Therapists I Could Live Without

[Lionheart]

I had a therapist once that compared his PTSD trauma to mine, he was shot in the shoulder, I was severely abused as a child over a prolonged period of time. The PTSD may have been the same but the trauma wasn't). He was also more concerned with getting me off medications and back to work, than he was helping me to heal. He said everyone gets anxious sometimes. None of his advise was helpful to me. I fired him!!! :smile:

 

[LoveWins]

A few sections of dialogue with a man I spoke to yesterday who claimed to be a therapist
***
Him: So whats the problem?
Me (very anxious) Well, I have PTSD...Im at a point now where Im looking for more support with it
Him: Uh...So what happened to you? What was this..."trauma"?
Me (taken aback) Uh...Its a very long story. But basically I was abducted and-
Him -*Laughing* How exactly do you get abducted!? Was the person like dragging you through airports or what? You could just shout out "help!", you know...*laughing more*
Me (totally dumbfounded) Uh...
***
Me: It takes a lot to get me out of the house and talking to strangers. Its a big achievment for me talking to you today
Him: So anyway...
***
Him- So how old were you when this happened?
Me- 17
Him-Oh, a teenager...You know once, I dealt witht his kid who was convinced there were monsters in his bedroom...totally irrational. So I gave him a stick and told him its a magic wand to fight the monsters. That really helped him
Me-Oh (!?!?)
***
Him: So if I was to take you and lock you up in a box with no way out...Or if I was to GRAB your hand now *does forceful grabbing motion towards my body*, you know... (Through this whole little talk he pushed his hand towards me frequently to demonstrate his points...after I had told him I was a domestic violence victim)
***
Him: So PTSD...I can cure that. Easy. One session it takes with some people
Me: You can cure my PTSD in one hour?
Him: Yes
Me: Are you absolutely sure thats what youre claiming to me?
Him: Yes. Youll see. Its dead easy
Me: I have had this for 4 years and tried everything. Ive known others who have suffered for decades. And youre saying if they were to come to you theyd be cured in an hour?
Him: What people? Who are these people whove gone decades with it? That doesnt happen. They havent tried hard enough. What do you mean youve tried everything? What have you tried exactly?
Me: Well, counselling and writing my journal and-
Him: -writing your journal? That will do NO GOOD, dwelling...
***
Him: So just imagine your attacker with a clowns nose on, or a tutu. Not so scary now, is it?
Me: Yes, it is. I still have PTSD. Its not my image of him thats the problem...
***
Him: Nothings changed in your brain. Its just how youre perceiving the situation. Its nothing physical or tangible in your mind thats different
***


I could go on ALL day with what this guy said. Man, he didnt have a CLUE and made me feel like rubbish for the rest of the day

 

[cat]

Having been diagnosed with PTSD I finally got up the courage to talk to a counsellor about my abusive ex husband, I asked what the best treatment was for it, 'Welll', she said 'the best thing to do is to get into another relationship very soon' not quite the advice I was expecting! When I told my friend who is a psychologist he was horrified!

 

[cat]

My T recommends allowing the thought some space, using deep breathing & self talk that it is not real only a memory, sounds quite simple when we talk it though, its another matter when I'm surrounded by a class of 30, five yr olds, but they are getting better at sitting with their eyes closed & 'chilling' when I need them to! In fact next term I will build 'chill time' into the timetable!

 

[PerfectEmpire]

I love this thread! I've had plenty of 'bad' therapists (12), but one I will never forget:

The guy with the walking clown doll. He said my problem was that I needed to "have more fun!" so he got a large, electronic clown doll to laugh and walk across the room towards me. Problem is, I'm terrified of clowns! I ran out of the office screaming and never went back. My mother handled the payment and apologized for me. I can't imagine why anybody in their right mind would have a closet full of creepy toys and think that they can cure a troubled teenager with play therapy. I've never met somebody so naive and odd at the same time. I kind of feel sorry for him (and his clown doll)!

 

[shiraz]

I went to a new trauma therapist for triggers around sexual images ... when I arrived at her rooms, her walls were covered with nudes ....

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :wall:

On arriving the following week, she had taken the nudes down, but promptly suggested she put them right back up as a kind of exposure therapy ....

