Caution: talking may be hazardous to your health

[mdlbear]

Get Shrunk at Your Own Risk

Few of us will need therapy for multiple-personality disorder. But everyone will experience grief\u2014and counseling for normal bereavement may not always be benign. A 2000 study found that four in 10 people who lost a loved one would have been better off without grief counseling (based on a comparison with people who were randomly assigned to a no-therapy group). That was especially so for those who experienced normal grief. In that case, counseling sometimes prolonged and deepened grief, leaving more depression and anxiety than in those who worked through their loss on their own.

...

That 40 percent figure is likely inflated, argues psychologist Dale Larson of Santa Clara University. But he agrees with Lilienfeld's estimate that 10 to 20 percent of people who receive psychotherapy are harmed by it. Even the American Psychological Association acknowledges that too many clinicians practice "psychoquackery," as psychologist John Norcross of Scranton University puts it. If we had FDA-style regulation of psychotherapies -- difficult though that would be to do, especially since the effects of psychotherapy depend on the therapist -- "fringe therapies would not be on the market."

How fringe is "fringe"? In percentage terms, very. But the number of people undergoing potentially risky therapies reaches into the tens of thousands. Vioxx was yanked from the market for less. To be sure, even risky psychotherapies don't harm everyone, just as most people who took Vioxx will never have a heart attack. What is remarkable about psychotherapies, though, is that few patients have any idea that "just talking" can be dangerous to their mental health.

(From kayshapero.) Nevertheless, some kinds of talk therapy have been proven to work, and on the average you're probably less likely to be harmed by a shrink than by psychoactive drugs. Especially since there are fewer side effects and it's less dangerous to back out if it's not working. As always, your mileage may vary.

My one brush with "grief counseling" was totally useless, but I'm OK with that.

Comments

[harmonyheifer.livejournal.com]

My daughter was struggling with depression at one point, and ended up going to a counselor as an adjunct to antidepressant medication. This counselor was convinced all her problems were because she was the child of divorced parents. This was a crock, my daughter was 8 when her father and I divorced, and her depression didn't become a problem until she was half-way through high school. Eli gave it two sessions. Turns out Eli was bipolar and the antidepressants were making her worse, not better. Once they took her off the medicine and got her to a therapist who knew what she was doing, things got good fast. Eli may have been depressed, but her bullshit-o-meter worked just fine. My experience, and the experiences of family and friends tells me that about one in three counselors will do a good job. When I suggest to someone that they seek professional help, I always point out that it may take a while to find one that knows their stuff. Of course this goes for PCPs also. Don't be afraid to shop around, and trust your instincts.