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Chu
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 PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:59 pm Reply with quote        
I'm really excited, but I'm at work, so I have to share it online.

Anywho, some of you may know that I want to be a marriage/family counselor in the future. However, coming from a poor family, I know from first-hand experience that the people who need help the most (whether it's with marriage/family counseling or personal counseling) are those who cannot afford it.

Well, I noticed that we have meeting rooms at the library that I work at, so I started talking to some people, and it turns out that I can host free group sessions in their rooms as long as I have a library card with them. Of course, I want to make a living off of my work in the future; but knowing that I could host free sessions, even if it's just a couple of times a month, makes me very hopeful.

Have you ever participated in group therapy? What are your thoughts on it? Would you participate in it if you had the opportunity to?

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Sly
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 PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 1:22 am Reply with quote        
Personally, I think this is a really good idea! My grandfather is a social worker and counselor who has worked with a lot of less fortunate (financial-wise) people. I, myself, have an interest in psychology and councling. I do see a personal councelor on occassion (along with a psychiatrist for certain...personal issues) but have not had the forrtune of finding a therapy group near me that I can attend. I think grouptherapy can be really useful, if the participants are willing; it can give you a chance to discuss things and get different perspectives on issues. I would likely participate in group therapy at some point, if I could find a group. Sweat
Chu
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 PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:43 am Reply with quote        
Wow, it's great that you have a family member who does that. ^^ And it's great that you want to pursue that career too.

I went to a therapist before, but Seven Counties lost a lot of funding. They said they could only take care of more severe cases than mine, heh. It kind of bothered me, but the therapist I was seeing was kind of a bitch. I was seeing her for difficult memories that I was beginning to acknowledge, and she told me that those things don't really happen. In short, I was lying or exaggerating. Needless to say, I didn't want to see her anymore after that session.

It's a shame too, because the woman who I was seeing before was really nice and supportive. She helped me deal with a lot of my anxiety and depression. I got bounced from the clinic she worked at to that new one before they told me that no one could see me.

Honestly, what upset me the most was knowing that a place like that was losing their funding. Seven counties helped many people get through their issues before, from mental health to drug addiction. They helped lower and lower-middle class families the most - and all of a sudden, they just couldn't. I wish people would acknowledge the importance of mental health institutes more. It's hard enough to deal with the nature of mental illness itself, let alone the stigma attached to it. Now that places like that are disappearing, I don't know what some people are going to do.

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 PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:24 am Reply with quote        
I think that you bring up an important issue about funding for mental health institutes; often times the people who need the most help are the least likely to receive it due to lack of money or good insurance. I know that currently, my job doesn't offer a good insurance plan and I'm fortunate enough to have a place nearby that works with underinsured or uninsured patients to make things more affordable based on the individual's income level.

They are somewhat low on funding and overbooked though. Apparently I'm crazy enough to stay, or they don't turn people away...yet. Heh. I know that the first therapist I was scheduled to see this year didn't have any available appointments until June though. Through some finagling I was able to get an appointment with a therapist from the same organization. That's farther away from my house though, and while I can get there I know there are other people who probably can't and will just have to wait. While scheduling conflicts and waiting periods can't always be helped, I think such long wait times between appointments makes cohesive counseling/psychiatric treatment hard to manage for both the providers and the patients.

In short, there are a lot of things that need addressing and working on in the mental health practice. Without people letting go of their (oftentimes wrong) preconceptions about mental illness, working on the problems of helping the mentally ill will never be as effective as it could. Sorry if I kind of went off on a tangent there, this is just an issue that I feel very strongly about.... Sweat

neomattlac



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 PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2013 2:16 am Reply with quote        
I have had opportunities to attend group therapy stuff and I decided not to. While I need the therapy, there some stuff that I need to go through, that I don't even want to hear in private, with myself.

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Chu
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 PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:41 pm Reply with quote        
Absolutely. It's frustrating how mental health care still doesn't get much attention. Although mental health isn't as stigmatized as it was in the past, we still have a long way to go before we can even think about reform.

And I think it's great that people are becoming more understanding of conditions like anxiety or depression, or even autism in a few cases... But there are many more mental health conditions that need to be addressed and understood. And even with the progress that has been made with the few cases mentioned above, there are a lot of misconceptions about those conditions.

I don't know... With so many other social movements happening right now, I know that there won't be any real reform in the area of mental health quite yet. It just saddens me to know that I probably won't see it in my lifetime - and that my children may grow up in a society that doesn't accept the fact that mental health is something that needs to be taken care of, just like your physical health does.

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neomattlac



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 PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:48 pm Reply with quote        
Good point. I think that, at least around here, people are very accepting of psychological issues. Many, many people see therapists in this area, and it's not really something people hide too much. Also, psychology is a popular field, so demand and supply are good here.
Funding will come back within a few years. The depression took it's time to hit support. It's finally hitting it, right when people need it the most.

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I have a really bad memory, so if we got into a conversation or something and I just vanished, feel free to send me a pm and I'll reappear.
Venya1Aven



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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:25 pm Reply with quote        
I have participated before yes and it was very helpful. I really enjoyed when other people were even somewhat like me. i think its handy too to make friends and such.

I would really love to be in group therapy again but its so rare where I am now. I think it would really come in handy too. <3
Chu
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:38 pm Reply with quote        
I've actually never thought about gaining friends from group sessions before. I really need to expand my social circle. Although I love my online friends dearly, one of the biggest detriments to my mental health is my own mind. I can't sit around the house in my head all day.

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Sly
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 7:13 pm Reply with quote        
I see where you're coming from there, Chu. I can't be left alone with my thoughts all day either; this and still that's usually where I wind up because social situations (real life, face-to-face ones) make me dreadfully uncomfortable. Sweat
Chu
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:00 pm Reply with quote        
I'm actually pretty comfortable with people, and I'd love to make friends. It's just somehow really hard for me to connect with people.

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Sly
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:02 pm Reply with quote        
See, I love making friends in real life, and if people talk to me first I'm pretty good at making conversation and hanging out...it's just that first step that's hard for me. Sweat
Chu
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:04 pm Reply with quote        
I'm actually pretty good at small talk. He screwed me over on everything else, but my dad did teach me how to charm people. xD

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Sly
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:13 pm Reply with quote        
Well, that's something I guess. xD; I'm pretty good at being charming and making small talk too. Let's get together and see who can charm the other one better . Hai
Chu
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 PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:20 pm Reply with quote        
obby, don't tempt me. Embarrassed You've charmed me enough already, Sly.

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