The therapist from hell.

[Fino]

I once had a psychiatrist tell me I wasn't really depressed and wasn't Bipolar (which was the diagnosis at the time) and that I just had anxiety and needed a girlfriend. She also said that I'm dumber than my dog.

The weird thing is that I was so depressed I hardly said a single word, so I don't know what her conclusions (anxious and stupid) were even based on.

She gave me a low dose of a different medication each month when I would return and say they didn't help. I didn't even bother to read what I was taking and eventually got bored of it, took whatever was left in the bottle all at once, and stopped going.

Whatever it was wasn't strong, because I felt nauseous for a while and that was it.

That was almost ten years ago, but if she works at the same office, I can find her and throw a half-baked pancake at her or somethin!

I'm sorry about your experience. It's baffling the way some people act.

How do they walk around, continuing to live and eat and bathe without their ridiculous actions running through their mind, haunting them? Do some people just not review their actions? They continue forward like a dog, like a flea, like a basket of apples falling from a tree?

I just wanted to rhyme at the end.

Don't feel rejected, she probably did that for herself, something weird going on like realizing she was acting like a failure and wanting to get rid of the evidence. Nothing wrong with you. Just reject those kinds of people yourself a little quicker next time.

 

[Gracey]

I can relate to your experience with Effexor.
Initially it dragged me up by my bootstraps and stood me back on my own two feet, really quickly (in comparison to other meds)

Long term and ever increasing doses had me; quite abruptly and unconnected to mood, considering ending my life.
Didn’t seem to make any sense.


Concerning your last therapist, I believe I would benefit from working with someone like her.
I have previously served and from what you’ve described, think I know where she’s coming from.

She may have ended the therapy because there was nothing she could do for you.
Both of you realising it wasn’t going to work out?


I am pleased to read you’ve found a therapist you feel safe with and hope you can work through your trauma together.

 

[WereBear]

If you are in the USA, check these sources for recommendations of autism-competent therapists,

• The Autism Society of America (local affiliates)
• US Autism & Asperger Association

Sadly, these sites have puzzle pieces and pictures of children all over them. The therapist referral network has a LOT of wrong information on the page.

Once again, I have to figure out how to take care of myself using scientific studies on the Internet. But hey, I'm good at that, thank goodness.

 

[WereBear]

I can relate to your experience with Effexor.
Initially it dragged me up by my bootstraps and stood me back on my own two feet, really quickly (in comparison to other meds)

Long term and ever increasing doses had me; quite abruptly and unconnected to mood, considering ending my life.
Didn’t seem to make any sense.

It makes more sense when you understand how these drugs work.

Neurotransmitters are the "key" which fits into the brain "lock." Psychiatric medications make the lock stay open, which works at first. But having that lock stay open means it can get stuck, and then not close when it should. Now there's trouble.

My method is to add more keys by taking amino acid supplements.

For instance, I had a couple of scary panic attacks, and my doctor gave me Xanax. I take half of one and it did help, but the WARNINGS. Emergency use only!

So when I researched how it worked, I discovered it made the GABA lock stay open. So I started taking GABA (more keys,) and my sleep improved, and even my muscle stiffness got better!

Fix the source, I say. Leave those locks alone.

 

[Ginseng]

The weird thing is that I was so depressed I hardly said a single word, so I don't know what her conclusions (anxious and stupid) were even based on.

Wow Fino! That was horrible! I am so sorry you had such an experience. When we are at our lowest and reach out to them for help they just seem to attack us when we are down. I would like to tell her a thing or two!

 

[Ginseng]

I believe I would benefit from working with someone like her.

Would you please tell me where you think she is coming from? I really need closure on all of this and I can not make sense of it.

 

[Gracey]

Would you please tell me where you think she is coming from? I really need closure on all of this and I can not make sense of it.

Some therapy is about moving forward, some therapy is about resolving the past.

I fair better with a direct, factual approach (usually)
My recovery is on me. I only usually want to talk to someone with qualifications as a bit of a sounding board.
If I’m wrong or headed in the wrong direction over an idea, I appreciate direct ‘correction’(?) or at least being asked to consider another point of view and possibility.

I can’t change the past but acknowledge it does leave habits, trust issues, defence mechanisms, faulty or unhealthy learning.

I can change all of those with guidance

Does the above sound like the sort of place you’re at?

Or would you prefer a slower, more caring approach to what you’re experiencing?

For closure, I’d be inclined to acknowledge that the two of you wouldn’t have made any progress.
Nothing personal just different personalities.

The positive (if that’s the correct word)
Would be that you’ve now found someone you feel you can work with.
?

 

[Kirsty]

She probably doesn’t treat them all that way but I made her angry. I corrected her quite a few times. I wasn’t trying to be rude but she kept giving out information that was inaccurate. I think she took a lot of what I said the wrong way. I was afraid so I was on the defensive and trying to act like I was not afraid. They were freaky sessions, but I bet she had done this to others.

She sounds like she might be a type of covert narcissist that loves gaslighting and doesn’t really care one bit about people. It’s all about the money to them.

 

[Ginseng]

She sounds like she might be a type of covert narcissist that loves gaslighting and doesn’t really care one bit about people. It’s all about the money to them.

I actually wondered about that.

 

[Theta.G]

She has a big ego. If your corrections were correct she's insecure in her own intellectual capacity. Thinks she deserves more recognition as an authority, possibly more than deserved.

