Last time (and first) i went to therapy i was low on money and because of our insurance i “only”(be warned, veru european amounts ahead) had to pay my “own risk” clause which sat at €385. But i REALLY needed some form of help during that time, i had some job interviews and i was physically unable to drag myself to them.
I got about halfway and just break down completely, so i was desperate and literally stuck in life from my point of view.
So i went to therapy with my last money and ended getting 3 sessions and a “we can’t help you there is nothing wrong here’s the bill tho”.
I still don’t know how i managed to get out of there, but i can still feel it pulling in the background…this constant dragging brake.
I don’t think psychadelics can get me out of this, i tried weed once and man did i have a bad time. I’ve always had this: “i wouldn’t mind not existing/suicide would be great right about now” kind of brain and the weed didn’t help the worse part of that battle.
I’m in the same spot you are in. I can’t even force myself to apply to jobs. Only reason I’m not homeless on the street is my friends and family. And it terrifies me that I’m gonna get the same treatment.
Weed is barely a psychedelic, and it shouldn’t be used as a litmus test for what mushrooms or LSD are like. I credit LSD with helping me recover from heroin addiction, and later it led me to a spiritual practice that has greatly enhanced my life. It isn’t a magic pill, but LSD and mushrooms can shake you out of your fixed perspective to help you see things differently.
For me, it made me realize that I didn’t want to escape life, but rather find a way to be more deeply invested in it. It made me want to find tools to pursue the mystery of the reality we all live in. It helped me have honest conversations with friends that in turn led me to a better understanding of who I am. And finally, taking LSD and going to the opera is one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had in my entire life, and I highly recommend it to any experienced tripper who knows themselves well enough to handle it safely and respectfully.
It was a catalyst that opened up a richer way of living for me, but I don’t think it would have had that impact if I hadn’t followed it up with other tools like meditation, ceremony, talk therapy, and studying philosophy. That said, I never would have done those things without my experiences on LSD, and to this day, I still take some every few months to boost that feeling of wonder.
Any medicine can be abused, but they are intended to heal. I firmly believe LSD is a very powerful healer, and sometimes it is exactly what you need to see through the trance of reality we all get stuck in sometimes.
Therapy is the biggest scam/grift that isn’t religion or politics. I put it on the same level as Astrology for it’s usefulness and scientific legitimacy.
It’s just yet another money vaccun to suck you dry.
When was the last time they cured someone? That’s right never because to cure someone would stop the money train rolling in. They expect you to go to them forever. Fuck em all.
As a person who went to therapy, it helped me develop as a person, and I think everyone should try it, but sucks what happened to you, hope the best tho :)
Mental health care in the Netherlands is really terrible. I’m surprised you even got 3 sessions without being on a waiting list for months first. I guess you went to a ‘praktijkondersteuner’ at your GP? Those know fuck all and really aren’t any help. I had one literally tell me “usually I help people figure out what’s bothering them and once they know they can solve it, but you already know what’s bothering you, I can’t really help you”. Then I was put on waiting list for months, talked to a different guy for 1 hour, back on another waiting list for months.
At one point I literally called them and asked why it was taking so long (after waiting for months) and they said: oh, we have an opening next week, you can come then. Like, WTF, if you had an opening, why did I only find out after calling when you have a literal list of people waiting for evaluation? In the end I went to a psychologist (one of those ‘Sjakie’ types) for a year or two, which didn’t really help at all. Until they told me they couldn’t do anything more for me.
I get the feeling that if you want real help you need to go to a private practice an pay for everything yourself, which is crazy expensive.
I’m very bad with names, but our huisarts had a in house guy presumably that praktijkondersteuner and i had a couple talks with him about potential causes of what was causing issues. He noticed me being hyper aware and asked some stuff about my past which led to him sending me to the nearest psychology “clinic” which was covered under insurance but they are operating at “for profit” and will be aiming to get you out of there asap. I was warned about them but they were the only one within reach as we were very limited in travel distance.
I can’t really remember what we talked about during those 3 sessions but it was clear that her supervisor took over control as she was the one who very clearly and straightforward told me our sessions would be cut off.
Tbh it sort of felt like i was causing her issues leading to her supervisor having to take over control. It’s odd how i can’t remember what we talked about but i do remember the feelings that passed during those sessions.
similarly, it really irritates when people tiptoe around giving ‘medical advice’ online or scold people for asking mental health questions in a forum – which is designed for people to commiserate and share advice. ‘the doctor’ is inaccessible to many people for many reasons; it’s way less of a challenge to get out sensitive thoughts by typing online to peers vs asking A Doctor and getting a Professional Reply about it
I mean it’s easier to find than a pack of menthol cigarettes where I am but I’m still looking forward to mainstream acceptance of the benefits of psychedelics.
If it is that dire then the reality is that if you don’t call, the children will die. But it’s not awkward because you will never know if you don’t use the service.
The third world only earns more if we buy services back.
