We need to talk about bad therapists.

[@bigpun7916]

It's pretty sad when you go to a therapist and they turn out to be more screwed up than anyone can imagine .

[@dazzlingdexter5060]

There's a reason it's not taken seriously as science. There's too many people who are incompetent or trying to justify thier jobs and so it's hard to take them seriously. It's also apperent that a lot of them have 0 idea on how deal with kids. But this is a lot of fields. Also him not asking questions is also a huge issue with kids because kids might sometimes not be upfront. So you need to ask them questions. Like "Hey, how you feeling? Are they upsetting you? Why did you do this?"

[@aktchungrabanio6467]

@@dazzlingdexter5060 Exactly!

[@xxxstar90dustxxxr]

hahahaha! You made me laugh, because it is beyond true!

[@KeepMoving4wrd]

@ngdexter5060 My child lies to their therapist about everything. That is one of my child's biggest problems and the reason they will never ever be able to be helped. So sad. Another sad thing is that the therapists totally believe what they are being told.

[@jixer1956]

​@@KeepMoving4wrdAre they actual lies of fact or does your kid just feel and think differently about things than you do? A difference of opinion is not a lie. Also, it's better for a therapist to give people the benefit of the doubt and believe what they're told rather than potentially falsely accuse someone of lying without evidence.

[@polifemo3967]

One of my biggest difficulties in seeking therapy is that I'm totally broke. I can barely afford food and transportation. I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars testing out relationships with different therapists until one fits. I can't afford it.

[@neurotransmissions]

Yeah, I totally hear you. I know that, even with insurance, copays of $10 or $20 a week can be cost prohibitive. If therapy simply isn't in the budget, there are still a few options that may be available to you: 1. If you're employed, your company may offer an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is free 2. If you're a student, your institution likely offers free therapy through their psychological services department. 3. You could look into support groups, either online or locally. Group therapy is quite effective and often local nonprofit organizations will offer free support groups, though some of them are directed at particular issues like grief or addiction. 4. Contact clinics and ask about what financial accommodations they offer. At the place I work, we have a program that clients can apply to that, if they qualify, pays their copay. Many other institutions have similar kinds of programs. I hope that helps. I've been thinking about access to mental health services a lot lately and may make a video in the future about this topic. It's a huge issue and we really need a more robust system in place to make treatment accessible to those who can't afford it. Anyway, thanks for your comment!

[@polifemo3967]

@@neurotransmissions hi! thanks for the reply! I had not considered support groups before, especially with local nonprofits. I'll look into that.

[@saraleigh5336]

Copays of $10 or $20. Or $60. But also ignores the accelerating trend of therapists not taking insurance.

[@heisenberg1898]

They only care when their getting paid. Talk to a friend, it's much better. See how you just said you have to pay. Think about what you just said.

[@polifemo3967]

@@heisenberg1898 I agree that its icky that we need to pay to get the help we need. I agree that talking to a friend is necessary, and will help you in ways that therapy will not. But there are techniques that professionals could be trained in, which you are unlikely to get with just your friends, even if they are really into psychology. CBT and other therapies come to mind. Medication is also a big one you need a professional to get (a psychiatrist). I think you are basically having your mental health held hostage until you pay up, keeping those who can't from having a fulfilling life. And though I WANT to change this system, I gotta accept that as it is right now professional help is very useful, and professional help costs money. This system is even more infuriating when I consider that you are right. There are many mediocre psychologists that only care about taking money from you. And you will have to spend time and money to rule those people out, one appointment at a time.

[@elizabethr1220]

I have schizoaffective disorder. My therapist at the time basically inferred that I would never graduate college or amount to anything. I’m graduating next summer with a bachelor’s in neuroscience, then I’m pursuing a phd in neuroscience. She was wrong, I will amount to something.

[@xJohnNguyen]

That's great to hear! Sometimes having issues we're trying to resolve in our own lives works as a great motivator to better understand the "why" a lot more than those who simply never had an issue to begin with. I've definitely seen this with my own ADHD and anxiety issues. For school, curiosity is more important than having an easy-to-deal-with mental state. It's important to prepare yourself for what you will do after school though as the workforce can be less forgiving. I'm not sure about schizoaffective disorder, but I find that meditation and exercise have done wonders for me by leveling out my neurotransmitters.

[@palisadessilver2258]

Omg thanks for sharing and congratulations! I had an extremely abuse therapist when I was a teenager who told my parents I’d never graduate from college. I’m now a ucla graduate.

[@nicolejordan3270]

Awesome job! We might have some issues... but we get to choose how to define ourselves. I'm so proud of you!!

[@belindabezuidenhout8056]

Good for you. I've had a similar experience where I was outright told that something I wanna do will be too difficult to achieve. Nevermind that I've got 2 postgraduate cum laude qualifications.

[@thetruth9628]

Sounds like you actually had a good therapist. They did some reverse psychology on you and said you won’t amount to anything so that you could do the opposite and prove that you can. I would go back and thank that therapist.

[@KiraFriede]

One thing that stuck in my mind was the therapist asking "Do you want children?" and I replied "I don't know yet". And she replied "Shouldn't you know that at your age?" I was 24 years old.

[@MightyMyna]

Bruh

[@Stettafire]

That's super gross

[@snowqueen24]

@@Stettafire And inappropriate.😡

[@cindys9491]

Yoooo.... That's disgusting. I'm sorry.

[@bigpun7916]

Why at age 24 should anyone know if they want children or not ? 24 is still pretty young . I still don't know if i want kids and I'm 50 and i have some ! ..🤣😂🤣

[@cindys9491]

"you aren't responsible for their emotions." Right. I had a therapist become upset with me because I had calmly said I disagreed with a general statement they had made about where mental illnesses come from. A few minutes later, the person said "when you step on someone's toes expect them to retaliate." I honestly didn't know what they meant at first. They thought my disagreement with the *idea* was personally directed at THEM, even though I assured them that what bothered me about the idea had nothing to do with them. That was the beginning of the end of the session.

[@wkt2506]

Yes Thank you

[@LisaWatsonFilm]

Same happened to me, I was offensive to her because I said in my prior treatment I was made to feel that my diagnosis negated my opinions or thoughts about my own treatment...and its kind of frustrating that I can neither be upset or calmly express my frustration to someone ...like what am i supposed to do 🫠

[@FIRING_BLIND]

I would assume it's because this is "their area of expertise" They had to get a bunch of degrees to become a therapist, and now you're here telling them they're wrong about what they studied. BUT it's entirely possible what they said was a personal idea or hypothesis, making the questioning of their knowledge and expertise all the more personal

[@babu357]

But even if the therapist felt like they were being told they were wrong about what they studied, it's still thier issue and ego. Of course they are human but they shouldn't be teaching skills to show others how to handle their emotions unless they use the skills themselves. @@FIRING_BLIND

[@KeepMoving4wrd]

being offended by what you say or do, is a problem all by itself. Your therapist needs therapy for allowing herself to become offended. First rule: Be offended by nothing.

