Need For "therapist Consultant Advocate"

[Deleted member 17790]

Hi I noticed in a post of another member a reference to her using a therapist consultant advocate to assist her in a choice of therapist. I want to get a second opinion about whether there's any thing else I could be doing to assist in stopping/managing my triggers.

Every so often I have a major episode where I can only function on basic level for 2 or 3 weeks cos have flashback to very early age. It seems to happen when I have multiple triggers eg last time was someone making a callous remark and shaming me, plus a few days later by a vicarious attack from my ex followed by a government dept trying to abuse their power and railroad me into something I don't want to do.

I want an independent assessment of whether it's realistic to expect I can get back to work or whether I should accept that's not on the horizon anytime soon. I'm unsure where to obtain the second opinion from. An advocate is just what I need. I don't have any support or carer - just me trying to make sense of all of this ....

 

[TeaLeaf]

I am not sure what a therapist consultant advocate is, I did a web search and did not come up with anything. I would check their qualifications before handing over any money to them.

I have found that meeting with a therapist before starting therapy can help see if they are a good match for you. Many therapists provide a free 30 minute meeting for this purpose. You can ask them questions about their training, what they have found helps and mention your specific problems. I think most people can benefit from therapy but I might be a bit biased because I have been in therapy for a looooong time and it has helped me so much and I have also seen it help many people I know.

Good luck on your search.

 

[Hashi]

I'm a bit confused by what you mean, so I'm sorry if I'm misunderstanding. I searched the site for that phrase and the post I found said that she'd been seeing the consultant/advocate for eight months to help her find the right therapist - is that the post you meant? Are you talking about seeing someone for that sort of length of time to get their opinion?

I don't think anyone's in a position to assess your ability to return to work without having some knowledge of you, your symptoms, your coping skills and your progress over time. Where I am it would be either a medical professional who'd been working with you (doctor, counsellor, psychiatrist or whoever), or an occupational therapist drawing on reports from one or more such medical professionals. Otherwise, they'd have to be basing things pretty much on your own self-assessment anyway.

Even then, I think they'd be considering whether you could return to work now/very soon or needed more time off now, rather than trying to predict at what point in the future you might be able to return.

I think there must be things you can do to improve the current situation that you describe regarding triggers. In terms of what to do, it would seem that a therapist would be the best person to help you with that, and the question would then be how to find a therapist who's a good fit - I agree with what TeaLeaf says about that. I'm not sure anyone else like a consultant can advise on that unless they spend a significant amount of time with you, which perhaps you could be investing directly into therapy anyway.

If OK to ask, is there a reason for not seeking a therapist?