Monday, November 26, 2012

Another Times Article

This Sunday in the NY Times Magazine section there was an article called "What Brand is Your Therapist."  It was clever and well written.  it covered some of the same material that I covered in my talk last month at the state conference.  People seem to notice that the"worried well" as we called them back them, are moving away from psychotherapy.  Part of that is because of restrictions from insurance, but most of it is because the lifestyles of people under forty are very different than they were forty years ago.

People expect information much faster  They expect much more action, and less thought.  They seem much more concerned about specific problems than the general overview of things.  Also, I think family life for them has been very different.  It is difficult to sit and talk about what your parents did to you when there have been so many people in your life -- other family members, step-parents, day care providers, coaches, teachers, and more.

Also, people don't work on weekly schedules as much.  Regular appointments are much more difficult to keep.  I have many clients who have to travel two or three weeks a month.  Also there are so many late or early meetings because of global teams, that it is difficult to keep a regular meeting time.

Unlike the woman who wrote the article, I have a very full schedule and have had for twenty years. Part of that is because many of my patients are not the "worried well."  Many of the people I see have been crushed or confused by circumstances, society or biology, or combinations of all of those.  They need to see a Psychologist, not a coach, or a guru, or a branded expert.

If your kid is throwing temper tantrums perhaps it is worth it to try to just call a "parenting coach."  If a month later the kid is still screaming, and you and your spouse are battling, and you life is spinning out of control, perhaps you may realize that things are a little more complex than they first appear.

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