My school therapist/counselor said out of the blue that this would be our last session. I wasn't really prepared for it. Feels pretty bad, is this typical? I mean, do therapists normally give you a little bit of a warning before breaking things off or no?
If you feel you still have issues to be resolved then I recommend finding a private cognitive behavioral therapist and start seeing him.
They should usually give you a small buffer but yeah, it's not uncommon for them to cut people off kinda-abruptly, as fucking crazy as that sounds.
School therapists are responsible for taking care of a stupid amount of people on a surface level. They are not there for in depth therapy. Can you imagine?
That said, a lot of schools are really shitty about directing their students to alternative resources. Go to your counseling department and ask if they can direct you to any full-time therapists in the area. (This might be pricey as fuck.) If you can't afford it, ask what their alternatives are.
Did you do anything weird? Like, you're not flirting with or threatening the therapist, right?
Otherwise yes this is normal. See a private therapist if you can, tell the school you need continued help otherwise
>>16544565
No, I didn't do anything weird like that.
I get that as a school counselor they are more short term and have a lot of other students to attend to. It's just that we talked a lot about loneliness and social anxiety and from my perspective it feels like I'm being abandoned. She did say I should seek help with more counseling outside of the school's services though.
The way I always understood it was that school therapists were there to address issues related to the school environment, like acclimating to stress or being away from home. Sounds like it became apparent to this therapist that your hardships need to be considered on a much broader scope than your life as a student. I think it's understandable in those circumstances to stop abruptly once she realized that this runs beyond her remit. It would be irresponsible of a therapist who deals with school issues to take on deeper personal problems. It's a bit like how a school nurse wouldn't start suturing up a child after a nasty playground accident.
>>16544471
Why did you see a therapist? Did you have a psychological problem?
>>16544702
I went in for just feeling sad/depressed. We talked about it for a few sessions and she thought that my depression and loneliness stemmed from social phobia/anxiety. We talked about that for awhile and she recommended a workbook and gave me goals like going to class discussions which i was avoiding because of the social aspects.
>>16544700
This was a bit different that that. The website lists things that they can help with
"Academic Problems
ADHD
Anxiety
Career Concerns
Concerns with Alcohol/Drug Use
Conflict Resolution
Depression
Eating Disorders
Family Problems
Identity Concerns
Loneliness
Personal Development
Problems with Intimacy
Relationship Concerns
Sexual Assault
Stress Management"
they also give the following description,
"Individual Counseling is confidential short-term therapy available to all registered (college name) students at no charge. The initial appointment will help clarify if short-term individual counseling is recommended, and an appointment will be made with a staff member as soon as possible. If longer term counseling services are needed, referral to a community professional will be made."
But reading this over again, I realize I had forgotten what it was suppose to be; short term.
We did end up having 10 hour long sessions so in that time, I guess I sort of lost sight of that and got attached to going in.
I think its just really hard to have opened up to a person and then have to pack up and do it over again with a new person if I do end up going to see a therapist outside of school.
>>16544471
Your feeling of being abandoned is normal. Igt may help to know that EVERYONE in therapy feels that. Part of the process, inescapably, is that for a while you become very dependent on the shrink. They actually use that as a way of helping you. But that means that even if the therapy ends well, you feel like a parent has rejected you.
The therapist decided you had gone far enough not to need him anymore. If he had warned you in advance, you would just have had more time to feel rejected and resentful, and it might actually have set you back.
Try life on your own for a while, and see if you're strong enough. If not, you can always look for another therapist.
>>16544812
10 fucking hour sessions..... Da fuck
Yeah, you need to find some privet help if you need 10 hour sessions.
>>16545235
Pretty sure he meant 10 sessions that lasted an hour each.
>>16545235
LOL, >>16545510 is correct. 10 one hour long sessions.
as far as I know they should give you a fairly early heads-up, and also motivate their choice
if they consider that you should continue, a professional/decent/normal one would recommend someone else you could continue
if you feel like you should keep going, don't hesitate to find someone else
