Best Advice I Can Give Is: Find A Therapist Who Has Ptsd

[permban0069]

Thats why I thought I would sign up here and share what worked for me, and what is working for others. It's not for the lighthearted, but when we have PTSD, we develop an intolerance for waffling and ego stroking, so I use the same cap as I wore for myself. You're welcome to pop over to the main thread if you like, and hopefully I can give you some tips and pointers that can help you fastrack the journey back from the symptoms. You're welcome to ask me questions over there too, and I'm sure I'll be able to answer them for you. :-)

 

[WillyKat]

Oh, I'm lucky. I've found a good therapist and am making good progress. I have no idea if she's ever had PTSD or not. But she does seem to understand.

I'm about six weeks away from finishing my book and part of it deals with how difficult it is for others to understand. Even people with PTSD sometimes have a hard time understanding each other! I devote a few pages to how easy it is for people to divide from each other when they could be allies. Makes me want to scream sometime.

Did you really climb Everest?

 

[Deleted member 20280]

Personally I agree with you regarding this point, I also agree with Anthony that an effective therapist does not necessarily have to have PTSD to succeed.

I myself intend to start a degree in September studying Psychology with PTSD specialty. I was diagnosed by a great man and owe my life to both him and this forum for saving my life, leterally and more than once. Unfortunatally I no longer have a therapist at all now and have had to survive by my wit's. I have been in self research and study on the Internet into the mechanics of the brain and in particular PTSD and how it affects the concious and un-concious minds of the sufferer.

I extend a warm UK Welcome to the forum

Laurie

 

[shell]

@Anjiibe Welcome to the forum.

I suffered at the hands at of a traumatised therapist who hadn't dealt with with their past enough not to dump it on me, and destablize me from being very depressed into suicidal planning, so I can't say that I would agree with the statement you made.

The therapist told me I must never again talk about what happened to me because I will be retraumatized, and that she found what I revealed very difficult for her, even though she pushed me into talking about it. She would still see me, but we couldn't talk about it, or what I was actually going through, and she specialized in PTSD with Vietnam Vets, but had an abusive background. It was like being abandoned all over again, and given no hope of healing, as the previous week she told me I have to talk about it to heal, but when I did she shut me down the following session. It has taken 4 years for me to really trust a therapist again, because of that first therapist. If it hadn't been for the advice of the people on this forum, I don't think I would be where I am today, and certainly not if I had stayed with her.

Certainly there is merit in having someone who truly understands, but only in as far as they have dealt with their own issues, and aren't triggered into avoiding issues we bring into a session. Like all professions there are some that excel, and some that just aren't up to the job.

The subject of whether someone who has PTSD should be a therapist has certainly been hotly debated recently, and like anything there are two sides to the issue. I think that like any therapist they would need to be sure they weren't bringing their own issues into therapy and creating more problems.

I look forward to your participation on the forum.

 

[BlueOrange]

@Anjiibe , your reply to Anonymous undermines my potential confidence in your ability as a therapist. Anonymous said "I need the pull of normalcy more than I need someone who understands." You replied with "Perfect! This is exactly where I started." And then you went off on a completely unrelated set of statements that were all about you, and did not reflect any understanding of what was meant by 'the pull of normalcy'.

While sympathetic understanding has value, I need someone who can listen and who can help me to get out of the potholes. And I'm not exactly 'starting out', I saw my first shrink in 1991.

I think it's great that you're enthusiastic, but I think you should consider the way that you're presenting yourself a bit more carefully. Right now, you seem like a person who has more 'confidence in their understanding' than 'genuine listening skills'. Overconfident therapists have done me a lot of harm, and I don't think I'm alone in that.

 

[permban0069]

Certainly there is merit in having someone who truly understands, but only in as far as they have dealt with their own issues, and aren't triggered into avoiding issues we bring into a session. Like all professions there are some that excel, and some that just aren't up to the job.

Oh my goodness, I have no clue as to why she was a therapist! You've blown my mind so I can TOTALLY understand and agree with what you're saying. Wow! Whats the point of seeing her in the first place. Unless she has found effective tools, used them and become a light in the darkness, a walking example, then she is clearly way out of her depth. I really feel for you, the experience could do nothing but push you deeper into the mire. I am so sorry to hear of your experience.
The trauma itself, creates neurotransmitter pathways that are firmly anchored in self survival. This is where the hyper-vigilence comes from. I discovered that changing the way my neuros were wired was a major key in my own pathway back. This came from going back to the teachings of my grandmother on the subject, which is that amino acids are the building blocks of neuros, I began to treat myself with them. Cheaply too. The most natural and perfect balance of amino acids come in the form of whey protein powder. I took as many of these a day as I could. I also drank concentrated aloe vera juice in them, as this is 99% aminos. I took 1000mg day of vit B5 and B6 (300mg) as this is the building block for hair follicles, nails, joints etc and is also extremely important for stress. You see when you have a trauma, the brain drains all of your B5 and others to get you through the incident, and then your body lacks and is deficient. this appears much later as mood swings, bad reactionary triggers, alopecia 6 months later, suddenly going grey in the hair, arthritis and so on. They are also part of the feel good seratonin precursers.
I still take them. Within 3 weeks of starting on this regime, I began to feel as though I was coming out of a fog, and so I could begin to look at the next step of my healing. - I hope this helps someone xx

 

[Chosen]

Okay, so, I'm a bit concerned here.

