# Is it "normal" for a therapist to....?



## Misinterpret (Jan 23, 2012)

Is it normal for a therapist to suggest to a person with SA that they need to be on anti-depressants on their second session?

I went to a therapist a year ago for SA. I wasn't really comfortable with my first therapist on the first session, so I went to a different therapist. I was comfortable with my second therapist, so I continued with a second session with her. 

I spent my first session talking about a family situation that was going on at the time (between my Mum and her sister); didn't really speak about myself at all. The second session she asked me a few questions about myself and within 20 minutes, she was telling me that I was depressed. She went on to hand me a couple of pamphlets on depression and about the treatment, different kinds of medication, side effects, etc. I was shocked by this. I didn't think a therapist would suggest medication for depression so early on in therapy. It all felt extremely rushed and "off". I ended up not ever going back to therapy (am doing more "self-help" though).

Has anybody else experienced this? Is that normal or....did I just stumble upon a bad therapist?


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## James_Russell (Aug 26, 2011)

That sounds pretty twisted to me. This is why i'm torn on therapy. I've never been to a therapist, but getting a load of pills chucked in my face sounds very counter-productive. Could be very helpful if you had a good therapist though.

Which by the sounds of it you never found.


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## Misinterpret (Jan 23, 2012)

a pers0n said:


> That sounds pretty twisted to me. This is why i'm torn on therapy. I've never been to a therapist, but getting a load of pills chucked in my face sounds very counter-productive. Could be very helpful if you had a good therapist though.
> 
> Which by the sounds of it you never found.


No, unfortunately I didn't. I don't necessarily think that therapy is complete bulls***. At first, I was pretty open to going to therapy and didn't have any preconceived views about it...like it wasn't going to work or that they would automatically want to put me on pills. Which they did want to put me on pills. I think it was more about not having a good therapist. I think it's still possible that therapy can work, you just have to find the right therapist that suits you and your individual needs.


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## Misinterpret (Jan 23, 2012)

Cest La Vie said:


> If they're not a medical doctor then they're not qualified to give you advice on which medications you should be taking. I think it would be okay if they just asked whether you'd considered taking medication in conjunction with therapy but you're therapist really seemed to be pushing you into it.


Well, she was going to send me to a psychiatrist to have me evaluated for medication. She did actually ask if I would consider taking medication and I was a bit shocked when she asked...because it was only 20 minutes into our 2nd session and she didn't know anything about me. I just said I would think about it. But yeah, she definitely seemed to be pushing it. I thought if anything she would have needed to have had a few more sessions with me before writing me off as depressed and so much so, that I needed to be put on medication for it.


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## user12345 (Jan 10, 2012)

Not normal. Usually a therapist needs to know more about you before they can even suggest that you see a psychiatrist or need to be on medication. I don't think therapists are even qualified to diagnose you - I mean they can in their notes and stuff but I don't think they can tell you what you are. I think only a psychiatrist can do that. 

I think you should probably find a different therapist. It takes a while but when you find a good one, it's worth it.

Unless you really like her, then you could just talk to her about it. Be honest and tell her you feel uncomfortable with her diagnosing you in the second session and say that you felt a bit pressured to take medication. I know it's scary to say something like that, especially with SA, but often the real 'therapy' happens in situations like these.


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## Misinterpret (Jan 23, 2012)

R91 said:


> Not normal. Usually a therapist needs to know more about you before they can even suggest that you see a psychiatrist or need to be on medication. I don't think therapists are even qualified to diagnose you - I mean they can in their notes and stuff but I don't think they can tell you what you are. I think only a psychiatrist can do that.
> 
> I think you should probably find a different therapist. It takes a while but when you find a good one, it's worth it.
> 
> Unless you really like her, then you could just talk to her about it. Be honest and tell her you feel uncomfortable with her diagnosing you in the second session and say that you felt a bit pressured to take medication. I know it's scary to say something like that, especially with SA, but often the real 'therapy' happens in situations like these.


Thank you for your answer; I appreciate it. I didn't think she would be able to do that. That was more than a year ago and I stopped going after the second session. I'm doing more "self-help" stuff now. I just joined this site and the whole therapy thing resurfaced in my mind; I just thought they would ask.

