Help! Therapist Terminated Me For Dissociation/flashback In Session

[mytai]

Riptide I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience with your T. I will say what others have already said, but your T was wrong for handling the situation the way she did.

Regardless of whether or not she felt afraid she shouldn't have terminated therapy over the phone. It wasn't responsible of her. She should have referred you to someone she felt was more qualified to handle your level of trauma, since clearly she isn't as equipped as she thought she was.

You did NOTHING wrong, please hear me and everyone else who has already said it, you did NOTHING wrong. Flashbacks are an unfortunate but normal thing with PTSD. Sometimes they are mild, and other times they completely consume us and our surroundings turn into a threatening situation even if there isn't really any threat there. Please don't take it personally, I know it is so easy to place the blame on ourselves, but Riptide you did NOTHING wrong. Your T is in the wrong for the way they handled it.

I know it hurts to be terminated that way, I've been there many times, but you are better off without that T - you will find a T who is better suited to you. Who takes your well-being seriously and makes it a priority.

I agree with what others have said, you should file a formal complaint about the way the situation was handled. It was irresponsible and she left you in a bad place.

 

[therapybankrupt]

Please know there are lots of good people out there. This one is just not for you.

I did find a great therapist after that experience and I am still with her. I also go proper diagnosis.:) Glad I got dumped by the other one.

 

[radicalgratitude]

I am shocked by your therapist's reaction. I was in an intensive trauma program this past summer and they told me that its very common for a client to run out of a room for a number of reasons. I actually started to run out of a room because I was scared but I stopped when it clicked that I wasn't going to get very far. So for trauma therapists, it comes with the territory.

It does happen that a therapist will think that they have an expertise in something and they really don't. I had a therapist who claimed to have a specialty in treating eating disorders. However she thought saying "You're not fat," hundreds of times was going to make me believe it and got angry when I was getting worse. I wasn't the only one having trouble with her, and the people in our city stopped referring others with eating disorders to her. So make sure to mention this to your primary physician. They do talk amongst themselves and you could be preventing it from happening to someone else. (The therapist I just mentioned had to get more training and find a new specialty so don't worry about wrecking her career. If it means a lot to her, she'll find something that works.)

The key is to keep going to therapy no matter what. Don't let someone who isn't very good at their job get in the way of your healing. You are worth it!

 

[ms spock]

I have wasted a lot of time seeing T's that did not have the expertise that they claimed to have.

This woman was unprofessional and that is hurtful and confusing for you.

Putting in a complaint to her professional body, (should be on her website which one/s she belongs to,) or the clinic, the organisation or her supervisor will be good for her and will get her support to provide her with the boundaries that she needs to set, in terms of working with people and help her identify who she is actually able to assist.

There are many bad, incompetent and unprofessional people out there. Keep searching for a new one.

It is always a good idea to ask what type of supervision that any professional that you go to see is involved in, most see someone once per week, some once per fortnight. If they don't have a supervisor or a supervision group I would be wary of seeing that person. There professional standards and codes of practice and it is always good to read those before so you can ask questions before you start working with people.

 

[WillowMarie]

I am so sorry the therapist did this. It definitely sounds like they are not experienced the way they should be to treat PTSD/trauma. You did nothing wrong. A good therapist will recognize what is going on and help you get through it.

I have also had my fair share of bad therapists. I was losing hope because no one understood me or knew how to help me with the dissociating. The last therapist I had tried I picked her because she had experience in trauma, but she wasn't very helpful. I don't think she understood at all the emotions/how they worked with triggers or dissociation that comes with it for me. The therapist I just found (four sessions in) is such a huge difference. She specializes in trauma/PTSD and is a great fit for me. She is very good at reading my body and knows when I get triggered or start to dissociate. I know it can be hard, but you will find someone that is a great fit for you and will be able to help you the way you need to be helped. Don't give up, you deserve someone who knows how to help you the way you need to be helped. :)

 

[Britt.f7]

She seems highly unethical. I'm sorry you had to experience something like that and with someone who, obviously, is not trained to handle trauma. Nothing you have said has been radically different then some of the people have gone through on here. Please try not to feel horrible. What you went through was normal, it was she who exhibited abnormal behavior. I would search around for someone and explain what happened this time around, verifying that it will not happen again(them terminating, can they handle it, etc.). You deserve better.

 

[Reds]

I am really sorry you had to experience that. Therapists should be able to handle such and for her to terminate it like that is just unprofessional.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Riptide, I want to give another perspective from that of one who has worked in a facility and dealt with such things as this. Feel free to reject anything I write which isn't helpful, as it is only my experience and training.