[@eljn0323]

My last therapist basically cracked one day. She started going on about planetary consciousness and opening your pineal gland to receive the sun and how something big is gonna happen in a few weeks, something big to humanity. I cried during session hearing all that because I felt like she was going crazy on me. Once I hung up I told her to never contact me again.

[@neurotransmissions]

Woah, that's...out there. On the first day of my counseling graduate program, my mom called me and said, "just remember that some people who go into the helping profession are the ones who need the most help themselves". It sounds like your therapist needed her own therapy!

[@corsicanlulu]

@@neurotransmissions do u think therpaists should go to their own therapy before dealing w/people? i do

[@tonisanchez3121]

I laughed at this... I'm going to hell...

[@Christ_Is_Life10-10]

@@neurotransmissions I agree. Many therapists and social workers especially have a superhero mentality and its very dangerous. Therapist from an objective practice separate from the college or university should be required by the program.

[@MrMikkyn]

I like your therapist. I’m very science driven, but I love me a new age hippie crackpot theory about utopian aquarians every now and then.

[@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1]

This is pretty much what interacting with most of my therapists have felt like. With some gaslighting involved. This has led me to give up on therapy altogether. I have a psychiatrist that I lie to so I don't have to hear his empty platitudes just to get the meds that help me get up in the morning.

[@neurotransmissions]

I do hope you'll try it again sometime. It sounds like you've had some pretty bad experiences, but I can assure you that there is a therapist out there that will match you and your needs!

[@llIlIlllII]

@@neurotransmissions Not worth repeatedly going back, repeating the same painful things, to another person who will more than likely stare at you with that glassy eyed vacant smile. By the way, have you noticed they're almost visibly repulsed by suggestions that you might need real, practical help? All they want to do is breathing exercises and talk about affirmations, anxiety exercises, but they never want to talk about making a real life plan to deal with problems you can't see your way out of.

[@vandit83]

@@llIlIlllII maybe try a different modality. I don’t do any of that stuff!

[@MultiSenhor]

I went to a downright bad one, but then found one that is very knowledgeable about the field, very empathic, good at both listening and at intervening. I guess it goes similar to other relationships, we test the waters first before fully engaging with people, anyone.

[@Stettafire]

Gaslighting is a huge problem in therapy. So many of them treat abuse victims like their distress is "imaginary" or "deluded" especially if there are no police convictions. People need more empathy, but I swear half of psychologists are psychopathic themselves

[@dianacatjournals5225]

Second session: My therapist just met me 2nd time and told me “you don’t want to change, because if you did then you would have changed already.” Ummm what? Fired.

[@KeepMoving4wrd]

Must have been a misunderstanding. I think the quote goes more like, the biggest problem is seeing or acknowledging that you have a problem. Accepting the truth. Then you can begin the road to fixing it. 😃

[@lauraburns8306]

I can see why that angered you - but perhaps s/he was saying that you have an emotional conflict that you're not yet aware of. Part of you is blocking your conscious intention.

[@dinosaysrawr]

Ooh, she must fire a lot of clients at that rate.

[@weimermh1]

A therapist's job is to provoke you to change & to challenge your beliefs & perceptions. If your therapist is only ever affirming you & your feelings then you're not growing & many therapists will do this to keep the least mentally ill clients stuck in a cycle of just coming back in forever because it's the most money with the least challenges. A good therapist will tell you what you need to hear even if you don't like it. And then teach you things that need to be done & teach to strategies & methods to do to get those goals met & then get you back into the world w/o needing them forever.

[@Anna_Rozanska]

@@weimermh1 Agreed, but a therapist should do so in a skillful manner. What the OP quotes sounds like a gross misinterpretation. Mind you, these words came in the 2nd session. Do you truly believe a person can form such judgements after a 50 min. intake interview? Did they even formed a therapeutic alliance that would allow them to challenge the OP? Very Bad Therapy, in my opinion. But I humbly acknowledge that I am not an expert, just a recovering patient. I went into therapy to find solutions for my marital problems, being otherwise an emotionally stable, generally satisfied person. I went out with emotional flooding, excessive self-absorption and depressive episodes, feeling as if my world collapsed. I was thrown into a full-blown midlife crisis which supposedly doesn't exist. BUT - mind you - the communication patterns in our marriage did improve. Can you call it a successful therapy, then? It accomplished what I wanted to, only it came with a dozen of unexpected side-effects.

[@SquadJuiced]

Everyone puts therapists on this pedestal and forget that they're imperfect human beings like the rest of us. Some of them are absolute monsters.

[@Dippedinsilver1974]

My ex-husband and I went to a therapist for marriage counseling several years ago. By the end of the first session, she told me I needed to attend her Overeaters Anonymous group (she billed for it of course). I didn't say a word about having a problem with overeating. She just assumed because I was overweight (incorrectly, I have PCOS) I had an issue with food. She didn't even suggest it, she told me I needed it! When my ex called her the next day to cancel our next appointment, she freaked out on him and told him we had to see her! As someone who has worked as a counselor for many years, I was appalled at her behavior. I did report her. I also had a psychiatrist tell me I was experiencing depression because I'm an atheist. It's a shame there are people like that practicing. I appreciate you making this video. Thanks!

[@neurotransmissions]

Thank you!!! I am heartened to hear that you reported this inappropriate behavior. We don't need folks like that in the helping profession!

[@Christ_Is_Life10-10]

Yes, there are many therapists who just don't have the common sense to allow clients to make their own choices. I don't necessarily think it's a complaint issue but definitely needs to be addressed directly with the therapist so they will understand why you don't want to see them anymore. Some honestly think they are being helpful in making those types of statements. If complaints are made every time a therapist is demonstrating their humanity nothing will ever get done. Abuse and neglect and unethical behavior do happen and those are the complaints, I believe, that need attention from licensing boards and legal resources.

[@zah936]

​@@Christ_Is_Life10-10We don't need your demonstration of humanity in form of your biases. I am studying the subject myself You keep on gaslighting under multiple comments. Not asking people to sign up for unrelated stuff, not shaming them for their appearances through concerns, not discussing religion unless they want it is pretty basic. You want to tell me you need your client to tell you that? Why did you go to school then?

[@edwalker2169]

@@Christ_Is_Life10-10 "Demonstrating their humanity?" What are you talking about? Therapy is not time for the therapist, they are being paid. They are there to provide a service, not use it as a session to disgorge their own psychopathologies

[@Christ_Is_Life10-10]

@@edwalker2169 I wasn’t implying that they use self disclosure but rather show up as their authentic selves always in the boundaries of the ethical code which is inherently a part of their value system. I’m merely asking about what is perceived as “professional “ behavior? Competency AND a buttoned up type clinical approach or being down to earth viewing the client as an expert in context of how they experience life.

[@wendybird7059]

I just stopped seeing my therapist, I asked him to move slow around SA and twice in a role he pushed so hard into trauma and said I need to stop trying to control others. As if SA was MY fault. “How could I know you have triggers?” He was more worried about being right while I was hyperventilating in a flashback. Thank you for this.

