Questions About Therapy | Good Therapy Australia

Questions About Therapy

Psychotherapists, Counsellors and Psychologists answer your questions about psychotherapy

Therapists Answer Your Questions

Good Therapy Australia hosts this forum for people who have a question about therapy. Answers are provided by Mental Health professionals working in private practice.

You can send a question via Good Therapy's contact page.

NOTE: Responses are the opinions of the individual practitioners and may not reflect the views of other practitioners or Good Therapy Australia.

Before relying on any information or material on this website you should obtain your own professional advice to ensure it is relevant to your particular circumstances. Please read our Terms and Disclaimer.

Can you educate me on the purpose of the initial consultation?

Why do psychologists need 24 hours notice to cancel an appointment?

Is it possible for a client to become dependent on therapy?

If I see a psychologist on medicare, does this leave a record?

My psychologist takes notes. Am I entitled to my file if I decide to pull out of therapy?

How do I know which type of therapy will work for me?

I can't talk about my issues, I become stricken with panic.

I'd like to know whether this ever happens in real life therapy?

What is the basis of attraction between patient and therapist?

I resent that he pays money to communicate with someone else when he doesn't talk to me.

I went to see a psychologist and he works in the front room of his home.

My therapist has gone overseas and I'm missing her support terribly.

Sometimes in my work people admit to being afraid of me.

I've noticed behaviours that are clearly obsessive compulsive.

I'm concerned that my son is being bullied at school...

Does psychological and genetic make-up determine how we age?

How can I get her to see that going more into debt is a serious problem?

The company my husband works for requires this of all their employees.

At the age of 20 I found out that my dad is not my biological father.

My doubts are taking over my life and my dreams.

I am suffering from anxiety which is developing into paranoia.

How can I know if what I'm doing with my life is good?

Can you predict relationship violence?

At what point is someone considered to have narcissistic personality disorder?

I'm not aware of her having emotional problems but isn't this the cause of anorexia nervosa?

Do you think therapists, working with people's problems day in and day out, could become over vigilant ... ?

When does this become self-serving?

I'm curious to know if social science has found answers to why this happens?

Does quoting statistics on relationship violence produce any change in behaviour ...?

Even when I've made up my mind to say no, my heart sees how much he needs me and I end up caving in.

He is chipping away at my confidence a teeny bit at a time

I feel bad about moving out, like I've abandoned my little girl.

Alternative lifestyle or mental illness?

Could this be why I am now so careful?

This has led to a reduction in the time we spend with our grandson...

What impact does your case load have on the effectiveness of your treatment for depression?

I am a psychotherapist in training. Can you suggest ways I might avoid burn out?

Do you think our legal system will ever allow charges for psychological assault?

His behaviour is particularly inappropriate toward our daughter. How do I protect us both without upsetting him further?

I'm not sure who needs therapy - me or them?

Does a psychologist's course of study include pharmacology?

We both want what's best for her without ignoring our own needs...

My teenage daughter has been seeing a school counsellor.

Do you think of your work as being mostly preventative or curative?

Does anyone know what the best course of action is?

I love reading the diferent perspectives brought to the forum, so much so I wish more practitioners would join in.

I've been told that I'm passive-aggressive...

It's over a week since my girlfriend and I spoke to each other...

Maybe I should try a different kind of therapy?

How do you know when to switch between being the talker and the listener?

I'm tossing up between doing a degree in social work and a degree in psychology.

Is it true that some personality types do better in group therapy than they would in one-to-one therapy?

How will we know if they are feeling depressed?

Can this possibly be effective and is this the way of the future?

One of the speakers said that our attempts to be positive are generally superficial...

I recently married for the second time.

He is working at repairing the damage but how can I ever trust him again?

My cousin has started doing drugs.

I want to seek professional help for her but I am not sure how to convince her to attend an appointment.

The term mental health confuses me.

I don't want to make the same mistake.

She started dieting and exercising extensively.

Could some one please explain the concept of transference.

Is it common for someone with a mental illness to have more than one condition...

Last year I went to a counsellor for several consultations and I decided not to tell my wife.

I'm a male and my therapist is a woman.

I keep everything under strict control and feel like a failure if I show what I really feel.

Sometimes I feel resentful that I can't have both.

What psychological need is being met by storing things considered too nice to use?

When I'm talking with her I imagine she must be thinking that I'm a hopeless case.

My question is for counsellors who help people make career decisions.

Many psychologists say they use evidence-based treatment.

Something of core importance is slipping away from us.

Is there a government scheme that funds an individual to see a psychologist or psychotherapist?

How do I assess that I have got what I was looking for after an initial session?

My son has developed over the last 12 months an inability to control his anger.

I never thought that buying $2 scratchies could become a serious problem.

What is the ratio of males/females that go to a psychologist and do they go for the same reasons?

Come December I turn into an irritable grump who fantasises about setting fire to all the Christmas trees.

My 19yr old daughter bites her nails until they bleed.

I have tried to live a simple life but nothing is going smoothly right now.

Our 17 year old son needs help and our three other children desperately need relief.

It's a guy thing!

