Therapy Discussion

This is a place for users to discuss their experiences with therapy. Here are some starter questions:
- Have you had a bad experience with therapy? What about it made it bad?
- Have you had a good experience with therapy? What about it made it good?
- Because mental health struggles are so stigmatized, some families do not recognize therapy and its importance. What about therapy do you wish society would discuss/normalize? Is there something you wish you could communicate to those denying you resources (if that's the case)?
- Many people don't have proper access to mental health resources, meaning therapy isn't an option. What would you discuss if you were in therapy? How does the lack of resources (if this applies to you) impact your personal growth?

The goal of this forum is to destigmatize therapy and to provide the public with a space that makes the therapy process feel less isolating. Although all users are anonymous, we encourage people to use this space to connect with one another. That being said, stranger danger is real and we advise that you be careful when communicating and don't share any personal information.

No bullying will be tolerated. Life Letters reserves the right to remove a user who casts judgement or negative energy on another experience. Please choose your words carefully and keep in mind the way you would like to be treated.

I've been in therapy since my suicide attempt at the end of ninth grade, but that's not where my journey began. My journey began when I first asked my mom to go to therapy in the car on the way home from school, as I had been feeling depressed for the majority of eighth grade. She told me I was being dramatic, and that I didn't need therapy. Her answer changed a year later when I went to Florida on a class trip and I didn't eat for the entire week I was gone.
After that, my mom set up an appointment for me at an office near the Meijer in our town. The lady I met with was nice, but she didn't seem to understand me. I tried telling her about my experiences and she seemed more concerned with putting me in a box, treating me less like a human and more like a client. The real problem happened when she asked if I'd ever self-harmed, and when I said "no" she said good and then launched into an explanation of why people self-harm, which definitely made something that hadn't even crossed my mind become all my mind could think about. She is largely why I started cutting a few months later.
After her I gave up on therapy for a while. I wish people would talk more about bad experiences with therapists and how defeating they are, because for a while I thought that was what therapy looked like for everyone and that's largely why I stopped going. But fortunately, my next therapist was fantastic. I was forced to see her after my attempt, and she immediately began strengthening my self-confidence and provided me with advice and coping skills I still use today. Over time I outgrew her and discovered my current therapist, who is the wisest person I’ve ever met and one of my biggest supporters.