If you feel bad that the family starves you can still pay more. But people understand PPP. Your life will be worse than theirs. You paid for chips while they had a real meal.
I don’t know if you can threat people of different cultures in psychology. Like, for example, an Indian therapist is not going to understand the problems an American have because the culture of both are pretty different, and the solutions the therapist propose maybe dosen’t make sense on an American context. Imagine trying to explain to a non American therapist that you have anxiety of being shooted on school or in a traffic incident, that kind of things are pretty foreign for the majority of the rest of the world, even for third world countries.
If a therapist cannot look beyond culture how will they understand what creates the problems in somebody’s life? To get canned answers, a book is enough.
Even within nations, particularly multicultural nations, it’s common to have psychologists who specialise in specific cultures to provide the most appropriate advice. When I studied psychology in Uni we did a segment on psychological differences across cultures and they’re really quite stark. I don’t know enough about Japanese culture to be able to counsel a suicidal salaryman, but I can definitely help others who share my culture look after their mental health.
There are no known psychological truths across cultures. Because our culture heavily impacts our psychology, the two tend to covary. No one therapist can give quality advice to an Anglo farmer, a Sentinelese woman, a Siberian child and a Moroccan man. The cultural contexts just vary too wildly.
Not an expert but this sounds like a behavioral school of thought. It’s a strong statement that there are no psychological truths across cultures. Can you recommend a source where I can learn more about that?
Shouldn’t at least psychoanalysts be able to work across cultures?
But even if knowledge of a culture is needed, there is still the possibility to learn it. Additionally, a view from outside could also be an advantage. Other cultures can have answers to our problems.
I don’t know of any publications that clearly state that there are no universal psychological truths across cultures, but I am yet to find any reputable evidence that there are universal psychological truths across cultures. Hence it’s the null hypothesis that hasn’t been disproven. If it can be disproven, I’d gladly change my assertion, but it’s impossible to prove a negative like this because it is the null hypothesis - it can only be disproven.
Nothing can really be properly proved in psychology anyway because of how soft the science is but also because of the changing nature of the influence of culture on psychology. Even within the same nation or peoples, culture also varies over time and so psychology is always playing catch-up. Social media related mental health issues are a great example - a psychologist who’s been plucked from 1970 and dropped into 2023 would have no idea how to counsel someone on that issue because it’s an entirely foreign concept to them.
Psychologists can absolutely learn and become experts in other cultures, but I think it’s beyond the scope of a single human being to become an expert in every single cultural context that exists. They often become experts in the cultures relevant to them - for example, trying to learn the differences between city/regional/rural issues, trying to understand the needs of LGBTQIA+ people, or learning to better understand CALD communities they’re based in/near.
It may be universal, I’m not sure. I’ve not read any information able to establish that. There are indigenous tribes of people who are not integrated into the global world - we can’t know their psychology as we can’t study them.
Sure, but someone who lives in Addis Ababa probably doesn’t have the cultural knowledge to give adequate therapy to someone in Pyongyang, despite them both being located in cities.
Could someone in London counsel someone in New York? Probably, because the cultures are quite similar and share a root ethnicity and language. But that Londonian probably won’t have as much luck counselling someone in Ho Chi Minh.
I am out of my depth to add anything meaningful. I personally believe that the human experience is universal. E. g. soldiers suffer on both sides of all wars. For sure it is more difficult to gain trust and openness if there are cultural differences. But the emotional conflicts that come with war will be the same.
Will the experience of war victims resonate with the victors of that war? Will the victors understand the oppressed and be able to prove their position with adequate psychology? Does the psychology of an occupied people differ from the psychology from the oppressors? Does a person whose culture has been stripped from them require the same counsel as those who believes that illegally occupied territories are their’s?
Many confounding variables exist here that may interact with being militarily oppressed, and therefore comparisons between the two sides are incomparable. I don’t have the answers to these questions. I wish I did, because then I’d be able to secure facts. In this situation the only secure facts are that both sides have committed atrocities and crimes against humanity.
Most countries win a war and lose a war, so experiences can be shared. But among all the countries it could also be possible to pair the winners with the winners and the losers with the losers. But I would expect that it would only be needed to avoid direct conflicting parties.
$5 is not very much money in 3rd world countries either. If you want to speak to someone with a doctorate you can expect to pay a little more than that.
health insurance almost certainly won’t cover any percentage of a session with a therapist that isn’t on their books
tax. A healthcare professional is generally looking after their own books too. So the only way they will bother dealing with Americans is wmthe incentive of earning in dollars anyway
like others have said, culture differences will play a role in the kind of care you will receive.
recommends for a psychiatrist or meds will need a prescription and that won’t work across borders. You will need to get referred locally too.
a licensed therapist may not be licensed in your country, or worse, may be a hack or a scammer
But it most certainly exists. I’ve got a mate that treats people overseas. I believe there’s also an app that connects you with someone available too. Betterhelp, Talkspace to name a few.
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