[@jberndt88]

This is horrible to hear. You told him exactly what you needed. I do intensive trauma treatment and it’s a myth that the treatment I do retraumatises people. The reason why is therapists like you had.

[@czmAvery]

Last month, my therapist essentially told me I'd never get any better and this is just how my life is going to be. I wasn't suicidal before, but I very quickly spiraled there.

[@steffidoc]

Everyone can get better. My father was depressed and suicidal for almost 10 years and the experts doubted that he would ever get better, but he did. He was bipolar and that disorder accompanied him for all his life, but he very much had many many good years. I’m sure you can get better.

[@sonia0_0_0]

I'm so sorry you went through that kind of experience. No one should go through that, especially in a context of therapy. I sincerely hope you can find a way to cope with whatever it is that triggered you into suicide ideation, and find the releaf and happiness you're seeking ❤

[@Anna_Rozanska]

I had an akin experience. I was in couples therapy with my partner. After a few sessions I got emotionally unstable - so unstable like I'd never been before, not even as a teen, while pregnant or postpartum. I told the therapist I experienced emotional flooding and I feared I would need not a therapist, but a psychiatrist soon. No reason to worry, the therapist told me, it was an expected and valuable experience. They were confident it would pass, they were proud of me sharing it and they were 100% sure I would not end up at a psychiatry ward. Fast forward six sessions and I am still sort of freaking out. They don't have a clue how to help me or if they do, they don't tell me anything as their approach seems to be "figure it out on your own and you'll remember it twice as long". Fast forward another six sessions and they terminate us because we are too silent and unable to find the answers. And then it happened: I was so devastated, feeling I failed, blaming myself for not speaking up, not stating my needs in the therapy clearly enough, being remorseful for abandoning my partner on the sofa, not standing up for him when he had a disagreement with our therapist, replaying all the bad therapy moments in my mind and clearly overthinking - I only narrowly escaped the psychiatry ward. Really.

[@oritouwu9069]

my ex therapist made me more suicidal than i was before for statmets like there lol, i got better and you probably can too!

[@lcarthel]

My last therapist committed insurance fraud by claiming we met 3-4 times a week, for months. I had Medicaid and he knew it, I wasn't paying attention to statements because if my addiction and mental health and Medicaid made it all free for me so it went on for a long time. It really burned me and haven't seen a therapist since. He didn't ever help and just kept me around to take advantage.

[@neurotransmissions]

Oh wow, that's terrible! I don't know how long ago this happened, but that's definitely illegal and reportable. Those kinds of illegal actions can be pretty easy to prove, too, if you have evidence that you were elsewhere at the times when they were supposedly meeting with you. I'm so sorry you had that experience. I hope you try therapy again because this is not normal behavior!

[@moonlightstargem1006]

I hope my therapist is not trying this!! Because my mental health center is very neglectful to the point of my hopelessness & unmotivated to get what i need.

[@moonlightstargem1006]

I’ve had a therapist abandon me when i had a mental break down & got super upset. Instead of working on those problems she decided to weaponize my exact problems against me to manipulate me now that i look back on it. She walked upstairs and started to pay full attention to my narcissistic mother who gets all the attention even on my birthdays. Some people are so crappy we have every right to be as rude as we feel hurt and betrayed

[@averayugen7802]

I was burned by a Medicaid-mill-psycho clinic. Got me medically misdiagnosed so now the State govt illegally abuses my civil rights (ie: hiring privacy) 2 this day decades later!!. Got me ignored when I needed some emotional support in my life. Got me illegally incarcerated after being a Dom violence target. Got me homeless like I'd been before all that. Took oodles of money. Never apologized after I got destroyed by that mob, later I'd see key figures on the street (including the civil rights lawyer I wanted to hire afterwards) and they would just turn their backs. I deserved it I suppose. Its a real-life kind of thing.

[@KeepMoving4wrd]

@@averayugen7802 So sorry. God needs to take all of that off your plate. I wish I could tell you how to pray correctly in a nutshell. If done correctly, God CAN take all of that and serve (you) justice, but it's too much information to put in a text.

[@Ridiculi]

I told my therapist that I discovered my doctor, who performed a pelvic exam on me, was arrested and jailed for battery and had an active malpractice lawsuit against him. Her response: "What caused you to do all of *that* digging?" She then launched into some commentary where she told me that I "think too deeply" about things and then "use the internet to confirm my thoughts." 😒

[@walkingwith_dinosaurs]

May be cause she is afraid for her own as$

[@justasomeone7860]

omg!🤨

[@kingbeelzebub]

Believe it or not she was right there is information you are not entitled to...

[@zah936]

​@@kingbeelzebubshe was entitled to it

[@kingbeelzebub]

@@zah936 the person edited the original comment to seem more in the right.

[@nyaamix138]

As a kid (like 11-13 years old) I was made to see a psychiatrist. I absolutely hated seeing her from the beginning. She was probably old enough to be my grandparent and I felt like she could not relate to me at all. I spent most of the sessions crying the entire time while she asked me ridiculous questions ("How would you feel if your dad was alive but your parents were divorced?"), had me in the room while she talked to my mom about what my parent's marriage was like while he was alive and put me on all sorts of antidepressants that did nothing for me. Big contrast from today when I have a wonderful therapist that I am comfortable with. I have finally been diagnosed as autistic and ADHD am understanding more about myself and why my life has been the way it is.

[@neurotransmissions]

I'm so happy you've found a therapist that fits you now. That first experience sounds painful and I'm sorry you were forced into that situation.

[@Stettafire]

That's similar to my experience. Such questions included "what colour do you think happiness looks like" Like, wanted to punch the patronising hag in the jaw

[@robokill387]

It's interesting you mention that, as there is a widespread problem of autistic people being over-medicated and over-pathologized by psychiatrists, especially historically. Therapists often mistook normal autistic behavior as signs of depression or even schizophrenia.

[@digitaldritten]

@nyaamix138 how long did it take you to find a good therapist? i also have been diagnosed with autism/adhd semi-recently but i can't seem to find a therapist i click with. two of them (from separate companies) even told me that i'm just lazy and unfixable. i don't know how many more therapists i have to "try" before i'll find one who isn't just like he said in the video, an empty receptacle that isn't really *giving* me anything

[@nyaamix138]

@@digitaldritten Hey, I'm sorry that you've had a hard time finding someone who works for you! I was really lucky that the first place I looked worked out. Definitely look for neurodivergent therapists. Everyone that works at the place I found is neurodivergent so they kind of just get it. I hope that helps ♥

[@elasdray6347]

My experience trying to file a complaint was completely negative. Everyone from the therapist's supervisor to the state authorities responded with evasion, stonewalling, gaslighting or bullying. Nothing was done.

