what is it EXACTLY that a therapist DOES?

[datasuspect]

i was thinking about exploring my life narrative to help develop my coping skills and to better adapt to situations.

plus i have anger and hostility issues that i need to confront.

what makes for a good therapist?

[RushIsRot]

1. They therap.

[knowbody0]

2. the rapist really helped me find the inside of the inside

seriously? I've been. It was painful. I learned to control my reaction to the sadness of life.

[MiddleFingerMom]

3. The world's FIRST...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrIpPqcln6Y
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[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

4. You are halfway there

with your personal insight and desire for growth. In your specific case I really think finding someone willing to beat you senseless would work wonders.

[datasuspect]

5. do i have to fork over my paycheck too?

[theNotoriousP.I.G.]

6. Of course not!

With your personality and outlook on life, you'll find them lined up and waiting to beat you senseless. They might even offer to pay you. It's a win-win anyway you look at it.

[nolabear]

7. As a therapist I'm going to answer this very carefully and informally.

I say that because it's not possible to do the question justice here, so keep that in mind.

Therapists try to help you with problems you are having with your mentally and emotionally based life, though the mind and body are intricately connected so it's not cleanly one or the other by any means. It can take MANY forms, and there are many kinds of therapists. Psychiatrists, PhD. psychologists, and PhD. or Masters' level psychotherapists (or mental health counselors) can all provide the one-on-one work, but psychiatrists prescribe meds and the others do not. They can diagnose, however. Often the others will work in concert with a psychiatrist or other MD if meds are advised.

Some, in fact most, therapists work with the root causes of problems, helping people to understand how they can be of many minds at once, i.e. have desperate desires and needs on the one hand and deep fears that prevent them from acting on them on the other. The way you respond to the events in your life are specific to what you have experienced and been taught and what you believe, even without you being generally aware of it. We also work with specific issues like PTSD, the aftereffects of trauma (including abuse of all kinds), addictions (called co-morbid disorders because the addiction, while in part a physical propensity, happens generaly in response to psychological pain), depression, grief, and myriad other things.

Some therapists give suggestions about things you can try to help the overt issues, like meditation for anxiety, having supportive relationships, journaling to help discover and give voice to feelings, and many others. Some do not, though we support your own initiative in discovering what works for you.

In large part a therapist is someone who provides a safe, completely confidential (with a couple of exceptions but not many) relationship in which you can talk about every aspect of yourself--things you've never told anyone, and which, since you've never told anyone, might have become distorted and powerful beyond what is good and reasonable. It is incredibly powerful. We have no magic, no way to make you change, but we do have an enormous respect for and interest in people, and our intention is to stick with you s you navigate the scariest waters you can. In fact the therapist/client relationship can be a useful microcosm of the things that come up in other relationships and that can be used for helping, too.

As for advice, I'd say thoroughly scope out any prospective therapist and be sure they are credentialed, well rspected, and open to the idea that you might not be a good fit and will wish you the best in choosing whomever is right for you.

Insurance covers some things and not others. Some therapists will slide their fees and some won't. Some people choose to have a long course of work and some don't. There's certainly trust involved on both sides as to what's the best way to proceed.

I wish you the best of luck. It's a great sign of health to want to do the work in the first place.