As an American psychology student, I'm familiar with the APA's ethical principles and standards. I don't know what standards you have in your country, but I see some issues with you coming here, admitting you're a therapist, and then offering help.

Already, I see at least one member who seems to view what you post as being therapeutic intervention.

The lines are blurred: are you offering help as a fellow sufferer, informed by your training and experience as a therapist? Or are you offering support as a therapist who happens to also be a sufferer?

Regardless of which you answer, I wonder about the standards in your country regarding informed consent, competency, multiple relationships (fellow sufferer and therapist?), conflict of interest, and termination of therapy.

I think there can be a huge benefit to a fellow sufferer coming on here and interacting with your training and experience as a therapist. But I also think that ethically, you have to be very careful how you interact, what information you give, and consider what kind of relationship you are entering into with us.

 

[permban0069]

Well guys, I'm not here to get into debates. I've changed my own life after a series of Psychologists and therapists that did more harm than good. I was happy to share that for those of you who are working to help yourselves, so I'll step away from here and continue my actual paid job of successfully working with returned vets and victims of crime in my own country. i love what I do, and what my life has taught me. I wish you all well, there will be no more replies from me to your threads or posts so attack all you want. Ciao
My qualifications were removed by Anthony. It was seen as self promotion.

 

[Chosen]

Frankly, that makes me even more concerned. It's not about debates, but it's about your declared profession and its inherent ethical demands. Simply questioning what the ethical standards are and how they relate relevant issues regarding your presence and participation here is not trying to get into a debate.

I wonder how much you have healed, since you are "stepping away" after questions. These weren't attacks, but questions. I feel you've been threatened by my questions, and you shouldn't feel that. All those questions were intended to be is a challenge for you to consider your behavior and intentions in light of ethical standards and the demands of your profession.

You could do great good. You could also do great harm. Avoiding harm is a huge portion of ethics, and in your chosen profession, you are held to a higher ethical standard. I was just trying to get you to consider that more when you interact with us.

 

[BlueOrange]

@Noah , generally speaking, in Australia, the rules govern 'license to title' rather than 'license to practice'. This means that there is nothing prohibiting a person with no training whatsoever from attempting a medical or therapeutic procedure, provided that the patient consents to the procedure. However, it is illegal to claim a title or qualification that you do no possess.

In the words of my acupuncture lecturer: "If you're dumb enough to ask me to take out your appendix, and I'm dumb enough to try doing it, and you die on the operating table, then no crime has been committed. Unless I told you I was a doctor or a surgeon, or you had a reasonable basis to think I was a doctor or a surgeon."

The term 'therapist' is very general and can be claimed by basically anyone (reiki practitioners, etc). The term 'hypnotherapist' is not (as far as I am aware) restricted by legislation, and can therefore also be used by basically anyone. The terms 'psychologist' can only be used to describe an accredited member of the relevant professional body, same with 'psychiatrist'. (The legal restrictions concerning the term 'acupuncturist' are surprisingly complicated and not very relevant here.)

Anjiibe has not claimed to be a psychologist or psychiatrist, and therefore we have no way of knowing what qualifications she may (or may not) hold.

 

[permban0069]

Many testimonials and changed lives, public speaking, all help me to know that I am proud of who i am and what I do. I don't have time to go down 'red herring' roads and qualify my life to you. Just keep doing what you all do, I wish you well. Bye. Just silly to be honest with you, you talk as though it must be/is impossible to heal from PTSD. Not a good place to start really is it. Because everyone is on this site wanting to believe that they can, and understand how they can do that. Hence the initial desire to share that valuable knowledge. oh well.....

 

[greenleaf]

There do seem to be boundary issues going on; @Anjiibe ... while my sense is that while on one level, you believe you are trying to help others, your interactions with us feel like they are colored strongly by your own perspective and experiences still. That can harm people without you being aware of it, or perhaps without you being able to admit it to yourself or them. Since many folks here have had trust in authority figures abused, not having those issues very well worked out could be dangerous with abuse survivors... The therapist can have a power advantage in "knowing the truth" about the client...

I have had a couple of really problematic therapists who had abuse histories and one amazingly good one. Both problematic ones seemed to essentially project their experience and path to healing at me as "the right way" to do it. A strong focus on the particular path to healing taken by the therapist may be briefly inspiring, but not really helpful and maybe actually invalidating to most folks -- our traumas and paths are so unique...

One also told me my memory of my family history was wrong, my father clearly must have been an alcoholic due to some emotional patterns I described to her. (Well, he's never been alcoholic, still isn't... sorry lady...) or, "thus and so can be done, I did it" -- the other therapist I'm thinking of said... but, that technique just didn't work for me! Her being my therapist was not a stage for her to show how amazing her healing and understanding of trauma was! Sort of a self-focus, felt like, she couldn't really see me.

The really excellent therapist I had who'd been abused, really really listened and saw other people, didn't talk about herself often at all though she did disclose. The focus really has to be on the individual client, and lives can be at stake sometimes in this stuff.

My perspective... lots of paths can lead a person to being an excellent therapist; willingness in their own life to have faced their own pain (and everyone eventually has painful things happen), to be responsible for their own sh#t... those are pretty crucial in the ongoing development of empathy... also trying to always improve, stay on a positive path, to learn from clients too...