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Originally Posted by onesnowyowl
Personally I favor cognitive-behavioral therapy over talk therapy. There are a wide variety of therapeutic approaches, and not all of them involve a lot of talking.
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Well, come to think of it, my last counselor (who was by far the most educated and experienced--and the only male psychologist I had, actually) was the best one, and I do think it's because he drew on CBT instead of just talk. CBT had a profound impact on the way I view and cope with anxiety and depression; highly recommended method.
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Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru
But not all males are naysayers.
I'm with you.
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Glad to hear that!
But I apologize if I implied that all males are naysayers... just noticed that many of those chiming into the thread seemed to be going that route. I do know plenty of males in real life who are proponents of counseling (it was a male friend who eventually convinced me to give up my arrogance and go to counseling in the first place), which is always encouraging to me. And I know there are others on TFP. Just wondering how to bring them out of the woodwork...
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Originally Posted by LoganSnake
First reason I made the comment is because you suggest therapy and/or counseling in just about every "I got problems" thread. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but it seems like a one stop solution.
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Well, it's not a one-stop solution, because counseling is 100% useless if you're not committed and open to it as a tool. Personal responsibility for one's emotional growth is key. However, I do think it should be a first (or last) stop solution, at the very least. It should BE on people's list of solutions, and since so often it isn't... it's the first one I usually recommend, unless the person has already tried it.
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Originally Posted by LoganSnake
Second reason is that I would have to be at the very end of the rope, holding on by a nail of a pinky to even consider going to therapy. It's the whole "spilling your problems to a complete stranger and pay them money to listen to you" thing that irks me.
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Well, that speaks more about you than the practice of counseling itself. Personally, I've never paid a dime for years of counseling, either because it was covered by my employer (Employer Assistance Program or EAP, which even most small companies/unions, let alone corporations, have in the US) or by my university's student health center insurance. So to me, it's never been a loss.
Personally, I often prefer complete, educated strangers listening to my problems and giving me CBT feedback, than friends who tend to be biased and tell me what I want to hear, or give me pity/sympathy/bullshit to get me to shut up about it already.