Therapists around the Pioneer Valley?

January 3, 2013 3:01 PM

I'm looking for a therapist in Western Masasachusetts.

Hi. So I live in Pioneer Valley of Western Mass, just out of college at ~23. I've got ADHD and some depression and anxiety, and I'm finally looking for professional help. I've been slogging through all of the people on Psychology Today's therapist finder, but so far only one or two of them seem like a possible match for me, if that.

I'm a hardline rationalist, so I'm definitely leaning toward finding someone in the CBT area. A huge chunk of the people I've found online describe themselves in a New Agey/touchy-feely way, or work in BS modalities like psychoanalysis or hypnotherapy. Ideally, I'd like someone who's practical and even a little tough with me, but attentive to the subtleties of my thought process and where I'm going wrong.

I tend to fit in with the general psychographic of AskMe, so I thought I'd see if you guys could suggest someone. If you live in Western MA, who's your therapist? Are they good?

Here's my throwaway email for private replies: [e-mail].

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (1 answer total)

work in BS modalities like psychoanalysis or hypnotherapy

I can't speak to hypnotherapy, but psychoanalysis has a lot of research backing it up in both specific and general ways. In general, no one modality fares better than any other when appropriate comparison is done. CBT, for instance, does no better than psychodynamic psychotherapy (which is grounded in psychoanalytic theory).*

I don't have a specific recommendation for a therapist in the Happy Valley, but you may have drawn overly restrictive lines about what works based on a misunderstanding or unfamiliarity with the research.

*See the work of Bruce Wampold or Michael Lambert if you want to read more about this.
posted by OmieWise at 1:02 PM on January 30, 2013