 

[Ginseng]

Some therapy is about moving forward, some therapy is about resolving the past.

I actually just went there to process some things and possible deal with depression issues. She uncovered or dug up issues I didn't know I had or thought I had resolved and proceeded to bloody me with them. She was willing to kill me off. I do realize some people need direct stronger confrontation. I do not do well with anything that is angrily thrown at me. I become confused easily when emotions start to run high.

 

[Ginseng]

She has a big ego. If your corrections were correct she's insecure in her own intellectual capacity. Thinks she deserves more recognition as an authority, possibly more than deserved.

My corrections were correct and there were quite a few. I pretty much memorized my psych books.

 

[Crossbreed]

Sadly, these sites have puzzle pieces and pictures of children all over them.

They are miles ahead of Autism Speaks. They acknowledge the likes of Dr. Tony Attwood and, USAAA in particular, has similarly-minded experts in their ranks. (I collaborate with one of them.)

 

[Stardust Parade]

I would report her to the licensing board. That's ******** and she shouldn't verbally abuse any clients like that! I'm a nurse and if I treated any of my patients like that I could be reported to my state board of nursing for abuse.

 

[Ginseng]

I am seriously considering doing this. I am still so confused about all that has happened. I have been doubting myself a lot since all this started. I know these things happened. I got a copy of her chart records and she was so careful to not chart anything pertinent to my case. She makes herself look like a professional. She even talked to my therapist and left out anything of importance that took place in her office. But I do believe if I report this there will have been others or there will be others who will collaborate by having similar experiences with her.

I would report her to the licensing board. That's ******** and she shouldn't verbally abuse any clients like that! I'm a nurse and if I treated any of my patients like that I could be reported to my state board of nursing for abuse.

 

[tducey]

She doesn't sound like she's in the right profession at all. With our disability we need people that care and go that extra mile for us. I've experienced the caring and extra mile during my life. Hope you find a therapist who does the same for you.

 

[Ginseng]

I think my new therapist may be that person. It is too soon to tell and will probably take me a while to be able to trust her. But she doesn't freak me out or make me afraid.

She doesn't sound like she's in the right profession at all. With our disability we need people that care and go that extra mile for us. I've experienced the caring and extra mile during my life. Hope you find a therapist who does the same for you.

 

[Mattymatt]

Not all therapists are good, or to be kind I guess I could say some aren’t right for everyone. But they are just people with problems like anyone else.
I’ve had some bad ones, some not so good but harmless, and a couple that were great.
Sorry you had a bad experience but glad you found someone safe to talk to.

I've had more poor therapists than good ones. The mental health field is woefully inept at times. I've also had more poor psychiatrists than good ones. At least the psychiatrist I see now is really good.

 

[rollerskate]

I am going to share something very personal. I hope that y'all will be kind.
I went to a therapist after not having seen one since college. I have seen two in my life, but I was unable to open up to either of them due to my past history of abuse. I was hoping that after all these years maybe I could actually open up in therapy. I also have a long history of depression, but I can no longer take anti- depressants because when I finally found one that worked after trying about 15 or twenty different ones, The Effexor not only stopped working but it made me suicidal. I mean I seriously considered walking out in front of an 18 wheeler that would go by my busy road daily.

Well, I made an appointment to see a therapist and I was trying to process my life so that I could learn to make better choices. My therapist, a woman had been in the military (which she made a point of telling me on several occasions) She would go from being nice and warm to strongly confrontational and even mocking and laughing at me. She literally freaked me out. I started dissociating through the sessions and lost a lot of time. I even heard a child's voice at one point which caused me to really be embarrassed and more withdrawn. I was so confused and I would feel like I woke up several times during the sessions. She apparently had come to the conclusion that I was faking it and I guess that is how she justified her actions. I do not know. But she is no longer seeing me (which I received as rejection) I had hoped we could work though whatever was going on in the sessions. I have a new therapist I have seen her about 4 times now. She is much nicer and I have not dissociated any in her office. I feel calm and safe. I felt afraid during the other therapist sessions.

What I want to know is can any one relate to anything I have said? This whole ordeal has left me feeling really lost and questioning my sanity. I mean when your therapist thinks you are lying and rejects you is pretty profound.

I can relate so much, even to the dissociative episodes and becoming childlike.

I am very afraid of therapists and mental health professionals at this point, but I keep trying.

I want to congratulate you on being brave enough to keep trying until you found one you like. I was discouraged from doing this... so I often would stop and not seek again, convinced that no one could understand me at all... but I eventually figured out that I just needed to keep trying and switching practices if they weren't working for me. That it wasn't my fault that some places weren't the right fit, and didn't mean that none of them would ever fit, either. That I wasn't a "difficult patient" for having misgivings after going through mental health abuse (YES, you can be EASILY abused by practitioners, and the right ones will ACKNOWLEDGE this and won't blame you for leaving the others, but encourage you similar to what I'm doing). YOU ultimately know what's best for YOU. And this is YOUR mental health, so there's nothing wrong with taking charge and continuing to look until you find someone that you can feel comfortable with!

You're doing good. You're far from being alone in this experience. And I'm really happy to hear you found one at last!

 

[Ylva]

Not quite. I've had "therapists" who giggled or smirked, but none who engaged in obvious bullying like yours. I have never had one who was actually therapeutic for me, though. I didn't think they existed.