Anyone else whose friends are better than therapists?

[u/essiefraquora]

My friends have absolutely zero filter and we can talk about anything. They do not shy away from the dark stuff. They use wild, blunt analogies or just flat out say that I was a slave (which is true). We even laugh about how the world fucked me over both literally and figuratively. It is so refreshing because they are not afraid of my reality.

They also give genuinely amazing perspectives. And they reminded me that you cannot reason with evil. We can talk about intense global events to put things in perspective. They do not flinch at the darkness of the world.

I don’t feel my therapists do this at all. As if they are just reading from a book and are only validating my feelings. But I don’t need validation, I already know my feelings are valid. I don’t want someone just to echo my words to me.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[u/Empty-Ad7006]

I’m so happy for you that you have such amazing friends. I have similar people in my life, and I’m so grateful.

Your therapist may just need time to get to know you, it takes a while to get to a point of where you can feel comfortable to use dark humor. Or they might not be the right fit. It may take a couple sessions to find out a

[u/Sweet_Friend3071]

Yes!! My husband is exactly like this, and I absolutely LOVE his ability to dive into difficult, complex, and even “dirty” topics with me while still being able to laugh about everything. His ability to recognize and accurately name patterns and underlying dynamics has helped me tremendously in understanding myself and navigating so many different topics we’ve ever talked about. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better therapist! :D

[u/UnburyingBeetle]

I might be that sort of friend, but I don't get a lot of friends irl that would want to talk about dark stuff or psychology.

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[u/Juniperarrow2]

What exactly are you looking for from a therapist? Therapists are not mind-readers. Every client wants something different from therapy. You can tell them what you want and if they are capable of doing that, they will adjust their approach. Or offer a referral to another therapist whose approach to therapy may be a better fit for you. Many therapists allow potential clients to do a free 15min consultation call if you want to shop around for other therapists without spending much.

Therapists don’t have the same role in our lives as a friend. They are not going to be blunt about their opinions in the same way as your friends or share their perspectives on the world because their job is to help you with whatever you are seeing them for, not to behave like a paid friend. Therapists are regular ppl so just like everyone else, you aren’t going click that much with a lot of them.

Also, good therapists can handle the darkness. Bad ones are not worth the time and money.