole somehow should have formed groups or gotten more cops out on the roads or SOMETHING to stop the terrible incidents that cause the road rage in the first place.
I can assure you that the drivers I see now are worse than ever. There is no way you can tell a reasonable person not to get angry when some idiot driver just almost killed him and his family.

I have to go now but I'd like comments. I don't think changing our insides is enough, if people in general don't improve the overall life situations that cause these problems in the first place.

hry33 · 05-12-2004, 05:54 PM

I think talk therapy can be helpful but dont expect miracles from it

quincy · 05-13-2004, 02:20 AM

Everything goes in cycles, the pendulum swings one way and then the other.

The world is frustrated. Society is frustrated. Families are frustrated. Individuals are frustrated. Seems no hope really!

One idea that is presented takes time to be picked up, put into action and it takes about 10 years for people to recognise the errors of the "way".

Changes are then made again...etc.

It would depend on the generation the changes were made and then the generation that was brought up on it.

Therapy has gone through those cycles. The big thing now is cognitive behavioural therapy. Talk therapy with behavioural therapy does produce changes...but it does depend on the person's want and need to make those changes.

Dr. Phil has made incredible headway with his perception of society's problems. We, in general, don't want to be responsible for our actions. It's always someone else's fault. That may be true in many situations and all the extremes. But, there has to be a time where we come out of the fire and decide to make changes where we become responsible for our own actions. There's a tremendous reward in that, but for many, the reward is take all, get all, receive all and do nothing for it. Many are spoon-fed that mind-set from day one and how do you change that?

Some people..well, there's no hope. Society has to deal with them in a swift and decisive way, and if punishment is necessary, then it should be done. But, what if they made a mistake and that person didn't do anything at all??

We see people who do horrific things treated with the same "rights" as those who do not. Not only that, they demand their rights.

It seems that we see everyone trying to cover their butts. Even those with a conscience have to make conscious decisions to do so in order to survive. Everyone, after all, has an agenda.

You present a great thought to ponder. I cringe to think of where we (the world) will be in 10 years. How about 5?

The best we can do is make changes within our own lives and our own little worlds. We never know how what we think may change others. We already know that our actions can make change -- for the good as well as the bad. So, it's always worth trying for improvement, for if we don't...nothing will change, not even ourselves. Changing our way of thinking is definitely a step in the right direction. If therapy helps with that to get us on the right track...why not? But it's still up to us to recognise whether the person helping us has the same agenda as we do.

quincy

mouse62 · 05-13-2004, 06:56 AM

I agree that the talk therapy can continue as part of the equation -- what we need now is a much stronger police force and a really tough prison system to take care of those people who won't get with the program so to speak. I think that DNA testing will help correct some of the problem with innocent people being accused. And I am talking about people like those at Enron, who caused terrible psychological stress on so many others, getting real justice. How the world will look in 5 - 10 years? It's like a pressure cooker about to explode already, so hopefully we can prepare for it now, how to jump in and restructure our lives in a healthy way instead of falling into depression or panic attacks or rages.

Ruth6:11 · 05-13-2004, 11:58 AM

I think that traditional psychotherapy (laying on a couch, talking away while shrink says, Hmmmm) thankfully is NOT the therapy of choice anymore.
Results from a talking therapy seems to hinge on the patient's willingness to actually DO something about themselves.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy has gotten some good results - It's talk, but with a plan at the end of each session to carry on with what has been learned in that session.
(Chemical imbalances, along with some depressions DO require meds also)