There are many people who have bad experiences in therapy. Not only is this saddening and disheartening, but it can also make it even harder to find the strength to try it again. These 10 tips may not be the most ground-breaking things you’ve ever heard, but they’re different ways of approaching therapy in an effort to make your experience more positive than negative.
- Find a new therapist
Therapy is a powerful tool for healing, but it can be hard to find the right therapist. If you have had a bad experience with therapy, don't give up on it yet.
Therapy is not one size fits all. We are all different and have different needs, so what works for one person may not work for another. It's important to find someone who matches your personality and who you feel comfortable with because they will become a part of your life, even if only temporarily.
If you've had a bad experience with therapy in the past, try again! The right therapist will make all the difference in how effective your treatment is and how well you recover from trauma or depression.
Finding the right therapist takes time and effort, but it's worth it! You should never settle when it comes to finding a therapist that works best for you. You deserve someone who knows their stuff and has experience working with people like you so they can help guide you through this difficult time in your life with confidence and compassion.
- Do your research
Before you begin therapy again, make sure you know what you're getting into and what kinds of services are available in your area. You may even want to do some reading on different types of therapy and their effectiveness rates before deciding which one will work best for you. If possible, ask around for referrals from friends or family members who have positive experiences with their therapists.
- Check reviews of your next therapist
If you have ever been to therapy and it didn't work, you may be tempted to give up on the entire practice. There is a good chance that you will find another therapist who can help you get better.While it is important to understand that therapists are not all created equal, there are some things that you can do to find the best one for your needs.
One of the best ways to look for a therapist is by checking their Yelp or Google reviews. These sites allow people to leave honest opinions about businesses, which can help you avoid wasting time with someone who isn't effective or trustworthy.
Even if you have already decided on a particular therapist, checking their reviews can be helpful in deciding whether or not they are right for you based on what other people think about them.
- Be honest with yourself about why you left therapy
If you have ever been to therapy, you know that it can be a very helpful process for clearing up issues that may be holding you back in your life. However, there are also times when a person's experience with therapy is not so great, and they need to leave.
Therapy should not be a one-size-fits-all experience. Some people have great experiences with therapy and others do not. If you've had a bad experience with therapy before, that doesn't mean all hope is lost for future attempts at finding the right therapist or program for you.
If you've had a bad experience in the past, it's important that you talk about it with your current therapist or counselor when they ask what happened in past sessions. You don't want to lie to your therapist or counselor because it can cause more problems down the line.
If you're having trouble with honesty in this area, just remind yourself that therapists work hard to help their clients heal — especially if they have gone through something similar themselves or understand what it feels like when things go wrong during counseling sessions because they've been through them as well!
You don't have to lie about your past experiences — especially if those experiences were bad ones. If you explain how things went wrong and what happened during your last session or two, your new therapist will know what her work will entail and how to respond to any potential issues from the start. This can save both of you time, energy and frustration later on down the line when things aren't working out as expected.
- Know what you want out of therapy before going back
The most effective way to restart therapy after a horrible experience is to know what you want out of therapy before going back.
First, it's important to understand why your first experience was so bad. It could be that the therapist was a bad fit, or that they were simply in over their head. Maybe they didn't listen well enough, or they didn't understand your issues.
But if there's one thing we know about mental health professionals, it's that they're not all created equal. Some are great at listening and understanding, while others aren't so good at either one. Some are better at helping people address their problems than others are.
If you go back to the same therapist again and again, hoping that they'll get better with time, then you're likely wasting both of your time and money — especially if this is an ongoing issue with them (i.e., they've been fired from multiple jobs). So find another therapist who specializes in the type of therapy you need (for example: CBT for anxiety) and then see if they're available for an appointment soon.
- Don't let one bad experience deter you from trying again
If you've ever tried therapy before and it didn't work out, that doesn't mean you should give up on it forever. Here's how not letting one bad experience deter you from trying again is a way to restart therapy after horrible experiences with it:
You don't know what you're missing until you try again.
Therapy isn't for everyone — and that's OK! Just because it didn't work for someone else doesn't mean it won't work for you. You might have gone through a rough patch when trying to find the right therapist or tried too many before settling on one who was right for you. Or maybe your problems weren't solved by simply talking about them during an appointment; maybe they were solved by changing your behavior outside of sessions as well as inside them. But chances are there are still good therapists out there who can help if only given the chance.
You don't need to give up after one bad experience with therapy — especially if there's still hope for solutions in the future!
- Find someone who specializes in your issues or struggles.
When someone goes into therapy for depression, for example, they want someone who understands what depression feels like and how to help them get over it. When someone goes into therapy for anxiety, they want someone who understands what anxiety feels like and how to help them get over it. When someone goes into therapy for addiction, they want someone who understands what addiction feels like and how to help them get over it. And so on…
If your previous therapist didn't understand these things — or worse yet, didn't care about them — then finding someone else is a good idea. You don't want another therapist who doesn't understand your concerns; that person won't be able to provide real help.
- Remember that therapy isn't always easy or comfortable, but it's worth it in the end!
Remember that therapy isn't always easy or comfortable, but it's worth it in the end. The first step toward restarting therapy is remembering that therapy takes time and effort — even when it works well for some people. Therapy isn't just about making us feel better; it's about changing our thoughts and behaviors so we can live better lives. This means there are going to be uncomfortable moments along the way as we face painful situations from our pasts or try new behaviors and habits that aren't easy at first (like talking about our feelings). But those difficult times will pass if we stick with it.
- Don't let yourself get discouraged by setbacks or failures and keep trying until you find the right fit for you!
Therapists are trained to help people like you. They know what works, and they're good at helping people get better.
If your first experience wasn't a good one, it doesn't mean that no one else can help you — it just means that one therapist wasn't right for you, or that their style didn't match yours. Your next experience might be different!
You may have had a bad experience at the wrong time of your life or with the wrong therapist for other reasons — maybe they were too busy or distracted by their own problems to focus on helping you solve yours. But other therapists will be better suited to meet your needs at different times in your life.
And even if there is no magical “right” therapist out there, don't give up on the idea of getting help — just try again with someone new!
- Be patient with yourself
The key is being patient with yourself (which is easier said than done). If something isn't working for you right now — whether it's your therapist or some other aspect of therapy — don't panic! There are plenty of other options out there. The point isn't to find “the right one” right away; the point is to find someone who makes you comfortable enough so that opening up to them doesn't feel like torture every time you tell you story to your therapist.
The bottom line is that traumatic experiences with therapy are not uncommon. If you're feeling overwhelmed by all that you face, this list of tips can help lean on your strengths and push through the anxiety and uncertainty. The therapist may have been ineffective, but you don't have to suffer in silence. Do what's necessary to restart therapy so that you can focus on what matters most: your well-being.
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