Posted by Dinah on December 4, 2011, at 14:40:26
In reply to Male versus Female, posted by Daisym on November 29, 2011, at 23:03:48
I did see a female therapist, as you know, and we did work on sexual issues. I didn't experience any deep connection with her, so my experience may not translate well.
She did say one or two very useful things that still stick with me. I didn't feel like she was more empathetic on sexual issues. My therapist helped me more in one session than she ever did because he entered my world and helped me see it differently, rather than trying to change me as she did. She was working on the assumption that healthy sexuality meant certain things, and that I needed to learn to enjoy them. My therapist, for that one session at least, worked on the assumption that healthy sexuality didn't have to look like the standard recipe. That I could playfully enjoy what I did enjoy without feeling pressure to conform, and that it didn't mean letting my husband down. He was right.
So... I think the individual makes more of a difference than the gender.
I did like her, certainly far better than the other male and female not-my-therapists I saw now and then. But I did feel that she was more judgmental than my therapist, and I suspect I might find that with female therapists. Because I'm a bit odd, and I think that may be accepted better from someone who approaches from a position of otherness. Or if I were lucky enough to find an odd female therapist. :)
poster:Dinah
thread:1003938
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20111017/msgs/1004158.html