In the hospital I worked in, we don't have locked doors or a locked wing. Occasionally, when a patient would be acting out (meds, post-op, trauma, etc.) we'd have to try to keep that patient safe (restraints or meds), and also our other patients.

For the patients who, for whatever reason, would leave their bed or rooms, we'd have to restrain them until they could be transferred to an in-patient, secure facility. This is because they can be protected and prevented from accidently scaring and/or harming others.

Our need to transfer them was not a judgment on their character, nor their injury/illness. Facilities are legally obligated to mitigate risk, no matter where it comes from.

It's possible your therapist's facility is an unsecured facility. Such facilities are designed for patients who have enough reliable internal controls that they do not unintentionally transform their distress into behaviors which other patients could find frightening, worrisome, or threatening.

Once a patient displays a lack of internal controls to safely tolerate distress without acting out, the facility (at least the one I worked in, and now go to for my therapy) is obligated to prevent that from happening again. At our facility, they discharge those patients.

We know how we feel on the inside, and that we would never have harmed someone else intentionally. But to another person who cannot read our minds, and can only act on observed behavior, our actions are what must conform to the facility's capabilities. Even if a caregiver wanted to make an exception, it is not allowed.

If our behavior violates the facility's rules, license, or capabilities, the risk management team steps in and goes by protocol. Any deviation from those standards can negate all liability coverage for the facility, therapist, or both. If the caregiver sees a patient again on premises, it puts their own financial future at risk if a lawsuit from the patient or other patients is successfully filed and won.

Hence, in our facility, when someone does violate the standards, no further contact with that patient is allowed except via phone or email, which must be documented and sent to the risk management department. Generally, though, risk management instructs termination of services right away.

There are more secure and/or in-patient facilities which can treat those with self-regulation issues.

Please also know that this doesn't mean you aren't able to be helped. You'll just need to find a facility which has enough safety controls in place to ensure you are fully safe when pursuing treatment. Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT) can also help with distress tolerance skills. You're in good company with your experience, and I'm so sorry you have gone through this. There is hope for you. Don't give up.

 

[Abstract]

when someone does violate the standards,

Hi Bloom. If you can would you share what type of behaviour that would entail and if it also relates to one to one therapy sessions with a therapist who is a specialist in that particular issue? Are the patients informed beforehand.? It seems it is a hospital setting. I am sure it is just the official word used but I have to say I don't like the term "violated" in this context.

no further contact with that patient is allowed except via phone or email, which must be documented and sent to the risk management department. Generally, though, risk management instructs termination of services right away.

What is done in these circumstances? Discharge and nothing further? What are the options?

There is more that occurred to me to ask or comment on but I don't want to sidetrack the thread or speak for Riptide.

 

[BloomInWinter]

I can't speak to the current policy/procedures as now I'm just a patient. All patients at my facility must sign a contract to be allowed to participate in therapy, and it does state acceptable behaviors and examples of unacceptable behaviors.

I'm not using the word violated as a pejorative, only as an either/or description. As in, either the behavior is considered acceptable, or it is not. But one could use any euphemism which is comfortable.

Patients are informed of their behavior and consequences. When patients break the contract, our facility and two other hospitals around here consider that point in time to be where the patient terminates treatment, though they do give a phone call or email to the patient to let them know.

I'm not saying it's right by any means, but I do understand why.

The point I was trying to make for Riptide is that the termination of treatment is not a unique issue aimed at one patient. Any patient exhibiting such behavior would have similar results.

A therapist tells us their feelings so we are aware of how others perceive us. It's not nice to hear that we've appeared frightening or rude. But how can we fix something if we're not made aware of it? Other people in our lives will often just stay away from us rather than inform us what the issue is. Or, they might try to preserve our feelings with a white lie. Those behaviors, though well-intentioned, only kept me unaware of the issue for a much longer time.

 

[Hashi]

Bloom, I'm confused simply because you're talking about inpatient treatment and I wasn't aware that this is what Riptide was discussing. I'm uncertain about the references to the safety of other patients. Is that the situation here?

I took it to be one-to-one therapy (outside an inpatient setting).

 

[BloomInWinter]

I'm certain I'm not making too much sense because my paramedic/ER tech days are hard for me to access in a coherent manner, or at will.

But, I'm talking about both my days as a worker, and now my experience as an out-patient. The facility is not equipped, designed, nor staffed for an out-patient who needs more of these resources than they have. For patients who affect other patients negatively (whether intentional or not), that is a violation of that other patient's rights. The facility is obligated to prevent that as much as possible.

I'm sorry for not making sense. I struggle with this topic.