Did my first therapy session today after going back and forth on if it was worth the extreme cost. Spoiler alert: all we did was go through a questionnaire I could have done myself. I feel like it was an absolute waste of money.. anyone else?
I have mixed feelings about therapy too. I started therapy when someone yelled at me saying “You need counseling!!” I’ve been in counseling for 6 years now. Without getting counseling, I wouldn’t have gone to IOP. Without going to IOP, I wouldn’t have seen a Psychiatrist. Without a Psychiatrist, I wouldn’t have gotten an official OCD diagnosis! The process can be long sometimes, and at times I doubt whether it’s worth it, but it’s led me to where I am today! I hope that helps some.
You haven’t started the erp yet. That first session is to get to know you and your condition. For me and my therapist, it took like maybe 1-2 sessions before we started working on the erp.
@jnaugle But the point is when I said I couldn’t afford it, they told me to at least try the first one to see how erp works, making me think we were gonna get into it. Just to take $210 from me for a questionnaire I could have done by myself.
@Punkyboy I understand
@Punkyboy You could bring this up with your therapist or try reaching out to the company about these conerns.
Was it through NOCD?
@Ben84 Not yet, but I’m considering working with a trained OCD therapist. I got 3 years free counseling at college (wasn’t super helpful because I was living in a stressful environment at college that was exasperating symptoms ). After I transferred to online school, I went to therapy for 2 1/2 years with an art therapist. Now that I got diagnosed with OCD today from a psychiatrist, I’m going to “break up” with my old therapist bc she’s not trained in OCD.
@Ben84 Yes
It will be different going forward. I had to discontinue my treatment because of the cost but I don’t regret a penny I spent. The actual therapy felt super corny and useless at first too I won’t lie too you, I was just desperate to feel better so I stuck it out for a while. It started having a noticeable effect after maybe a couple weeks and after a few months I was able to start living normally again. My symptoms have gotten a tiny bit worse for brief periods since stopping and I’ve even had some really bad days but the skills I learned are well worth what I paid. I would gladly pay the money again if my symptoms got bad again and I needed to.
We all go through the questionnaire. It's there for a reason. Keep at it and trust the process. Those of us in recovery did, and we all learned that patience is truly a virtue. Recovery doesn't happen overnight and is not linear, it's messy. But you can recover.
@Steven55! I just feel like if I can have an in person therapist for a fraction of the cost, that will be better lol $210 for a session and they want me to do it once a week… that’s like half my paycheck
@Punkyboy You don't have to do NOCD, but what's most important is that you retain a trained OCD therapist who uses ERP, which is the gold standard for OCD treatment. OCD is a peculiar disorder. It doesn't work well with standard therapy. I'm speaking from personal experience. If you can find an OCD therapist for less money, more power to you. A word of caution: many therapists will say they treat OCD but really haven't much experience with it. The giveaway is if s/he uses ERP therapy. If not, walk away. I spent a great deal of time and money learning this lesson. It's only after I found a therapist through NOCD did I begin to recover. You check for a qualified therapist through the International OCD Foundation website. They have a list based on geography. They also have site concerning lower cost options: https://iocd.org/low-cost-treatment-options-for-ocd/. Do you have insurance?
Who else agrees?
I feel like my therapist knows my issues well enough by now, why haven’t we started erp or why hasn’t she given me any strategies to help when I’m triggered? I’ve had 4 sessions. She just says we have to stick to the method that she works by, but if I don’t know when we will start the work that actually helps me, how can I feel confident in sticking with the therapy? I am so unsure. I keep asking her but she never gives me an answer. It’s not too much to ask to know when the help will actually start is it?! If the next couple of sessions go by and we still haven’t talked about strategies or erp, I will get so anxious because I can only afford 12 sessions 😔 I don’t know what to do. People are saying to be patient and go with it, but I can’t trust it. I would have expected to start some sort of erp plan. If in the next couple of sessions we haven’t started it, what should I do? (I get really triggered by phrases like red flags or that doesn’t sound good in the comments, just objective advice would be so appreciated 🙏🏻)
Hi everybody! I started with a therapist who’s super pricey outside of NOCD, when I had mentioned that I’m struggling with OCD she didn’t seem too well versed she said oh so you’re struggling with intrusive thoughts? Lady you don’t know the half of it!! But I’m afraid of continuing because I don’t want to waste $180 a week for what is sold as someone who can treat and help with OCD then turns out to just be talking about stuff I’ve already talked about with past therapists! Anyway onto the question at hand! If I join NOCD and they don’t cover my insurance but I pay out of pocket fora real OCD/ERP specialist because I really need the help! Is NOCD going to help me? Or am I going to waste my time and should I keep trying my hardest to find ERP specialists on Google. I’m exhausted I just want to know I’m going to get help and relief from this before I put more money into therapy Any advice or honesty would help greatly! ❤️👈🏼
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