[@averayugen7802]

That is typical from my own experience, nobody cares that why there's so much abuse in the first place

[@EMVelez]

They protect their own. Just like cops. I had to seek therapy to get over a very traumatic therapy experience (the irony). The second therapist called what the first one did to me “malpractice” and claimed she showed “traits of psychopathy”. She then offered to write me a letter of support and encouraged me to file a formal complaint against the incompetent and abusive therapist. When I began the process to actually file that complaint, the new therapist suddenly reneged on her own offer, citing fear for her “livelihood”. I was then terminated by her in an email for calling out her lack of integrity with her word and for her presenting herself publicly as an advocate for survivors when she is anything but. She has written several books on narcissistic abuse, hosts a podcast and publishes articles regularly. In her termination email, she went on and on about how I had apparently victimized her by daring to call out her hypocrisy. I was gaslighted and blamed for the termination. She refused to ever meet with me again or address anything in any kind of fair or ethical manner. If even the “good” ones are really just disguised “bad” ones, what is the point in continuing to search? I never did. At the end of the day, they see their clients as a means to a financial end. Nothing more. They do not care if they traumatize, betray, or abandon you. They do not care about protecting the public at large from harm by their abusive and incompetent colleagues. Their only concern is for themselves. There are zero consequences for such behavior. I am not the same person I once was before these experiences. I no longer recommend therapy to others or see it as an effective means of healing. It can be extremely dangerous and re-traumatizing, especially for those with long histories of previous abuse or neglect.

[@elasdray6347]

@@EMVelez I'll go you one better. I don't believe those people are actually trained in any skills. Next to religion it's the biggest scam going.

[@takarataylor2819]

what did you want to happen?

[@elasdray6347]

@@takarataylor2819 I wanted an investigation.

[@vvMathematicalvv]

I'm filing a complaint against my therapist and it's nerve-racking. Currently his response to my negative feedback has been to inexplicably reduce our time together in half and stop taking my calls or messages. He also implied that I was selfish for needing 2 appointments a week. This is right after my psychiatrist moved to a new state and I am left without two medications until a new one is lined up. It gets worse, but as someone who is usually too scared to do something like actually file a complaint, you've helped me realize that my therapist might be more than incompetent, he may actually be malicious. Well, wish me luck. Thank you for the high quality and informative video. Great work.

[@PetaL72]

Good for you! I did the same thing….lodged a complaint. Good luck!

[@maggie0285]

Keep in mind the majority of complaints gets dismissed. You're complaint will more than likely get dismissed if it isn't borderline criminal. It's the truth and I want you to be prepared because it's traumatizing. You'll wait for several months and the licensing board will just send you a letter no violation found with no explanation. You are just supposed to trust they investigated your complaint. In reality what I think happens is they wait for the therapist response and close the case. They are government run agency and they don't have the time or resources to investigate every single complaint. Filing complaints is insuring job security for them. Even if a therapist gets a reprimand on their license they usually are forced to take a class. It's not punishment. Also the majority of the public don't know they can look up a therapist to see if they have been in trouble. The whole process of filing the complaint and waiting is not worth the agony. You will think about 24/7. And when they side with your therapist you'll burn with resentment because you knew you should have stopped seeing the therapist before it got that bad. So now they only hurt you in therapy but they got to hurt you again after. It is better to educate clients about boundaries and to trust their self instead of the therapist.

[@nmHispana]

@@maggie0285 I wouldn't even waste my time anymore, because through personal experience have come to the realization that filing those grievance complaints are not only a bunch of BS and a huge waste of time, but deceptive propaganda in order to give the appearance that they actually even care or intend on doing anything about your complaints.

[@mikab2375]

There are often reasons for a therapist reducing session times. Also when and if a client needs multiple sessions per week and a therapist is unable to accommodate that, it may be time to simply explore other options. There are intensive outpatient programs designed to accommodate patients needing to be seen more frequently. Some of the programs meet 3 to 4 times per week for more than an hour each scheduled day. Many may meet for 3 to sometimes 6 hours 3 to four times per week. There are groups and sometimes individual sessions implemented with each session. I was just offering an example of what intensive outpatient could look like. Also, there are therapist who will see a patient twice a week if they deem it appropriate. Sometimes a patient may want to be seen more than once a week but the therapist may not feel it will benefit the specific patient. If a patient does not agree and definitely would like to see someone multiple times per week , they could consider more intensive treatment options or locate a therapist who will accommodate. Given what you stated, it definitely appears that there was a possible breakdown in communication.

[@salonutube]

Why are you still seeing the therapist you've complained about? He is almost certainly going to use your sessions to punish you for reporting him. Find someone else. And talk through what this therapist has done to you so it doesn't eat up your life.

[@amadiohfixed1300]

The problem is I think with a lot of therapists is that they were thought to be just a blank page and let the people getting therapy fill it, I heard a lot of a bit older therapist saying that the best session they give is when they actually have a personality of their own

[@neurotransmissions]

I think you're right. The less-is-more approach can be helpful or even the best option for some clients, but the therapist should be agile enough to meet the needs of the person sitting in front of them. And regardless of the approach, the therapist needs to be an active listener, not a blank page, as you put it. Therapy is more than just nodding your head and saying "mmmm".

[@MsAmber10100]

I personally hate the blank slate therapists style. It creates an imbalance that really makes me feel highly vulnerable. I am supposed to trust them enough to bear my soul, but based on what? Once I had a therapist that would deflect every question I had to get a feeling about what I was getting into. My questions weren't intrusive or highly personal either--more toward training and approach. But also, I highly agree with Amadiaoh The Last. By that I am mean therapists shouldn't underestimate getting a little skin in the game by, for example using an story from their own life to illustrate a point. It is really be more memorable and instructive . . . and it levels the playing field just a tad so that the client is not the only that is expected to be real and disclose. If it is on topic and not overly hogging the time, I think it can be a real plus to show that life has written a little on their slate.

[@beckykeir123]

@@MsAmber10100 I completely agree with you. If I go back to therapy, I will most likely look for a therapist who has a *Relational style* of working with clients, not blank screen. Also one who understands how not responding can be bad for a fearfully attached client.

[@phishcatt]

@@MsAmber10100 It's a very obsolete style of therapy. Most people need some relational therapy to progress. And for that you need your therapist to have personality.

[@desireesmith862]

@@MsAmber10100I completely agree. It’s so creepy for me.

[@ForeignManinaForeignLand]

Thanks for this fam. Been searching for a couples therapist and we finally found one but I started seeing red flags immediately. Would have to hound them down just to honour their appointment, unprofessionalism and just lack of interest. I know therapists are ppl too but damn, when is it unacceptable

[@neurotransmissions]

Yeesh, that sounds awful! Sure, therapists are people, but they're also responsible for like...not neglecting their clients. I hope you find someone better. On a related note, I've had one person tell me that seeing a bad couples counselor was the best thing for their marriage because they commiserated witih each other about how bad the therapist was lmao

[@jamesolelo4406]

​@neurotransmissions is there an official way to report and reprimand bad therapist? Or a site like the one for college teachers where others can warn when a therapist is a red flag?

[@papi_sativa]

This the second time I seen Brotha Foreign on an unexpected page 💯

[@lizziedanse8335]

Foreign??? This is such a pleasant surprise!

