Getting A Diagnosis

[jenkins123]

Not sure where this thread fits really. I believe my ex has Cptsd, and have posted before. We are no longer in touch since he shutdown yet again in December. However, just recently I have wondered the following; I am not sure if he has received a proper/Cptsd diagnosis and wonder if I can/should mention it to him given what I have learnt here.

I accept now we may never get back together but I would still like to know he is getting the right therapy and I have read alot here about it taking many misdiagnoses before ptsd is finally diagnosed correctly, and once diagnosed it can help immensely to have a ptsd trauma therapist. I do not claim to know if he has Cptsd but his history and behaviour with me fit many of the criteria. He has told me he is having treatment but I wonder if he is in the right treatment. I know I have no right to interfere or offer my "advice" and it would be sensitive now since he shutdown abrupty after inviting me in again. However he seems to have been seeing this particular therapist on and off for years and is still having extremely turbulent times and is hurting a lot. Just a couple of months ago he emailed me about having particularly bad times. If I were a close friend I wouldn't think twice about mentioning this plus this site, but having been emotionally attached and shut aside now, it is no longer my place I know. Yet, I see how important/useful it has been for many sufferers on here to get a proper diagnosis. Also the fact he never mentioned the term to me calling it instead his "toxic past" makes me wonder if the therapist is specialised and indeed at least explored the idea of Cptsd therapy. Can I at least rest assured that most therapists would connect the term immediately when he told them he had been physically abused repeatedly in childhood?

I'd love to hear if anyone thinks my drawing his attention to it would help or harm? This is not by the way my way to reconnect with him.I just don't want him to hurt so much and get the right treatment.

 

[cherryblossom]

I would be particularly concerned for someone who has been in therpapy on and off for years with little to no progress. That to me, sets alarm bells ringing, that this is not the right therapeutic relationship for the receiver. It doesn't necessarily mean that the therapist is bad, just not the right person for the job.

I don't know where you live, but in the UK, only a doctor can actually give a diagnosis, so a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist or a therapist. Perhaps you could encourage him to see a psychiatrist in order to get a diagnosis. I see no harm in mentioning PTSD, or cPTSD, but self diagnosis is not recommended. In order to get the right treament, a correct diagnosis could be essential. If indeed he does have PTSD, the psychiatrist could then recommend a suitable trauma therapist for his issues.

 

[Jawn]

I agree with CB.

 

[jenkins123]

Thank you CherryBlossom. Not sure how to do this since he has shut down from me, but to me now the bigger picture is worrying less about irritating him in a hope he will come back to us, and just passing on the information to him in the most sensitive way. I'm concerned how to keep it simple given all the symptoms I have learnt here that he seems to display acutely. Obviously I don't want to sound interfering or "all knowing" as I am not at all, so saying something like "I think you have cptsd and please ask your therapist about this" is a bit blunt! Any ideas?