Is it a breach of ethics to treat/see 2 clients individually - not couples counselling - who are in a long term relationship?

I would like to know more information on CBT for a person suffering schizophrenia.

I feel frustrated and hurt when I ask therapists and social workers what they know about this...

What physical danger is my girlfriend and her mother in from her new male partner?

She gets hysterical and goes to pieces.

Hi, I'm looking for a good therapist in the Ipswich area Qld. I've suffered depression for many years...

How do we determine when feeling angry or getting angry is an appropriate response?

Will I be required to disclose to my GP the nature of my problem?

Even when I try hard, one thing or another happens to prevent me from arriving on time.

How is Complex PTSD treated?

I've been in a relationship on and off with the same guy for 5 years...

I fear that at my age -46- it may be too late for a career change. Am I too old to retrain?

When I have highs they are followed by lows and the higher I go the harder I fall.

Would you agree that a therapeutic approach potentially flies in the face of a democratic one?

As counsellors, what would you say if you were asked to spend the session walking rather than sitting?

What do you enjoy about working as a therapist?

I need some good advice on what I can do to better my chances of finding work.

I went away frustrated, and remained irritable for the rest of the day, all because of a cushion!

I hear people speaking of 'the big picture' as if it were complete and finite...

Do counsellors and psychologists value practicality over virtue?

Why am I, at the age of 44, thinking of doing something that until now was unthinkable?

One of the reasons my marriage ended was that we were low conflict.

Do training courses for therapists allow for this or do they try to measure and formulate everything?

It is getting me down to the point that I get physically sick thinking about it.

I keep wondering: Are we disadvantaged by not having had more than one relationship?

She doesn't really feel like the psychiatrist does her any good but doesn't know any other way.

At some point my baby is going to see the older two going to visit their dad and she won't be. How do I handle this?

I'm having difficulty dealing with my feelings of low self esteem...

I was struck by how anti-depressants affect individuals differently.

Is there any protocol or regulation that prevents a therapist from...

He is worried he will be accused of faking the whole thing.

I've lost interest in sex.

Her attitude really annoys me.

I missed half a session due to my therapist telling me the wrong time.

How do I know if my anxiety is an anxiety disorder or just normal disorder?

I'm now looking for a counsellor and wondering if this problem exists for them as it does for GPs.

Emotionally I was all over the place with sudden outburst of anger one minute and deep sadness the next.

It seems the road to mental health is only open to the rich.

I wonder what role you see for meditation and prayer in therapy?

Could you please speak from your heart about the role of spirituality and faith both in your life and your work?

Can you suggest some guidelines as to what age is okay to leave children at home unattended?

I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder ...

What is the difference between idealising transference and mirroring transference?

I posted the question starting with I was told several times by my female psychologist...

I love my wife and can have relations with her. However, I know I can't give up guys.

How can I truly love someone warts n all when I do this?

What is betrayed by an illicit affair and why does it matter?

For how long does it get worse before things get better?

I'd like to stop but I don't know how to tell my therapist without hurting his feelings.

I am plagued by nightmares...

I am not as attracted to my husband as I was.

I am 12 years and my sister is 10. Our parents are separated and our mother is dying from cancer.

I tried to end a 2 1/2 year relationship...

Strangely enough, the comment irritated me.

Prior to my period I feel lethargic and depressed.

I feel as if I'm running out of options. I don't know what to do or where to go for help.

What special precautions should I take to ensure I don't inflict emotional damage on her?

Does living in the past mean that I have a problem with facing up to reality?

Is it normal for a counsellor to write copious amounts of notes during sessions?

How does a therapist assess the appropriateness of disclosing personal information...

In your experience, what changes men's minds about therapy?

I have an 11 year old son who has been diagnosed with ADHD...

Is it possible to get past addiction without the help of a therapist or recovery groups?

Could the same be said of therapy?

What is erotic and eroticised transference, how often does it happen in therapy and how do you treat it?

I was told several times by my female psychologist that I was very seductive.

Should I infer from this that ALL therapists are worthy of an alliance?

I would like to know the extent to which therapists are trained to remain neutral.

Why don't we appreciate what we have until it is lost, the ones we love, until they have left?

Is it okay to be deeply sad for 20 years and not call it depression?

I'm starting to get worried that I might have symptoms of schizophrenia.

I'm sick of classes and assignments and exams...

Please tell me whether or not it is possible for a person to control who they are attracted to.

I want to stop taking Xanax and Rivotril

I don't want to take sleeping pills.

My two children are living examples of 'chalk and cheese'.

No-one I know eats in their sleep.

My life partner broke off our relationship soon after someone we knew got AIDS and died.

I would like some contact with others who have been through this sort of situation...

He was warned about certain types of therapists.

How can I trust a Universe that doesn't share my values?

I've always believed my sense of self must take priority.

I feel so heavy and tired I can hardly move...

Someone I work with gets on my nerves.

What is an anxiety attack? Is it different from a panic attack?

Has it always been this way?

Can you advise what services exist for Vietnam veterans to get ongoing support for PTSD?

My 11 year old daughter has developed a nervous tic.

Would I be correct in thinking that they have opposing beliefs about the purpose of therapy?

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