# Is therapy a scam?



## something there (Feb 24, 2014)

Does any of the therapy actually work for anyone? Or is it a scam? A racket to swindle money out of the desperate who want to feel like our pain is special or that it's not our fault. So we pay some jerk to listen to us whine and spit out the same tired lines over and over again. Then give us some useless pills at an extravagant rate to sucker us out of every dime they can until we can't pay anymore and then they wash their hands of us and wait for the next fool to walk in.


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

I am pressed for time, so I shall be brief. If anyone wants references or sources, please let me know. 

In the 19th century, scientists were finding evidence that certain forms of insanity were the result of infectious agents. (I am going to use the old terminology.) They are also speculated that there was a neurasthenia bacillus. Then people were amazed to find that hypnosis, something prima facie non-biological, could eliminate neurotic symptoms, at least for a few days. Freud attempted to arrive at a technique similar to hypnosis but with longer lasting effects. People generally assumed that he had succeeded in doing so, and much of the work on infectious agents was dropped. People were not content with Freud's approach, or at least some people thought they could do better, so variant forms of psychotherapy arose. Physicians discovered that neuroleptics suppressed some symptoms of psychosis, so there was speculation about chemical imbalances. The old distinction between neurasthenia and melancholia was largely forgotten, so people assumed that both conditions probably have the same sort of explanation.

In the 21st century, all of this began to fall apart. Infectious agents were found to play a role in schizophrenia and OCD -- at least in some cases -- and probiotics have shown to be helpful in treating social anxiety. There has been talk about how we need to restore some of the old categories and distinguish neurasthenia from melancholia once more, since the latter respond to SSRIs, while the former does not. 

So basically, we are just waking up from 100 years of dogmatic slumber. In any case, it is still a mystery as to why hypnosis can have such remarkable effects, albeit for short time periods. In fact, hypnosis can even be used in place of anesthesia during surgery.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

Therapy had a massive hand in my overcoming the worst of my SA. To me therapy only works if you want it to work. If you enter therapy with a pessimistic attitude towards its effectiveness then it will never be successful. It all boils down to perseverance, therapy is simply a means to direct you but it's up to you to then actually use that direction to make changes yourself.


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

AussiePea said:


> To me therapy only works if you want it to work. If you enter therapy with a pessimistic attitude towards its effectiveness then it will never be successful.


It's not just you. Many people say this. The problem with saying this, however, is that when therapy does not work, one is blaming it on the patient. If the patient denies having the wrong attitude, one can always say that they had the wrong attitude *unconsciously*. In any case, they obviously had the wrong attitude because -- look -- the therapy didn't work for them.


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## saya2077 (Oct 6, 2013)

Anxiety is not set in stone. It's different for every person, every person has their 'roots'. If someone's anxiety is more rooted in physical problems, or they're unable to locate the cause / are reluctant to talk things through, then therapy probably won't help at all. However, if someone anxiety is purely mental (like, fear caused by bullying or poor self image) and they discuss it thoroughly it can help since they can work on coming to terms with those memories/feelings and sub conscious responses. Likewise, if it's a mixture (like mine may be, starting meds with CBT next week) therapy can be helpful alongside temporary medication. I don't know if I explained this well enough since I don't know the scientific details but eh.


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## something there (Feb 24, 2014)

If the whole treatment hinges on my ability to "buy in" to what they're selling, then can we really call it a treatment? What if the attitude is the problem and that's why you're there in the first place? They'll take your money for sure, but at the end of the day they'll still say that it's your fault for having the wrong attitude and not immediately buying in to the program.


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

something there said:


> If the whole treatment hinges on my ability to "buy in" to what they're selling, then can we really call it a treatment? What if the attitude is the problem and that's why you're there in the first place? They'll take your money for sure, but at the end of the day they'll still say that it's your fault for having the wrong attitude and not immediately buying in to the program.


Try probiotics. It can't hurt.

(By the way, I am the same person as Insignificant Other. I am not trying to conceal my identity. I had to change my name because of log-in problems.)


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

saya2077 said:


> Anxiety is not set in stone. It's different for every person, every person has their 'roots'. If someone's anxiety is more rooted in physical problems, or they're unable to locate the cause / are reluctant to talk things through, then therapy probably won't help at all. However, if someone anxiety is purely mental (like, fear caused by bullying or poor self image) and they discuss it thoroughly it can help since they can work on coming to terms with those memories/feelings and sub conscious responses. Likewise, if it's a mixture (like mine may be, starting meds with CBT next week) therapy can be helpful alongside temporary medication. I don't know if I explained this well enough since I don't know the scientific details but eh.


