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How can a person spend 25 years in psychotherapy and get nothing out of it?

I've been in psychotherapy continuously since 1992.  I get nothing out of it.  But I keep going, hoping that someday I'll get something out of it !!

Posted - February 20, 2017

Responses


  • " Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and  expecting different results."
      February 20, 2017 11:57 AM MST
    6

  • 1029
    I must be insane, then.
      February 20, 2017 11:59 AM MST
    1

  • Look at the world around ya'...... WE ALL ARE!
      February 20, 2017 12:05 PM MST
    2

  • Love it. :)
      February 20, 2017 12:37 PM MST
    3

  • Albert Einstein.
      February 20, 2017 12:37 PM MST
    1

  • 5614
    If you have not hurt anybody or hurt yourself in 25 years maybe that's what you are getting out of it. Sometimes you must think about what your life might be without something to really appreciate having it. This post was edited by O-uknow at February 25, 2017 9:28 AM MST
      February 20, 2017 12:36 PM MST
    4

  • I don't need a psychotherapist. I'm married. Mrs Didge provides me with whatever psychotherapy she deems necessary. There's usually a great deal of laughter involved.
      February 20, 2017 12:39 PM MST
    7

  • Based on how you talk about it you two sound like a great couple.
      February 20, 2017 12:44 PM MST
    4

  • We've been lucky, Glis, and laughter has always been a big part of it. 
      February 20, 2017 12:53 PM MST
    3

  • Awesome!  Very cool.
      February 20, 2017 12:55 PM MST
    2

  • 2658
    For us, it's belonging to the mutual admiration society that makes it work, and never going to bed angry with each other.  Laughter also, for sure.
      February 20, 2017 2:04 PM MST
    2

  • We added one to that, Beans. There's never any need to apologise. Sometimes couples get hot and say things they don't mean. It can flare up into something that goes on for far too long. We'll accept a touch on the arm or a hug as, "OK, you're right, I'm wrong. Let's put it behind us." It's a tacit apology I guess (well, more a tactile one) but it works.
      February 20, 2017 3:05 PM MST
    2

  • 2658
    Little things mean a lot. This post was edited by Beans/SilentGeneration at February 20, 2017 3:40 PM MST
      February 20, 2017 3:39 PM MST
    0

  • 53509
    I have a close family member who has been in psychological therapy for years; not even a diagnosis in sight, much less any light at the end of any tunnel.

    When I used to ask, "So, has the doctor determined what it is you need to do to get beyond this?"  The answer was, "Beyond what?"
    "Well, whatever it is you have, whatever reason you attend therapy every week."
    "I don't know what I have."
    "Oh. Gee, I didn't realize that. Does the doctor know?"
    "No. The doctor says I either don't have anything or that if I do, it hasn't been revealed yet."
    "Oh again. So how long do you think it will be before you'll know?  Or more accurately, before the doctor knows and tells you?"
    "The doctor isn't sure, but says that these things take time. Each patient is different."
    "I see. Er, um, how long have you been seeing this doctor?"
    "It's been a few years now."
    "Is the therapy expensive?"
    "Yes, quite."
    "I know it's not covered by insurance. How can you afford it?"
    "Oh, the doctor bills me and says I can pay whenever I get the money."
    "So you must owe quite a bit of money by now."
    "I pay as much as I can, but I owe a couple of thousand dollars."
    "You don't seem too worried about it."
    "I'm not, the doctor trusts me."
    "So you're into this doctor for thousands of dollars, you don't know what you've got, nor do you know how much longer you are going to 'need' therapy?"
    "Yes, that's all correct."
    "You don't see anything wrong with all of this?"
    "No, why should I?"
    "Oh."

    I don't even ask any longer. 
    __
      February 20, 2017 12:58 PM MST
    4

  • Makes your brain hurt.
      February 20, 2017 3:01 PM MST
    4

  • 53509
    May I suggest a therapist?
    ~
      February 20, 2017 5:07 PM MST
    2

  • 5835
    I don't know anything about psychotherapy except that all the people who do know something have a low opinion of it.
      February 20, 2017 2:21 PM MST
    1

  • 7792
    I wish I had an answer for you, but sometimes an open wound can't or won't heal. This post was edited by Zack at February 25, 2017 9:32 AM MST
      February 20, 2017 3:42 PM MST
    2