Part 1: The Early Years of Therapy
When I first started therapy, I had high hopes for what it could offer me. I was struggling emotionally and mentally, and I hoped that therapy would be a space to unpack and address those feelings. However, from the beginning, things didn’t go as planned. My therapist at the time seemed more interested in discussing religion than addressing my mental health concerns. We were not members of the same faith and he was curious about my beliefs. Every session, the conversation would veer towards faith, and while I recognize that religion plays a role in one’s well-being, it wasn’t what I needed at the time.
Despite this mismatch, I continued to attend weekly sessions, hoping that eventually, my therapist would pivot toward more relevant topics. But that never happened. Instead, the focus remained on my medication, and I was prescribed lithium, which I took for about 15 years. I followed the treatment plan, believing that something would shift, but I didn’t feel any progress in terms of emotional or mental growth. It was as if the therapist was more interested in prescribing medication than helping me work through the deeper issues. After a few years, I started feeling like the therapy sessions weren’t about me at all – they felt transactional, with the focus on the next pill rather than the next step in my healing journey.
I was a bit naïve, being new to the therapy scene. It didn’t occur to me that I had options such as moving on to a different therapist all together. If one therapist does not work out, if there are issues with communication or personalities don’t match, don’t hesitate to move on to someone new. Read parts 2-4 for the whole story.
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