Can therapy really help ?
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pubbly — 15 years ago(December 03, 2010 09:24 AM)
Just watched a really interesting movie - one with subtitles too - which probably also means Paul might have liked it?
It was called:
A Year Ago in Winter
It's about a young girl (a dancer) who's lost her younger brother. He kills himself. Then the girl's mother also asked an artist to paint a portrait of the brother and sister together by a piano.
What's interesting is how the artist who paints the portrait has pretty much the same effect on this girl as Paul does on Sophie and Gina due to the way he's able to help the girl heal from the pain she's feeling over the loss of her brother.
Gina to Paul: You begin by questioning your value as a therapist - you end by questioning mine. -
The_Lowest_Whisper — 15 years ago(December 04, 2010 12:15 AM)
like Paul said in one of the other seasons what these people really need is love and understanding.
Aww, that's so cute!
Like Jack Donaghy says, yes therapy can help, but only the lesser beings, like men with curly hair or people who need glasses.
In my opinion. -
glocktwentyseven — 15 years ago(December 20, 2010 10:36 PM)
I've tried to talk to a therapist about my own issues . . . on two separate occasions: once in high school, and once a few years ago.
I never got past a couple of visits.
I think my issue was one of trust. It takes A LOT for me to open up about stuff that bothers me. I could only do it to someone I was close to, someone who I feel I have a bond or a strong relationship with. The distant, clinical, sterile approach does NOT work with me at all. It's a complete waste of time. -
Thespear — 15 years ago(January 14, 2011 10:18 AM)
"Can Therapy Really Help ?"
Isn't this the question Paul himself was tortured by? The reason for his dissagreement with first Gina and then really Adele?. Isn't that the argument that is simmering below almost every thread created on this board? The tension is usually between those who essentially agree with Paul that "a little love and understanding" may go a longer way to making less difficult emotional and mental problems and those who argue for a more clinical approach to the profession of psychotherapy. This clinical almost anticeptic approach demands an unnatural distance between doctor and patient. Isn't this what the
transference and counter transference
argument is really all about?
Imo, a professional trained to recognize certain patterns in human behavior can play an important role in helping someone discover the issues that are playing a significant if 'hidden' role in their lives. Having done this, they can also help that person consider more objectively what factors are influencing their decisons and deal with them. However, I believe most of these 'maladies' can and are also frequently dealt with simply by applying a sincere ear and genuine empathy to someone else. It isn't an either or proposition. there is a role for therapy but it clearly is not the ONLY or a FOOL PROOF way these issues can be addressed.
"The horse has been taken to the well. " -
Lootrock — 13 years ago(April 18, 2012 10:57 PM)
I'm right with Thespear here, having a therapist that can identify patterns and reveal them to you in ways that are meaningful and so you understand them is one of the most important elements of therapy; that is, if it is achieved. Love and understanding only go so far. It is important to have that as a base for certain types of people who need it, so that what is said and observed is meaningful, but too much can backfire once the patient becomes a victim too often by virtue of receiving so much empathy and understanding as opposed to being exposed to the ways in which they make their own lives the way it is. I've been in therapy on and off for a decade and I can tell you that this balance is DIFFICULT for many(therapists). Part of it has to do with how much focus, too much freedom can be given to the patient and it hinders making headway in specific areas as opposed to being tangential and never quite getting anywhere. Another part is the patient side. Many don't want therapy or at least they're not really willing to accept what therapy really is. If you haven't agreed with yourself to do what it takes and give life a chance without being a victim all the time, therapy may be just like banging your head agaisnt the wall. I know because I've been there myself and I've seen it in countless other people. Unfortunately, either therapists are not perceptive enough to pick up on it or they just aren't willing to explicitly say it or make it known how important this part is.
About psychology being a business, I feel it is very unethical for therapists to not refer you to someone else if they don't think they can help you. I personally think it's despicable. The person they're treating may be hopeful and not even know that they're wasting their time, it's a shame. -
bruce-129 — 13 years ago(June 16, 2012 01:24 AM)
That's the question, you might as well ask, can love help, can friendship help? Maybe.
It might depend on the person and what help means.
I agree Jesse looks so scewed up. I think he has ADD or something, maybe PTSD from something in early life. He is out there and without any idea of what is going on with himself.
It can work. Or partially work, in the sense that Paul seemed to intuitive get that Adele was telling him valuable stuff, but his pride was hurt and it took him a long time, and ultimately he thinks he does not want or need it - because he gets away acting like a kid, like Jesse. I think it was no coincidence that Jesse's outburst is followed by Paul's outburst in Adele's office to show they are both the same - ie. human beings.
But Paul does get it, he just has a lot to get and integrate, and he is used to his defense mechanisms and being spoiled or passive aggressive.
It's a really fascinating show.
But if you do not try to figure it out and see what's going on with yourself, then you have little chance of overcoming destructive behaviors.
It is perverse that we are created to be able to see other people better than we can see ourselves. They've done studies where they asked people and then their friends to predict that person's bahavior. A person's friends usually know the person and can predict their behavior better than the person themselves so therapy has a basis now will that work, is it enough not necessarily.