[@iPsychlops]

Found this channel and watched the video on Nebula. Also an ADHD therapist that's quit therapy because of a bad therapist. Thanks for sharing your story. We do need to have these conversations.

[@eykan_ow]

In my elementary school throughout the years 0-9, we had someone that was basically a therapist for students (im sorry idk any of the terms) and I used to go to him every week at least once or twice for the last 3 years and just talk and cry out about my little teen troubles (I felt really bad mentally during this time) and he offered so much to me and I'm so grateful for him. He is the reason why I think therapists are good. He even offered me to go to a "Guy group" where he put a few select students in an out of school environment to play around and have a good time with new people to get some social interaction in our lives. He even offered to give us free food, free trips such as laser tag or go to some aqua arena or do LANs. Really the best guy I have ever met in my whole life. Idk if he still does that type of stuff, but it really helped me and I'm super grateful for his advice and care and inspiration to become the best man I can ever dream of being :,)

[@DizzyWolf]

Saw a new therapist yesterday. There was a moment when she tried to tell me that I'd said I drink alcohol because of my mother. Those words never left my mouth. It turned out she'd misunderstood something I said, but she seemed determined to hear what she wanted to hear, and she had even smirked when she told me that I'd said what I very much did not say. She gave the disbelieving "ahhh" when I corrected her. Definitely not going back to her.

[@annekerotterdam7499]

yep

[@Mason-YouTube]

Interesting that instead of exploring that with her, you decided to abandon it altogether. Just food for thought. A good therapist would have capitalized on that moment with you to explore why it was so upsetting. Perhaps it was what she was doing, perhaps not. Either way, you didn't stick around to find out. 🤔

[@DizzyWolf]

@@Mason-KZbin I sure didn't. People have their limits and I'm past mine.

[@Mason-YouTube]

@@DizzyWolf Totally fair. I wonder, however, if exploring that with her would've revealed something about the experience you could've benefited from. Who knows, maybe it was nothing but a simple misunderstanding, like you said. Maybe not. Point is - I wonder if that response to being misunderstood by others, or feeling like they have an agenda, has shown up in other areas or relationships in your life. Therapy is an opportunity to explore those more fully.

[@DizzyWolf]

@@Mason-KZbin It probably has, because this wasn't the only time ever that I felt misunderstood, or that someone "had an agenda". However, it hasn't been a pervasive, pathological pattern; people do sometimes have agendas, and sometimes I can be misunderstood. I don't have to keep putting myself in situations where I have to feel that stress of not explaining enough because someone else just doesn't get it. Not everyone is meant to get it, and that's okay. Just because she has the job title of being a therapist doesn't mean she was a good fit for me. You can have a PhD and still be unwise. And who's to say she had a PhD? (lol)

[@jacobnicodemus1051]

This is such a helpful and validating video. I’d seen a handful of therapists who were… okay? Nothing specifically wrong with them and they did a great job of holding space for me. I just didn’t get a ton of “work” done. And then I met “Super Therapist”, who we will call “ST”. ST was great, engaged, active. I experienced tremendous growth. I liked and more importantly, I trusted ST. And then after about 15 months of working together, I began to notice a shift. It was gradual at first, slight warning flags here and there. We continued to meet for the next 18 months until our time together had ceased to have any value at all. I tried to approach ST with my concerns with all the openness, honesty, and compassion I could muster. I trusted that she’d know how to have this conversation. I was wrong. I wound up filing a complaint. It wasn’t a decision I made lightly by any stretch. I made the complaint out of concerns for other clients who she could be harming. Time has passed and I am just now gaining an understanding of the harm she did to me. I realized now that she committed multiple ethical violations in her treatment of me. This video really helped me in the process of understanding that I’m not to blame here. And for those who would poo-poo all therapists, that experience isn’t how it is supposed to be. I now have a new therapist who knows she is up against it in earning my trust. I think she’s up to the task. :-)

[@alexeialeksandr7606]

When I was a child I went to several different therapists who always made things worse. By the time I became an adult I noticed no one considered that maybe my feelings were influenced by growing up in a chaotic household with an alcoholic father and a mother with severe anger issues.

[@NancyLebovitz]

One more reason for leaving a therapist is just that you've used up what they can do-- they're telling you the same stories and you used to make progress with them but you aren't any more.

[@jennw6809]

There's another word that comes to mind when I think of my past troubles with therapists, in addition to "arrogant." And that is: "uninsightful" (about themselves, I mean). Thank you. That observation and your apology feel very validating.

[@greengreysolarpunk4036]

I remember my first therapist in high school, after I’d finally gotten the courage to talk to my parents about the suffering mental health I’d had. She didn’t seem like a bad person, and she seemed to want to help, but it honestly wasn’t a fit for me, and because of that I became rather closed off (even more so than before) for a while. Not only did all the advice (which she INSISTED I try even when I wasn’t interested) almost never work, but she made me feel bad for feeling things. The first problem I came to her for was dismissed within 5 minutes of talking alone, and it took her ages to circle back to it because she realized she was uninformed. It felt like every time I tried to express a complex problem to her she’d act like it was “normal” and direct to another excuse. She assumed automatically that my problems were being overblown and that all I needed were meditation apps and journals. It was like getting the most basic advice to manage anxiety you can find in the mental health community from someone who was clearly trained in a field that has nothing to do with your problems.

[@jamiallred4920]

Thank you for this. I recently broke up with my therapist because I didn’t feel heard. I shared some journal entries with her in which I shared some of my thoughts and feelings (that I hadn’t shared with anyone) and she chided me like a child, saying I shouldn’t feel that way. I was “wrong” for feeling the way I did. Thank you for this.

[@neidacabreragarcia6353]

My mom says that I shouldn’t say that and so on, I feel like many therapists are used to being treated a certain way so they expect you to accept those type of comments or suggestions without saying anything back

[@averayugen7802]

I say most therapists are very BAD PARENTS so they use those habits on their patients@@neidacabreragarcia6353

[@davidcrawford9026]

thats all they do, reinforce status quo, they exist to teach you have to pay for anyone to listen to you, and even then just to remind you of how strange and unacceptable you are to other people. they are just prison wardens

[@VictoriaAmelia]

About bad matches... Please, talk to your therapist first before seeking a new one. I know it's hard, it might actually be one of the hardest things you do in your life. But do talk to them. When I was only starting with my therapist a few years back I almost decided to "break up" with her and go search for someone else. I felt like she didn't hear me and like she was pushing me too hard. I decided to give her this one last chance though and I told her how I felt. It turned out she hadn't even realized how hard things were for me and that I just wasn't ready for what she wanted us to do. Now we've been working together for over four years and I'm terrified by the thought of what might have happened if I hadn't had the strength to confront her with my feelings. She's the greatest therapist I've ever had and I can't imagine working with anyone else. I feel understood and I've never trusted anyone so deep in my life! So please, talk to your therapist first. If you still feel misunderstood, don't hesitate to change. I had been stuck in a (previous) therapeutic relationship for way too long myself, even though there were clear sings that it wasn't working. But maybe the person you're working with is just the right one for you, so just please make sure 😊😊

[@eugenew2]

I remember talking to my physiatrist and her periodic response, "hmm mmm", about every minute. I was watching her clock and decided to stop talking. For 2 minutes, "hmm mm" continued.

