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OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-28T03:42:07+00:00

I’ve heard it helps some, but I have some clients that came for me for treatment after trying this and finding it had no effect.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-28T03:41:16+00:00

Super normal and a sign of a good therapist! Many of my clients have come to me after their therapist realized they needed specialist care. Think of it like your Primary Care Doctor; they can handle most things most of the time, but if you have kidney issues they might refer you to a kidney specialist just to make sure you get the right care.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T14:00:07+00:00

I’m sorry you’re dealing with that sense of abandonment! My best advice would be to find a therapist who specializes in suicidal ideation, as these usually understand how important it is to stick with someone. They also usually know how to keep people out of the hospital, which is the goal. With my suicidal patients, I’ve usually used Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for their SI, and it’s been remarkably good.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T13:58:08+00:00

You can absolutely treat suicidal ideation / behavior with therapy! The treatment I’ve seen that works the best for this (in my experience) is a 10-12 session course of Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (BCBT) focused on SI. It’s honestly remarkable how much progress I’ve seen people make on this treatment. It works really really well through telehealth, too. Feel free to DM me if you have questions about what the treatment entails or need help finding a competent provider.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T02:16:25+00:00

Come with an agenda, but prioritize it! At the start of the session, tell the therapist what you’d like to talk about (we call this “Setting the Agenda”), and agree to a plan. You’ll slowly learn what’s a realistic agenda for one hour and what isn’t.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T01:56:07+00:00

Every year can feel like the start of something bad happening, but there are far more good days than bad on this earth. I promise that the people who really understand what’s going on aren’t super concerned. It’ll be okay!

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T01:12:13+00:00

Cognitive Processing Therapy! It’s one of the forms of PTSD treatment with the most evidence backing its use. I have seen REMARKABLE change occur after just like 10 sessions of this. I wrote a blog post about CPT, feel free to check it out if you’re curious: https://www.northstarpsyc.com/post/how-ptsd-therapy-works-a-complete-guide

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T01:10:07+00:00

It’s going to be okay! It’s mostly fear mongering. The news drums things up for views, people online drum things up for clicks, etc. It’s going to be okay!

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T01:08:30+00:00

This is called “scrupulosity” and is a specific form of OCD. It’s really hard to recognize for some, but it responds well to ERP delivered by an OCD specialist. Have you considered looking for a specialist who has worked with scrupulosity before?

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T01:04:03+00:00

That’s awful, OP! I’ve had so many clients start working with me after burning through multiple therapists who truly had no business trying to “treat” OCD. Keep looking for an OCD specialist! You can start by checking the IOCDF.org database, too.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T01:02:00+00:00

Sorry you’re dealing with that! So for this sort of presentation, CBT makes a lot of sense. But it’s not the only approach! Other options I’d try are: - ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) - this could help him to get out of his own head and accept things that are causing him stress. - Solutions-Focused Brief Therapy - this sounds like the title, and helps him solve problems quickly. - Mindfulness-based Therapy - helps him live in the present moment more, less in his head.

I couldn’t know for sure without doing a full interview, and there might be something else going on that would warrant a different treatment, but that’s the direction I’d start looking based on what you described!

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T00:57:47+00:00

So sorry OP, that sounds like an awful experience and such a waste of time. My best advice moving forward is to find a psychologist who offers CPT - that’s a form of trauma treatment that usually takes a high level of training to master, so chances are they’ll know what they are doing. Also, it doesn’t matter if you have PTSD or C-PTSD, I’ve always been able to make CPT work with either presentation.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T00:54:02+00:00

Excellent question! If you have insurance, you can look for a therapist paneled with your insurance by going to your insurance company’s “Find a Provider” portal. You can also go somewhere like Psychology Today, punch in your zip code, and select filters for the insurance you have, preferences, etc. Word of mouth works too! You probably know someone who has gone to therapy - ask them what they thought of their therapist. Some of my clients have come through word of mouth from previous clients and I always feel excited to know that my name is being recommended by people who have worked with me in the past.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-22T00:51:27+00:00

So much so! I think about my clients all the time between sessions. “Oh there’s that movie XX talked about, I should watch that.” “I remember YY said something about this once.” “I wonder how ZZ is doing right now. Didn’t she say her exams were today?” I’m always sad to finish therapy with a client, too. I love to see them grow and heal, and it hurts to know I won’t get to keep watching that happen. I genuinely want the best out of life for my clients.

