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New Therapist, First Appointment Was A Success!

EveHarrington

MyPTSD Pro
First of all, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone here who encouraged me to find a new therapist. This has happened across multiple threads of mine as I struggled with my last therapist for awhile.

I waited 2 months for an appointment with a therapist who specializes in OCD. I am not diagnosed with OCD but given that I have obsessions that can be debilitating, I felt that this kind of therapist would be the best choice.

I went into the appointment with the idea that I would be clear about what I felt I needed. I told her that I am looking for someone who can work with me one on one in helping me to more or less battle the issue at the root as opposed to simply using coping skills to make the symptoms better more/less “after the fact” as I already have coping skills, but I feel like I need something that will prevent the obsessions from even starting. (This is impossible for me to do on my own as I need a more interactive kind of treatment to heal at this point.)

She gave me one skill to work on, and it’s amazing how much it has helped me. She told me that when the obsessions start up in the morning (as they do when I’m having a bad day), that I can just say “ok, well this is what kind of day this will be” as a way of taking power away from the thoughts simply so I can be more functional. I know I’m not explaining her advice perfectly here, but it has helped me so much. The thoughts aren’t even getting started.

I don’t have another appointment until July, but I’m on a waiting list where she will call me when she has a cancellation. This is standard in this large practice, and she said she could likely see me again within a few weeks.

All of this feels like a best case scenario so far in terms of finding someone who can really help me. The week leading up to the appointment, the thoughts about this new appointment being a complete failure would not stop. I am glad that the first step went well, and I hope that this continues to be a success in terms of getting the help I need.
 
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