[@DeTurquoise]

:D

[@ravenboilinux]

I have ADHD pretty badly, and I have heard all those comments from everyone(doctors, teachers, parents, etc). The whole stick brought up all those feelings of anger and hate. It is annoying that people are in positions to help, but dont care.

[@neurotransmissions]

Ayyy, ADHD gang! I think he cared, but honestly didn't fit my needs. That's okay! I''ll find another therapist who does. 🙂

[@kells9660]

@@neurotransmissions did you ever figure out how to start and finish tasks?

[@MsAmber10100]

@@kells9660 He started this video and finished. :) Maybe a topic for another video would be more details about anything you found that worked.

[@ravenboilinux]

@@neurotransmissions I wasn't really talking about your situation, but situations that I have found my self. I have some down right horrific experiences with mental health providers.

[@JustinWarkentin]

@@neurotransmissions After many therapists over many years, I've found a counselor that is more helpful than any therapist I've seen before but it's still not quite what I need. I haven't found someone that knows how to help me with my combination of ADHD, anxiety and OCD. I've given up for now because I just don't know where else I can look to find someone that knows about counseling for ADHD.

[@vikameow]

the one therapist that fit me basically abandoned me as a patient. I guess it wasn't her fault, she said it was due to some non-competitive order as she was going into private practice. But that really just reinforced in my mind that I am nothing but a paycheck to them. That preventing competition is prioritized over a teenager getting help.

[@profjbrown]

One of my therapists violated the code of ethics so badly that it led to PTSD that I'm now having to work on with a different psychiatrist. But it's still really hard for me to talk to the new one even though he's been nothing but professional.

[@katakana1]

When a therapist makes people need more therapy🤦

[@orangejuice782]

i had something like this happen as well, and after all these years i'm still not ready to step back into a therapists office due to the terror of the same thing happening again. i am genuinely so glad to see someone like you, who is able to overcome that barrier of fear. i hope that your new therapist has been of help to you

[@davidcrawford9026]

harmed by therapy? bright idea, go get more therapy! you people...

[@profjbrown]

@@davidcrawford9026 If you had to get surgery & your surgeon messed it up, would you refuse to see another surgeon to get it fixed? I mean, I had my first visit with a psychiatrist when I was 9. I've had several therapists & psychiatrists since then. It literally took decades before I came across an unethical one. The real issue is that, for therapy or psychiatry to be effective, you need to be honest. Which means being vulnerable. It's great most of the time. But it means that you're in a vulnerable position if a bad therapist or a bad psychiatrist does come along. 😢

[@profjbrown]

@@orangejuice782 He has. I hope you're able to find someone who can help you, as well. Bad mental health professionals really do ruin things for everyone else.

[@rulliantheskunk2091]

I'm so glad that I found this video. Six years ago, my brother sadly passed away in a case of unintentional vehicular manslaughter. My parents had signed me up with a therapist in the neighboring town. I immediately got terrible vibes from that place straight from the get-go. It looked more like a renovated house than a professional institution. The floors creaked with every step and you could tell that the building definitely wasn't up to code. The poor state of the building also reflected on my therapist. I found myself butting heads with them alot. I just didn't want to go there at all, by my parents still forced me to go. One of the worst peices of advice they ever gave me was to come out to my parents when I felt extremely anxious and uncomfortable doing so. They claimed it would help relieve the stress and anxiety. It in fact did not. In fact it only made it worse, and left me with a lingering feeling of regret for ever telling my parents in the first place. I really wish I hadn't. Things got worse in 2020 and when Covid hit. They forced our appointments to be virtual. This didn't help because now I was scared to share anything because I didn't want my parents to overhear. On the topic of which, it was here that they got even stricter on me going. It got so bad that when I asked them if we could quit the appointments because they weren't helping me, they basically responded with something along the lines of, "our payment plan doesn't end till next month. You gotta keep going until then because we aren't gonna waste money" They also said that if I missed any appointments then they wouldn't cancel the subscription. Easier said than done, because my therapist was never on time, and if you were too early or too late, sorry! Appointment canceled! It wasn't until I begged to my parents to quit that they finally had. When I signed off on that last appointment, it was like a massive weight had been lifted. Like a pair of handcuffs had been unlocked. I had been with that therapist for five years and I hated every second of it. I never once felt like I had developed a close relationship with them and the appointments eventually began to feel like they were more of a hassle than a help. Despite many of my friends saying that I probably should see a therapist in recent times, I've been hesitant to because I'm worried that I'll have to go through that same five years of hell again, or that my parents will blow up in my face about it or try to use my previous experience against me. It's made me worried to see a therapist at all. I apologize for the length of this comment, but thank you for listening anyway.

[@barbaraletterly4884]

RullianTheSkunk, I’m so sorry you had a bad experience with your therapist. As a therapist, I have seen “the good, the bad, and the ugly” as far as therapists are concerned. Lol I also have adhd and depression; I have been in therapy myself a couple of times. Some have been good experiences and some have not. Please know we are not all like your therapist! Just like any personal or professional relationship, there are some people you connect with and some you don’t. But no therapist should ever force you to come out to your parents when you do not feel ready to do it. If you told the therapist you don’t feel comfortable doing it, then he/she should not have forced it. But please please seek out a different therapist if you need help. Research them online before you go. Remember, a therapist works for you; you do not work for them. It’s ok to interview and if you connect, great; if you don’t, go on to the next one. Maybe ask your friends if they go to counseling and if they do, who do they see and do they like them? There are some good ones out there.

[@Bopomama]

Thank you for sharing, and I feel for you. I am sorry you had to live through that.

[@cougar2013]

My stepmother has engaged in unethical practices with patients. She has shown me and my wife text messages between them where she and the patient are saying “I love you” to each other. It was even crazier than that. People like her should lose their licenses.

[@wellingtonsboots4074]

I've found the best therapists tend to be those that I am comfortable crying in front of. But I once had a therapist who I just couldn't get on with. I saw him about 6 times. He told me I wasn't trying hard enough. Trouble was I never knew what I was supposed to be trying to do.

[@KeepMoving4wrd]

Thanks for teh funny comment. Exactly. How are you suppose to try harder if you don't even know WHAT you are trying harder to do? !

[@TyTy-oy7fi]

That's their go to "oh I don't feel your giving everything" when of course your are nothing but bad experience with these people stay away

[@Scuor2]

Sounds like a BDSM thing

[@vontrances4667]

Damn watching that interaction made me feel so grateful for my therapist. I went through about 4 terrible ones as a teenager and was tentative about this new one. I waited a year on a wait-list before seeing her. Greatest decision of my life was waiting that year. A terrible therapist is a nightmare as described here, but a great one is worth searching for in my opinion. Even if it takes a greater amount of time than you wanted.