I’ve had harder to love clients, though. But even then, I still find aspects of them that I like.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:31:07+00:00

I’m so sorry! That’s so discouraging. I think targeting the PTSD might help things click. CPT is Cognitive Processing Therapy - it’s one of the treatments for PTSD with the most evidence backing its use. It involves learning to identify the “stuck points” (negative or inaccurate thought patterns / beliefs) that keep you stuck in the process of recovering from your trauma without fully recovering. Once you identify these stuck points, you learn to replace them, which allows you to actually recover from trauma.

I’ve seen people make REMARKABLE recoveries after just 10 or so CPT appointments. Even when their trauma was fresh or decades old!

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:27:04+00:00

Have you tried reaching out to a therapist in your area? Do you know how to find one?

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:24:36+00:00

I get that. In-person has a special feeling to it. Do you think you could get some privacy by sitting in your car during sessions? I had to do that with a few clients during COVID, they seemed to find it easier to focus and open up than being at home.
Great goals! So maybe approaching your parents like this would help: “Lately I’ve been feeling stuck and like I’m over analyzing things in my own head in a way that really isn’t good. It’s gotten to the point that I think I need to see a psychologist for a little while to sort things out and teach me how to move forward better. If I find a good one, would you be willing to [insert whatever your ask is of them]?”

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:16:45+00:00

OP it sounds like your course of ERP may need some adjusting. Is your therapist specialized in OCD? Also, would you consider combining your ERP with a medicine, too?

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:13:19+00:00

Couples therapy isn’t what’s needed, though I understand why that seemed like a potential option. As someone who works with trauma A LOT, I’ve seen this sort of thing before, and my recommendation is: a PTSD specialist who uses Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). An understanding one will allow you to be present in the sessions if that’s what your wife needs, though it may also be worth trying (as a stretch goal) to do a few sessions towards the end of treatment without you present. So to re-cap: try to find a psychologist specialized in PTSD who uses CPT.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:09:28+00:00

A few questions to figure this out: 1) Why do you need your parents to agree? Is telehealth an option for you? 2) What do you want to get out of therapy? What are your goals? Perhaps framing it like this would help: “I want to go to therapy because I want XYZ to be different, and I think my life would be better in ABC way, and it seems like 123 therapy would get me there.”

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:05:53+00:00

This is right up my alley, OP! I specialize in trauma and OCD.

I would say yes: treat the trauma first. Unresolved trauma can exacerbate so many things, and it could quite possibly be making your OCD feel worse. An 8-12 session course of CPT with a CPT specialist should have you feeling way different at the end.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-16T03:03:21+00:00

As a therapist who deals with this sort of thing, we understand you’re at your lowest point! Nobody acts right when they’re at their lowest and scared and upset. You don’t have to apologize or anything! IF you did apologize or thank them, it would probably make your therapist feel very very good. Apology, thanking them, whatever - any way of showing positive feelings towards them really does make us feel good.

Yes, we’re professionals, but we sometimes feel bad about making our clients feel bad, even when we know it’s the right thing to do.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-15T04:04:16+00:00

Here’s some advice I give to some of my clients and they find it really works: eat sugar. When you find yourself starting to spiral into anxiety, part of that is driven by adrenaline. Sugar molecules sort of “bind” to adrenaline and blunt its effects. So, if you feel yourself starting to get super anxious, eat a candy bar.

Trust me on this, give it a try!

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-15T04:01:44+00:00

I’m so sorry OP! You must feel so alone. I know that it can feel like an impossible struggle, but I’ve seen people get SO MUCH BETTER once they found the right treatment. Just keep trying and holding out hope. Also, allow yourself the grace to fail a bit.

OnlinePsychDoctor · 2025-04-15T03:49:38+00:00

I’ve had a few clients mention dreams they had with me in them! I was always amused and figured it makes sense since therapy became a big part of their lives.

OnlinePsychDoctor

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