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New and need help! (How to approach a therapist?)
I am a 22 year old female, about to enter into graduate school for physical therapy. I have been picking my nails since I can remember, but ever since high school i have been picking my skin around my nails, especially my thumbs. And now that its summer, i pick my toes too. I pick uncounsciously, and often to the point of making them bleed. I REALLY want to stop picking, but no matter what i do, nothing seems to help. I have a free therapy program at the place i work, but I dont know how to approach a clinician about this topic? Should i approach it as an anxiety issue, or just go straight into the picking? Anyone who has sought out medical help in the past and could give advice would be greatly appreciated!
June 25, 2011
Dear Sara23, I'm not sure that going to therapy at your work is a good idea - you may be judged. However, if you do, I would start by mentioning that you are having some anxiety. This carries little stigma but picking is not well understood. Once you meet with the therapist, then bring up the more specific issues you are struggling with, such as picking and/or any other impulse control behaviors or depression you are experiencing. ******************************** If you decide to go outside your work, I suggest the following website as a starting off point. Go to Pyschology Today magazine's website and enter your zip code. http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/?gclid=CPW3rNqZ0KkCFQSt7QoddX5dcA. You many click on each therapist's name and it will give loads of details including what types of mental illnesses they treat. You'll want to find someone who treats Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD) and who uses either Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and possibly someone who works with Impulse Control and or Anxiety as well. Here is a good example: Dr. Betty P Kjera -http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/prof_detail.php?profid=73087&sid=1308975635.1215_21407&zipcode=28756&zipdist=20
Sincerely, Igga. *****************************************************************************
- To get what you've never had - you have to do what you've never done. ~*~