The issues are not so easily separated. There is evidence that childhood trauma increases one's vulnerability to the effects of "bad" gut bacteria. Unfortunately, I cannot yet post a link about this, since I don't have a large enough number of posts to post links.


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## saya2077 (Oct 6, 2013)

@Outlook I know they're not, I even said its not set in stone. They are just three examples.


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## man143 (May 24, 2013)

something there said:


> Does any of the therapy actually work for anyone? Or is it a scam? A racket to swindle money out of the desperate who want to feel like our pain is special or that it's not our fault. So we pay some jerk to listen to us whine and spit out the same tired lines over and over again. Then give us some useless pills at an extravagant rate to sucker us out of every dime they can until we can't pay anymore and then they wash their hands of us and wait for the next fool to walk in.


well therapy (cbt) has worked wonderfully for me. It has given me strength, peacem calmness, acceptance


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## Contraries (May 21, 2015)

It's not a scam, but it definitely doesn't work on everyone.


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## TicklemeRingo (Jan 11, 2013)

Not all "therapy" is the same.

There are types of therapy that are effective, and types that aren't. 

There are therapists that are competent/skilled, and those that aren't.

I found the type I had to be one very useful part of an overall multi-faceted treatment plan.

I also didn't pay a cent for it (beyond what I already pay in taxes).


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

saya2077 said:


> I know they're not, I even said its not set in stone. They are just three examples.


My point is that childhood trauma can sometimes be best treated bacteriologically. It is an important to make, because it is very counterintuive, not at all obvious.


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## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

It's the exploitation of the mentally ill. You are paying someone for a fake relationship. ****ing disgusting. At least with prostitution everyone knows what's going on.


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## Twelve Keyz (Aug 28, 2011)

yeah, probably. If it doesn't work they'll just tell you it's your fault. That's how a lot of therapists justify their useless, exploitative careers. 

I have more respect for psychiatrists and doctors because they had to work hard to get where they are. Hence, they are more likely to actually care about your problems and not be solely motivated by money.


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## Nada (Dec 19, 2004)

I never felt one on one therapy did much of anything for me. Exposure therapy had helped me a lot though.


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

Twelve Keyz said:


> yeah, probably. If it doesn't work they'll just tell you it's your fault. That's how a lot of therapists justify their useless, exploitative careers.
> 
> I have more respect for psychiatrists and doctors because they had to work hard to get where they are. Hence, they are more likely to actually care about your problems and not be solely motivated by money.


The first statement agrees with my experience. The second does not. I think all the talk of "chemical imbalances" is complete [expletive deleted]. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: I urge people to try probiotics. I really do feel better on probiotics. Nothing else worked like this. Nothing.


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

something there said:


> Does any of the therapy actually work for anyone? Or is it a scam? A racket to swindle money out of the desperate who want to feel like our pain is special or that it's not our fault. So we pay some jerk to listen to us whine and spit out the same tired lines over and over again. Then give us some useless pills at an extravagant rate to sucker us out of every dime they can until we can't pay anymore and then they wash their hands of us and wait for the next fool to walk in.


One often hears that we know that psychotherapy works because of the scientific studies which apparently show this to be the case. But I was never comfortable with this. It disagreed with my own experience, having seen many therapists who just seemed to be living in their own fantasy world -- misinterpreting me badly. Now there is some more systematic reason to have doubts about these supposedly scientific studies (and meta-analyses).

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6251/aac4716


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## fairy12 (Oct 2, 2013)

something there said:


> Does any of the therapy actually work for anyone? Or is it a scam? A racket to swindle money out of the desperate who want to feel like our pain is special or that it's not our fault. So we pay some jerk to listen to us whine and spit out the same tired lines over and over again. Then give us some useless pills at an extravagant rate to sucker us out of every dime they can until we can't pay anymore and then they wash their hands of us and wait for the next fool to walk in.


You got it right! Your pain is special, by the way and it isn't your fault. 
But therapy is a scam. keep your thoughts clean...

http://www.successconsciousness.com/index_000039.htm

Keep yourself busy. Focus on things that improve yourself and stay away from negative people.


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## Rodin (May 11, 2011)

Only psychiatrists prescribe meds. Therapy is legit but you have to find a therapist that's right for you. Could therapists charge less? Yeah, I suppose but they are regular people who want success for themselves.


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## Rodin (May 11, 2011)

fairy12 said:


> You got it right! Your pain is special, by the way and it isn't your fault.
> But therapy is a scam. keep your thoughts clean...
> 
> http://www.successconsciousness.com/index_000039.htm
> ...


You just engaged in therapy, internet style. You scammer!


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## Idontgetit (Nov 1, 2013)

I honestly think its a placebo effect," i went to the doc now im cured! “ I don’t like the whole black and white approach therapists have, people will always have problems regardless.