[@digitaldritten]

im so jealous, i've been through so many therapists i've lost count, (maybe ten?) and i've heard people say that a tharepist really helped them but all i've experienced is the type like in this video an "empty receptacle" and two separate ones even told me i'm a lost cause, that if i wasn't "willing to try" their strategies then no one can help me, but it's not that i'm not willing to try it's just im so tired and i can go make plans with a therapist to do this or that but when it actually comes down to it i just don't have the energy to do the thing...

[@thomasnienow2249]

Patients deserve more than being heard and feeling safe. They deserve effective treatments that significantly improve their mental health problems, or, if that isn't possible, then they deserve honest counsel about treatment options that might provide real help, such as medication. But that would mean turning off the money spigot, so in my experience most therapists just passively let things drift on into oblivion. Ultimately, I think that psychotherapy as currently practiced is fundamentally broken and needs to be scrapped.

[@averayugen7802]

It needs to be burned at the STAKE

[@EMVelez]

I couldn’t agree more.

[@SculptExpress-gv8jp]

The best therapy is getting out of the house, enjoy cafes and bars, see life around you, people moving, talking, arguing, chirping … I see in America a big return to cafe culture; people opt to live in small condos instead of depressing houses in suburbs and they are retaking the life!

[@ScenariosOfDrea]

It's sad when you have a therapist for years and realized you've outgrown them because you aren't getting better.

[@samhradh7092]

I saw a therapist as a teenager, she was free through our healthcare in canada. My mother was emotionally abusive and she completely glossed over that it was impacting my mental health. She made all my appointments about my boyfriend at the time because my mother wanted us to breakup. We had a very healthy relationship for teenagers it was a waste of time. He was not the problem, she was. I saw her again after I left an abusive relationship with my child's father (different boyfriend) because it was free. I had ptsd and she made it so much worse. She would just add more fear around the situation and let me spiral for an hour and provided no skills. I told her I think I might have BPD and she told me i didnt and there was nothing else anyone could do if I had it anyway so it didn't matter. Apparently dbt is just "worksheets" I saw a psychiatrist, got diagnosed with BPD and PTSD. I Did DBT and EMDR with a qualified therapist. I'm now thriving. If I had listened to her advice I'd probably be dead.

[@Ona1979]

I used to struggle with self harm a lot. I made an appointment with a mental health care professional. I can't remember if he was a therapist or a psychiatrist. My father had given me a ride to my appointment and was going to pick me up when it was done. Toward the end of my appointment, I told him that I was experiencing a compulsion to hurt myself and I didn't feel safe. He didn't give any response to what I'd just told him. I told that I had my tranquilizers with me, that I could take one and that it could take 30 minutes to start working. I sat in his office while he ignored me and did paperwork. After a half hour, told him that my anxiety level was rising and would he please call my dad. I felt so frozen with fear that I couldn't make the call myself. He said that I could use his office phone to but refused to call my dad for me. Shortly after that, he told me that if I didn't leave his office, that he was going to call the police. He instructed me to leave out the back door, which opened into a parking lot for employees. I ended up cutting myself deeply enough to need sutures. When I was reunited with my father, he told me that he had been waiting for me in the front parking lot. I had another therapist who I only saw once. She told me that I was choosing to harm myself and judged me for it. When I told her about sexual abuse that I'd experienced in my childhood, she panicked and demanded to know if this person had access to children. She didn't address how the abuse was effecting me. During the first few years that I struggled with self harm, I was going to the emergency room for sutures on a regular basis. The deepest laceration needed 40 sutures to repair it. I had been treated for a self inflicted 3rd degree burn that required professional wound care for 2 months. During that time, I involuntarily committed to a locked psychiatric ward regularly. The staff in the facility didn't interact with the patients and became annoyed when approached. The psychiatrist who discharged me was the same person every time. He didn't look up from his paperwork, when he asked if I planned on hurting myself again. He prescribed a 30 day supply of tranquilizers. I asked him how many it would take to kill me. He told me that I could take the whole bottle at once and I would still be fine. He never recommend therapy. The doctors who treated me in the ER were often angry with me and were unusually rough with me while repairing the damage that I had caused. The last time he asked if I was going to hurt myself, I told him "Not until this wound has healed". He still let me go. I always felt worse after being locked up in that facility. The next time that I hurt myself, I stole a lot of suture materials while I was left alone in the treatment room. After that, I repaired myself instead of going to emergency room for treatment. I struggled with self harm for 12 years before meeting a therapist who told me compassionately that it was a compulsion that was beyond my control and that it wasn't my fault.

[@MsAmber10100]

This sound very troubling. I hope your therapist is able to provide some help.

[@Ona1979]

@@MsAmber10100I have learned how to recognize when a therapist isn't a good match for me or just plain toxic and advocate for myself. I cut off contact with the people who were abusing me and I haven't felt a compulsion to self harm, since 2019. Thank you very much for your kind words

[@Ona1979]

@@leosullivan9228 I have learned how to help others with out sacrificing my mental health. I am able to enjoy small acts of kindness for others. I am occasionally in a position to help a homeless person out with some food. I want to volunteer in an animal shelter, but I have to wait until I am able to wake up at 5:am and walk to the train station with out sacrificing my healing. I am going to get there eventually. I miss taking care of sick, injured and orphaned animals. I think that of a few things that I wish that people understood about self. I didn't self harm, because I wanted to suffer. I was self harming, because I was suffering so intensely from frustration, anger and pain and self harming was the only way that I was allowed to express it. I was suffering because I had suffered a lot of abuse at the hands of my caregivers while I was growing up and at the hands of abusive partners. Doctors reacting in anger made my mental health a lot worse. I think that this is something that even a lot of people who struggle with self harm don't have words for. Even though I have recovered, I am in support groups on Facebook so that I can hopefully help other people. No one who is struggling with that, should be made to feel ashamed of the only coping mechanism that they have. I want to make the world a better place, even if it is only on a small scale. Thank you so much for your comment

[@siennameadowhook]

I'm not sure if my therapist was bad or just the wrong fit but she actively made my mental health worse and the ONLY PERSON who's ever managed to make me physically angry, now whenever I hear talk of therapy I just get very irritated

[@siennameadowhook]

Ehh she did like 6-10 things on the list, at least in my eyes but idk

[@dantheman2907]

When therapy is good, it can be great, but when it's not so good, it can be awful. Years ago, when I wasn't coping too well, I went and saw a psychologist. One of my issues was that I was under a lot of pressure with study at university and I was at a point where I couldn't even read two sentences without forgetting the first. In my very first session of therapy, the psychologist handed me a book and several pamphlets to read and put into practice by the next session. Needless to say, that relationship didn't last. Fortunately, I was able to find someone else who was far more understanding and willing to meet me where I was at, rather than expect me to catch up to their pace immediately. Unfortunately, since then we've had a huge decline in the availablity of mental health services locally and my daughter has been on a waiting list to see a psychologist for over a year now. We're managing with some less intense therapy through social workers, but it's been a struggle.