I do believe there are "good" therapists out there though. Somewhere...


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## Mina84 (Jan 2, 2011)

Mine did something similar. After having considered (or procrastinating?) it for months, I finally went to see a psychologist. My SA was terrible, so I wrote down all of my symptoms, so I didn't have to say much. He asked me some questions and after a while, I began to cry, so he said he would prescribe me an anti-depressant. He also recommended me a therapist for CBT, but I never went there, because she was my neighbour.


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## Misinterpret (Jan 23, 2012)

Mina84 said:


> Mine did something similar. After having considered (or procrastinating?) it for months, I finally went to see a psychologist. My SA was terrible, so I wrote down all of my symptoms, so I didn't have to say much. He asked me some questions and after a while, I began to cry, so he said he would prescribe me an anti-depressant. He also recommended me a therapist for CBT, but I never went there, because she was my neighbour.


Whoa. I'm starting to realize this isn't that uncommon for therapists to do.

I've had terrible SA for the last 6 years, I believe. Although, I've always been shy since before I was able to walk...so I think this has been going on much longer than I ever realized. My parents started homeschooling me in 8th grade and I haven't had friends or really done anything for several years now. The therapist that "suggested" (more like pushed) that I take anti-depressants was very judgemental about this; she actually seemed to express "disapproval" about me not doing anything with my life. I thought they were supposed to be "neutral" in their views.

I guess it just depends on what kind of therapist you get. Some are good, some are bad, some are just trying to "fix" themselves.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

It's not uncommon. I've had therapists tell me they won't treat me unless I'm taking something. "There's no point otherwise," they say.


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## borbiusle (Sep 26, 2009)

Yeah, I've been to two therapists and both have pushed for me to get on anti-depressants after a brief 30-minute Q/A session, which has left me weary about shopping around to find that "perfect" therapist, if such a person truly exists.


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## engram (Jul 1, 2011)

Therapist is a job like anything else. You make money with it. 80% stick to the business. 20% actually want to help effectively, without keeping you tied to prescriptions for ages. Prescribing ADs is... again, business. Be glad that it did not take even more time than two sessions to find out who this therapist is. 

AD should be the last resort. These pills are serious smack and unless you are really heavily depressed and can't even get out of bed at all, there is hardly a reason to take these. Prescribing AD for SA is like killing flies with nuke. Would you treat trembling hands with surgery?

Pills fix the effect and not the cause, there is a reason why are we anxious and have social phobias. Mostly it is because of family issues whilst growing up... no pill can fix the past. It can just suppress it and make you addicted to comfortable numbness.


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## SocialAnxietyMC (Sep 3, 2011)

I just don't believe in taking medication for SA period unless it's for depression. Kind of weird for someone to suggest medication after only two sessions. Trust your gut if you think you've stumbled upon a bad therapist look for another one. Best of luck.


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

I find it weird. Usually psychiatrists are the ones that push medication, since you know, they actually make their money off keeping you on medication. But a therapist? Their domain is helping you without medication. They have no business pushing it on you. Whether you see a doctor or not is none of their concern. Their job is try to help you with your issues, not get you drugged up. 

Actually, I'd think a therapist would fear that if you went on medication & got "better", that you wouldn't want to have therapy as much. lol. Happened with me. After I got put on medication, I lowered my number of visits to my therapist & am now thinking of giving him the boot.


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## Lorralia (Feb 5, 2012)

I went to a couple of places that were an organization consisting of a few different mental health services to see a psychologist and those ones always suggested (repeatedly, in a gentle yet somehow pushy way) a referral to a psychiatrist and brought up the topic of medications that they thought would be helpful. This was always on the first session as well, although I never saw the psychiatrist so I don't know how pushy they would be with the drugs. I kind of felt like they wanted to disperse me amongst as many people there as possible so they could make more money.


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## wxolue (Nov 26, 2008)

I don't find it weird at all. Medication in conjunction with therapy has been proven to be more successful than therapy, or medication alone (assuming you find a medication that works). I think the stigma surrounding medication is fading fast. Scientists have known for some time that anxiety is related to a deficiency in chemicals in the brain. Nothing wrong with balancing things out.


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