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## Outlook (Sep 11, 2015)

Idontgetit said:


> I honestly think its a placebo effect," i went to the doc now im cured! " I don't like the whole black and white approach therapists have, people will always have problems regardless.


The ones who experience a placebo effect are lucky. Woe unto him who tells a therapist, especially after years of therapy, "I have never benefited from therapy." That makes therapists angry, and they will start accusing the patient of being a liar or of having some kind of serious moral character flaw.

In any case, try probiotics. Especially the ones with bifidobacteria.


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## ilsr (Aug 29, 2010)

Twelve Keyz said:


> yeah, probably. If it doesn't work they'll just tell you it's your fault. That's how a lot of therapists justify their useless, exploitative careers.


I had the same experience there. "It's my fault, I didn't want to change. I need to work hard at it", etc. Conveniently they often said that at the end of the therapy sessions when I quit them or was moving away. And by that time they know your vulnerabilities from what you've revealed. Jerks.


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## Telliblah (Sep 19, 2015)

Well the government provides it basically for free over here so if that's the case at least I'm not the one getting scammed.


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## BengalSolitude (Oct 6, 2010)

*Therapist*

Worse is that they feel very important in your life while you repeat "nobody cares whether I breath or not" But they think that excludes them, mistaking politeness for a bond. 
I just wasted 2 years of therapy on an unsympathetic one who kept on yapping about his most boring wife who I can only describe as a dumb, immoral, terrible mother, incapable, has nothing to add and has the worst interior taste but proclaiming to be elite. **** remains **** even when decorated with diamonds. 
1 - when I started he said he would help me to move from my home. Being expensive and a major cause in my problems. He didn't do that.
2 - He also said "therapy would be free for as long as it took, my insurance would cover it.
3 - He then talks about prominent man dating me as "What would a man like that see in you!?"
4 - About my cat, that I've witnessed being born and with me for 18,5 years. The first I shared love with. He was thrown to death.
"It was just a cat!"
So, I didn't feel talking about traumatic events or men would be in our relationship. Everyone said I had to give it another try.
5- I caught him peeking on me as I left the premises. I doubted at first but then I caught him. He denied it tried to make me think I made it up. That it was in my head. And everyone else whom I talked did so too, after all, I'm the crazy one. Yes, but hallucinations aren't my issues.
He was near crying and on the defence. So, we tried to continue but things happen. 
6 - My child, the only one left in my life left home to study in a different city. I had raised him single-handedly in isolation since he was three. A lot of massive social response towards me and my son kept on for 10 years. I had invested a lot in him and we've grown very close. So a plane crashes and though nobody in his vicinity was on that plane, his daughter did and "he wanted to be for his daughter (I think trying to prove to me he was a great father" ). After all, it wasn't my business to know. Appointment cancelled. Two weeks without one. 
7 - Two weeks later he cancels again. The father of his stepdaughter died, postponed the appointment for two weeks.
He left me in a very crucial moment behind for over a month, without any contact. When I returned he demanded my sympathy for that daughter and when I refused (she had enough sympathy), he looked at me if "completely emotionless" and kept on sighing. He wrecked my summer.
8 - After more than a year he learns I'm against weapon trades, he looks astounded.
9 - So, after I had requested he shut up about his wife, he starts again about her. I write a deafening letter and find him in complete disarray. It was like kicking a puppy, this man couldn't handle anything. After I gave in, he shakes my hand with deadly coldness it took me months to get it out of my body. I lost a week in memory, depersonalisation.
10 - I get a bill from over 4500,- on my doormat. He agreed to waiver from 25%. The insurance wouldn't cover 75%, a lot of trouble an I find his bill accounted for only 75%. Insurance covers 60% from the 50%. Short story, because of me he gained more than 800,- for re-accounting his bill an probably from others as well. 
And after I paid him, I get a bill for the remaining 25%. He said "Unfortunately, how it goes with the bill now? 
I exploded. "Will you stop causing problems and insulting my intelligence!?" After my letter he coldly replies that I've should've taken medications, more social help etc. As if that clears his behaviour. 
11 - My child told me last year: "a therapist should make an effort for you, you not for him. Find another." He was finally proud again of me to ditch him. But yes, it does mean, I haven't anybody to talk to. My child is an Asperger, distant communication isn't a reality. But after a summer of arguments (promised to help me with a project but pulled out), he came home happy to see me. That was so very good. I thought I had lost him forever.

I had my therapist for chitchat, that's abuse of the vulnerable too. Unfortunately, I believe he is one of the better ones in our country which says an disturbing lot about psychology and the state of it.
More unfortunately is that in my social standing, I'm in need of professional help or they don't believe you're having troubles. 
I don't want another bulldozing all over me.


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