If your kid has done therapy, did it help?

[Anonymous]

I’m exploring therapy for two of my three kids and wondering how other parents who have gone through the therapy process view it. I know this is a very very general question, but just looking for encouragement and any advice .

[Anonymous]

Yes, it helped a lot.

A good therapist was key. To find a good therapist, I recommend asking for recommendations from other therapists. You can call one who isn’t accepting new patients or who doesn’t work with adolescents and ask for references for few providers they are referring others to. It’s an easy way to do a little vetting. The therapists we found on psychology today were misses for us.

[Anonymous]

DS 17 is in therapy for anxiety and some post adoption issues. It is helping. However, it’s a long process. We expect it will take years to have address most of his issues and isn’t a “fix”. It’s about learning strategies, one of which is sorting out his feelings.

[Anonymous]

Yes....like PP said, key is finding a good therapist. I am a therapist (not see a totally different demographic) and see a lot of young new grads doing therapy to make a quick buck. It took awhile, but I wanted (and found) someone with experience working with teens and who had more than 5 years post Masters experience.

DD started seeing therapist 4y ago for depression. It got better and she stopped going. She started again for anxiety related to driving (refused to drive and now drives all over the place..so it worked) And now she is back for relationship/sexual orientation/etc stuff.

Thankfully, DD has a good relationship with therapist and is the one who initiates that she wants to go back to see her as things arise. We treat it as you would any other healthcare provider (primary care, dentist, eye doc, etc) and not make a big deal of it. We also don't ask questions about what they talk about, etc.

[Anonymous]

My son's first therapist was helpful for a few months. She was doing cbt for generalized anxiety. After 5 or 6 months, it was clear he was getting worse. We ended therapy with her and gave him a break. We suspected he actually had OCD and we researched symptoms and therapies. He started EBT and Icbt with an OCD specialist and is improving rapidly.

[Anonymous]

I helped our teen. They ended up in residential treatment for a while but I think the therapy gave them so new ways to think about themselves and their relationships.

Finding a good therapist who has productive chemistry with your kid and is accepting new patients and takes your insurance can be daunting. The first or second therapist might not work out. We got a referral from one overbooked therapist and it was a good match. Except they didn't take any insurance. At some point in the journey we decided to just burn all our money.

It ended well but has been the hardest thing in my marriage.

[Anonymous]

Our 12 year old has an excellent therapist who is helpful.

Our ten year old has a weak therapist who is not helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I helped our teen. They ended up in residential treatment for a while but I think the therapy gave them so new ways to think about themselves and their relationships.

Finding a good therapist who has productive chemistry with your kid and is accepting new patients and takes your insurance can be daunting. The first or second therapist might not work out. We got a referral from one overbooked therapist and it was a good match. Except they didn't take any insurance. At some point in the journey we decided to just burn all our money.

It ended well but has been the hardest thing in my marriage.

+1 about burning money. DD’s therapist is expensive but 100% with it. No more self harm, no days-long depression, no more mini panic-attacks, etc. The therapy from the therapist who did take insurance, on the other hand, was a waste of money.

[Anonymous]

My DS did CBT with a therapist and it was tremendously helpful. He is a pretty cerebral kid and worked hard but also had a good therapist. When he went to college he went on meds for the anxiety, but still used the strategies he learned as well.

[Anonymous]

I have mixed feelings. We tried a few for DS over the past 6 years and none seemed to help with therapy sessions. He’s been with his current therapist for 8 months and wants to continue so that’s the longest ever. He views it now as the doctor who manages his ADHD medication and they have been trying to find the right dose. This has been the first time he’s seen a psychiatrist for therapy/med management and the only time he’s been open to continuing long term. We’ve spent thousands and tried so many people, trying to find a good fit.

[Anonymous]

I took one anxiety-prone kid at two different ages (2nd grade and 8th). The first round was moderately helpful. The second time as a teen + brain maturity and ADHD medication have produced a wonderfully confident young man without the anxiety-related lashing out that we saw throughout childhood. So very helpful!

[Anonymous]

Parenting therapy (PCIT-ish) was extremely helpful for me & my child. The therapist barely saw my 6 yr olf. it was all supporting me in creating & enforcing discipline. Now at 11 we have tried 3 different therapists for emotional regulation, plus Unstuck and on Target, and none seems to have really made a difference. The issues mainly happen at school and it turns out there is very little that anything parents and therapists do outside of school that can help if the school is not willing/able to provide the right support.

That said, having done extremely helpful CBT and ACT for anxiety & depression myself, I would definitely seek that out for a child with anxiety, OCD or depression.

[Anonymous]

Yes but it took us three tries to find the right therapist and she’s been amazing.

[Anonymous]

No.

Complete waste of time.

[Anonymous]

It takes patience to find the right therapist. Rapport is important. But outcome will also depend on a lot of factors such as how motivated DC is and the diagnosis.

DC1 reluctantly began therapy freshman year of college. It was slow going but her social anxiety really improved.

DC2 did therapy twice over the years for a specific phobia (different each time). He saw almost immediate results and it was very short-term both times (6-8 sessions).

DC3 is the toughest case. He has severe depression. It didn’t respond to almost 9 months with the first therapist and multiple meds. We changed to someone with more experience and a very different approach and saw positive results. However, I’m resigned to the fact he will not be cured. Hopefully what he is learning will decrease the frequency of his depressive episodes and keep his lows from being as severe.