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :wall:

I told her I had to be in the presence of belly dancers that weekend and I was afraid I would trigger ..... she told me she was a belly dancer and asked if I wanted to see her photos ........

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :wall:

 

[Seychelle]

I don't know if I'm just unusually sensitive to this, but I don't deal very well if a therapist reacts overly emotionally to something I say. The psychologist I was seeing last year (before finding the current good one) drew in a sharp, shocked breath when I told her something my mother had done. So unhelpful, made me feel even worse about it.

Then I was in an interview recently and had a counsellor there (someone random, not my usual counsellor) for support. I lost it at one point and cried hard. Very disconcerting to realise that she was crying too.

It's weird and disconcerting to me that counsellors who work in the field of trauma can't hide their shock reactions. But like I said, maybe I'm overly sensitive to this. Makes it feel a combination of unsafe to tell them stuff and also that I'm a freak. Bleah.

 

[heather q]

I was answering a doctor one time, I thought the questions were fair, where are you from, until she decided that all men cheat and my ex must have brought a disease over from another country, I didn't have the disease neither did he, she was on some trip and chose to go off at me over it. This was not my issue but it certainly didn't not help my state of mind.

She ended up crying at a different appointment, something about her father, I didn't ask, she got a phone call and had to leave, she wasn't going to charge for the appointment she said, but she did anyway.

I told the ex about the incident and he didn't believe me, I wished I'd known then that that was about him, not about me. If I'd known I had PTSD maybe I could have looked at these incidences differently.

How do these people qualify for these responsible positions...and perhaps they need regulating.

Heather

 

[Manic11]

I don't know if I'm just unusually sensitive to this, but I don't deal very well if a therapist reacts overly emotionally to something I say.

I would not be very impressed either. That's not okay. I understand that many things that we have gone through are unimaginable and so some people cannot handle that but in my opinion, if they cannot handle it then they are in the wrong career and they should not be having that type of reaction.
I don't think that you are too sensitive to this at all. It is completely understandable. I hope you have found a better therapist...

Manic

 

[Seychelle]

I would not be very impressed either. That's not okay. I understand that many things that we have gone through are unimaginable and so some people cannot handle that but in my opinion, if they cannot handle it then they are in the wrong career and they should not be having that type of reaction.
I don't think that you are too sensitive to this at all. It is completely understandable. I hope you have found a better therapist...

Thanks. And yes, I did find a better therapist but only after a particularly disastrous appointment which undid a lot of the hard work I'd done. New guy is much better.

 

[louisa]

Hi,

My counsellor won't give me any further appointments. I don't know why. I am waiting for a letter which will hopefully explain it. It might be because I have missed a few appointments as I am always ill. I also have to travel twenty miles by public transport to get there, which makes me extremely nervous so sometimes I just can't get there. This counsellor didn't seem to like me - I'm a nice person and I wouldn't say that I'm difficult. She also said i was 'unfocused' - well wouldn't that be related to my PTSD, which is why I'm going there in the first place? Shouldn't she be helping me to focus rather than criticising me for it? I was devastated when I found out she had dropped me. I had told her personal things and I feel she has just slapped me in the face for it. My situation just seems to be getting worse. My benefits have been cut and I am loosing friends and becoming increasingly isolated. I have been trying so very hard to fight this thing but I just feel like I'm being attacked by the system. I had to wait a whole year to get this counselling and now they have just thrown me away. To be honest I feel suicidal because it was all I had to hold on to. I live in the U.K by the way so whats available here may be different. I will go to my Doctor monday to ask for help. I don't want to die. I was almost murdered. And know that I'm lucky to have survived. But I don't know how much longer I can go on. I feel pathetic writing all this - like I should get a grip. But I was 'gripping' on to the counselling and now it's gone. Also, I'm scared that if I tell my Doctor how I really feel, I might get sectioned under the mental health act and I certainly don't want that. Does anyone have any advice?

Thankyou, Louisa

 

[a3a2]

I tried to go to a therapist in college. He told me "things couldn't have been that bad, or I never would have made it to college". I kept telling myself for years afterwards that I must be making it up, but then, of course, so were my many siblings.