Going to a shrink what to expect

nexuscrawler

A while back you may remember I made a thread about seeking treatment for depression. I'm finally doing it and have an appointment with a psychiatrist on Tuesday. Was just wondering what to expect exactly. Never been to anything even close before and I'm a little anxious.

Nitsuj82

I was in therapy as a kid. They basically just talk to you, ask you questions. I doubt they'll bust out the shock therapy nodes on the first appointment.

Dalboz

I wouldn't expect much in the first session. That will mostly be a getting to-know-you session since the psychiatrist at that point doesn't know anything about you or what you're dealing with. Hopefully they'll be able to give a general diagnosis though and start deciding what the best treatment path will be, which you probably won't start going on until the second session.

In my experience, they mostly ask you questions, but don't really give you answers. They'll try to direct you slightly, but they will probably not just flat out tell you what to do or how to think or how to deal. They usually try to help you come up with your own answers.

GoodOmens

It's hard to say what you'll experience, given that there are so many styles of therapy as well as such a variance in therapist quality. The first couple of sessions won't be exciting...paperwork, introduction, personal history, most likely.

It's helpful to spend some time thinking about what you'd like to get out of the therapy, and let your therapist know that. It might help him/her direct the therapy.

Also, keep in mind that there's no guarantee that the first therapist will work, whether due to professional style, personality, whatever. Don't be afraid to say, "I'm sorry, this just isn't working for me."

Feral

Primarily a therapist wants to give you a safe environment where you can express what's going on with you, and help you see your situation in a light you may not have seen it before. A psychiatrist has the added bonus of being able to prescribe you medication, which they can often select based on the specific aspects of your depression. (Depression + fatigue might be treated with an antidepressant that has a stimulant effect; depression + anxiety might be treated with an antidepressant that slightly sedates, etc.)

Mostly you just want to make sure that you're comfortable talking to him (or her).

Fibretip

and how does that make you feel

that's almost all my therapy consisted of.... i've always had the opinion that my shrink was useless, but maybe that's just what they do... she'd just ask me questions...wait till i'd finished answering, and then say the above, hoping that somehow i'd have a revelation or something....

i guess you get out of it what you put in, i was made to go by my parents, so i never felt like opening up, but if you're there of your own volition... and you're wanting and willing to talk... i imagine it'll all go pretty smoothly... they're not there to shock you, they'll follow your cues and work at your pace.

i went once for an hour just to talk about me, myself, life in general, and at the end of it she said to me how many hours she thought we should schedule to begin with, and a few of the things she thought we should adress, and just left it at that, we arranged next weeks session and kept it informal, every week we'd just meet up and talk about whatever was on my mind. It helped me sort a couple of things out, but i've always been of the idea that i really should have been having cognative therapy rather than counselling, but anyways.... i wouldn't worry about it, if you look like a deer in headlights then they'll take it easy with you, if you go in there talking your life story then they'll move faster... it's all down to how you feel.

deadman jolt

Depends on what you're getting.

Therapist is the talk it out person.

When I see shrink i think Psychiatrist. Psychiatrist will talk to you a bit, make you answer some specific questions, and then prescribe some antidepressant. Typically. I visited both on the same day and I got the opinion that my therapist cared more about me than the psychiatrist.