Small Steps

It sounds like her problem was also related to psychoanalytic therapy, not therapy in general. It is much diffrent going to a therapist who tries to get you to look at other parts of your problems and other solutions, teaching a diffrent way of thinking. Compared to a therapist who tries to explain how you not liking your job is related to your father and mother's relationship.

I'm happy Ms. Schwartz found a solution that works for her. Others aren't so lucky. Here's a recent Cymbalta self-report to WebMD:

"I have watched this drug completely destroy my husband. He was initially put on it for depression, anxiety and chronic back pain. It made him lathargic, and the pain increased and spread toother parts of his body. Now that we are trying to wan him off, the withdrawals are horrible! The suffering this man has had to endure is inhumane at the least. I don't believe the doctors were properly educated on this terrible drug so in turn patients aren't able to make a clear educated decision as to take this medication to begin with. I have placed a complaint with th FDA as well as with Eli Lilly. I have also placed a complaint with his doctor. I am so angry and to know that the weaning process will takes months is just unacceptable to me. Get online and type in Cymbalta withdrawal and Cymbalta side efffects and see the other hundreds of people who are suffering with little to no help from the medical field. Also, you will see the desperate attempts of some who are trying to get off this drug. There WILL be a death as a result of some of these tactics and I forsee a class action law suit in he future for Eli Lilly and any of the medical professionals who refuse to hear the cries of so many desperate people."

There are thousands of similar Cymbalta anecdotes floating around the internet. ALL pyscho-pharm drug classes are dirty. So pick your poison, ineffectual psycho-therapists or brain bombing psychiatrists.

Steve M. never talks of the many millions who are saved by such medicines and instead ruminates about a grain of sand, while everyone else enjoys the beach.

Sincerely,David

The more I deal with panic disorder - now mostly limited system attacks - the more I'm convinced that the roots are biological. Perhaps a catalyst may be recent (or past) events - but it's ultimately some sort of chemical imbalance. No amount of yakking to a therapist is going to do much of anything. The small amount of Zoloft I take - along with an occasional Xanax - controls this affliction for me.

If all I did was go to therapy - I'd be suicidal. The medications temper the affliction.

So my amygdala is on the fritz. It happens. It's probably genetic. Once you grasp this, you can deal with it.

This article presents a confused, generalist account of psychoanalytic therapy, mainly that psychoanalytic = medication. The opposite is more true. Also, mistakenly suggests that the psychoanalytic process necessarily focuses on a mystical unraveling of the past to better the future -- without any regard for the present.

I sincerely sympathize with Ms. Schwartz's struggle with therapy, I saw a psychiatrist who also administered talk therapy for four years, and the gains I made were minimal at best. In fact, I'd venture to say I got worse in some ways, her interpretations of many of my fears were Freudian in nature, and served to complicate my issues even further. It got to a point where my gut knew this therapist was all types of wrong for me, and I finally got a hold of the strength to leave her.

I was desperately still in need of help, so this time I did my research. I called the psychology department of the local university and spoke to a prominent researcher asking for a referral for a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (I had read a lot about the success inherent in this school of therapy).

I was referred to someone I paid out-of-pocket for (I've found that all the best therapists are often not joined to insurance providers), and in a year and a half my life changed. He knew exactly how to get to the root of my anxiety, he taught me skills and gave me tools that helped eradicate my moments of panic.

For me, a lot of my anxiety had it's roots in my family and past, so learning how to (1) be more assertive, (2) gain self-esteem, and (3) allow myself the freedom to have negative emotions released the chains of anxiety for me.

That said, I'm also on medication, but I'm going to try to wean myself off because I can honestly say that I feel like a different person.

I encourage everyone to do their homework--it is essential that you find a well trained therapist. My original therapist was a DO who had had no professional training in talk therapy.

I think this is a very good article and I'm glad the author, and Ms. Schwartz are bringing this problem to light. I disagree however, with the idea that therapists who engage in far-too-long therapy are not acting incompetently. As Ms. Cantor states, "When a therapist sees a patient isn't improving over a reasonable amount of time, it should be his or her responsibility to consult with others and consider new approaches." To do otherwise is to act incompetently in that particular situation. Too often we excuse the failings of those in the medical and psychological professions unless the incompetence involves crossing the line physically. Glossing over the harm done by these other specific instances of incompetence by professionals is not only a disservice to the clients they've already failed, but it almost assures that it will continue, and so doesn't really help the professionals either.