Thank you both for your input 
@toofat – I greatly appreciate you sharing your experiences and thoughts. My proposed therapy is the long term variety, based on a psychoanalytical model as opposed to a behavioural/biological model (such as CBT). I studied psychology at uni, and we touched on many different forms of therapy, and I can understand the basic principles behind psychoanalysis. I just didn’t know much about it’s effectiveness. It is good to hear from somebody who has been through it and feels it was worthwhile. I can’t imagine going through the process of psychoanalysis and NOT growing/improving in some way, but there is always some doubt, because people are in “therapy” for years and years, and I guess we figure that it therefore cannot be any good, probably because we are used to the “quick fix” effects of medication and surgery. The flip side of the coin is that nobody would continue to put themselves through the emotional wringer of psychoanalysis for years at a time if there wasn’t some benefit to be had.
I am extremely nervous about the whole thing. It’s anxiety provoking to know you’ll be poking around at things you’d rather not remember, or behaviours you’d rather not admit to. But I also need some change in my life, because if I keep going like I am, I can see the self-destructive behaviour patterns spiralling out of control.
I am still contemplating requesting a stimulant for intermittent use. A near miss on the road the other day (one of many) has scared me into thinking about the medication side of things once again. Especially for driving in busy traffic or for long distances, as in both circumstances I am particularly vulnerable to distraction. I don’t know if therapy and medication will be a suitable combination of treatments though, and I must admit to being a little scared of the dependence/addiction side of stimulants. Been there, done that, but with pain killers not stimulants, and it wasn’t fun. I’d hate to go down the same path with stimulants, though many people here seem to have started and stopped stimulant therapy without any problems. I am really longing for relief from some of my symptoms while I wait for therapy to have some results, but I wonder if stimulants will do me more damage than good in the long run.
Aaaahhh…the agony of it all 