[@neurotransmissions]

Man, thatMs tough for your daughter. I hope she gets in somewhere soon. I’m glad you’ve found a good fit though! I think you’re right about that first psychologist. They wanted you to meet them where *they* were at, which is silly.

[@dantheman2907]

@@neurotransmissions yeah, it's hard enough seeing her struggling every day. I can only imagine how tough it is for her. I just hope that when she does come off the waitlist it's with somebody she likes. I can imagine things getting far worse if she's paired with someone who isn't the right fit and we have wait all over again.

[@Greater756]

I been seeking therapy for 3 years now. It has not help, because I still suffer from anxiety. My session is like a conversation, the only thing she do is write things down, no solutions. I'm ending it and taking responsibility of my own healing journey.

[@johnhillescobar]

"he's an empty receptacle that I'm pouring into, but then nothing happens". This is exactly my experience with almost all therapists, aside of the episodic component of it, in which every meeting is an episode that is not related to the previous one OR, if any follow up, the preparation work can't take more than 5 minutes before the session (personally, I wouldn't mind taking shorter sessions, if the therapist took half of the session to analyze some of the stuff in depth). After 12 years, I just prefer keep doing my own stuff and keep researching on solving my issues. I have learned so much from reading books, meta analysis and things like that, that I have managed to move forward by myself. I don't advice anyone to avoid seeing a therapist, but I strongly believe that it is not for everyone. I would rather recommend people to thoroughly go and see many therapist before making your mind. I've been trying for over a decade and nothing, so I tried many times before saying that I will keep working by my own. Don't give up after trying many times.

[@od3910]

Most mental health professionals I've met are horrible people that seem to only want this career so they can manipulate people. Therapy is important and can save people's lives. There is no room for error. They should be scrutinized constantly. I'm very suspicious of people who work in mental health.

[@zah936]

You are right

[@averayugen7802]

I am too. But our State Licensing Board is in bed with them. All a person can do is have good friends so you never need a therapist in the first place. Tall order I know. But there's also not much EDUCATION in this country anymore.

[@takarataylor2819]

You're overgeneralizing, there are plenty of good therapists out there.

[@Csmith878]

My life was DESTROYED by batshit crazy, evil, horrible therapists. When I finally found a competent one he told me that I didn't need therapy to begin with and had been abused. All I'd had was a little OCD when my mom was dying and just wanted someone to tell me what it was called. Instead I was abused, hit on, gaslit, lied to and drained for money. Just look at Freud and his miserable life. Pure EVIL.

[@davidcrawford9026]

and the system is designed to protect them. the whole thing exists just to silence and further disempower and discredit victims of abuse

[@rynvail521]

Well meaning but bad-fit therapists can do SO MUCH unintentional harm. It was especially difficult as a kid and knowing that they were making things worse but not having the language or confidence to explain that. It made it that much more difficult for me to sort through my internal experiences and actively made my condition worse. Thats still nothing compared to am actually BAD therapist. Having someone scream that you are choosing to not get better while you are actively having a panic attack creates a whole new kind of trauma.

[@WhatsTherapy]

As a therapist (and a client) I really appreciate your perspective! So many people have negative experiences with therapists and it's helpful to explain and describe why/how this happens, and what to do about it. Glad to find your channel

[@wkt2506]

Tell your therapist friends! & tutors!

[@hellokittysays6333]

In my experience, the therapists who are moderately inexperienced are the best. They (again ime) are more open to feedback. The "experts" seem to be more prone to subconscious biases, more likely to form an expert opinion without listening to the client... there's a principle, fallacy, or type of bias that this exemplifies. It's on the tip of my tongue.

[@mgiantpurplepanda]

A bad therapist set me back years. She forced me into a shitty job and back to school way before I was ready and that added an extra 3 or 4 years onto becoming a functional adult. She did literally 1 good thing and that was having me get a DNA test to see what anti depressants would work on me

[@SantaFeSuperChief1]

So it sounds like she didn't do anything good for you, that shit is poison.

[@androx6769]

@@SantaFeSuperChief1 to be fair that can vary from person to person as the effects these drugs can have on your mental state honestly can vary a lot from individual to individual

[@SantaFeSuperChief1]

@@androx6769 They don't FIX anyone. They emotionally numb you, and for some people, being numb is preferable to suffering, but feeling your feelings is how you grow and heal from the source of your suffering. I like your pfp tho.

[@skylinefever]

@@SantaFeSuperChief1 Sure, that is preferrable, given the kinds of people who can't just therapy speak the awful away.

[@EM-fi6yq]

It's a search for sure! I chose my first therapist because she was the first one available in my vicinity. She only let me talk about my week, the same way as I would talk to friends. Giving no insight, letting me take tests without discussing what they were for or sharing the results. I paid to get the same thing I could get from friends... And thus, felt the same despite therapy. The second therapist was someone who was more specialised in burn-out/depression and was familiar with working with young people. She always gave me homework and tests that I had to fill in online after the session, again, not wanting to tell what they were for. She wanted me to undertake big changes, that at that point were unreachable for me (both mentally and financially). When I told her that was not possible at this time, she literally said "Well, I can combine this job with running a household, studying for a degree at uni and having a social life!!" Um, good for you, but I literally have to drag my ass out of bed everyday and it feels as if I'm climbing Mt Everest? I felt worse and worse every session. I thought, if every therapist is like this, giving me tests and vague exercises that have nothing to do with the root of the problem, but they think it'll 'cure' me... Then it isn't for me. I resigned in the fact that I'd just always be depressed... Until I had a mental health crisis and came into contact with a psychiatrist who referred me to someone he worked with. She was the first one to look at the broader picture. We set up goals and she helped me get there, paying attention to what I could and could not handle. In the beginning she would ask for feedback, ask if she wasn't pushing too hard, ask to tell me if ever there was anything I didn't like about how she'd acted in a session. She believed me and took me seriously, encouraging me to go to a hospital when I was really suicidal and helping me arrange it, instead of being like 'bye, see you next week!'. She even told me numerous times to call her, even on weekends, if I was in crisis. She's available through WhatsApp inbetween sessions. She goes above and beyond for her clients, does so much more than she needs to... And I'm so grateful for that, because I'm at a much better place than I was 2 years ago. And I know, whenever I'm confused or feeling bad, there's someone I can ask for advice, who's got my best interest at heart. And that means a lot!

[@whoshoe537]

You have found a good therapist! Congratulations! In my experience, such therapists comprise roughly 5% of the total therapist population. In other words, you have a 1 in 20 chance of setting up a meeting with a good therapist, like you've found.

[@averayugen7802]

Is she in Oklahoma?

[@EM-fi6yq]

@@averayugen7802 I'm Belgian so no 🙈😬

[@averayugen7802]

😆@@EM-fi6yq

[@nikzniky]

Lucky you. I’m happy for you. I haven’t found one.

[@polifemo3967]

Also, given that shopping around is given to be part of the therapist finding experience, therapists should openly talk about what will make a best fit, and having a list of other therapists to recommend when it emerges that the relationship is no longer working. Should not helping the patient continue receiving care even when they decide not to see you anymore be a part of the therapeutic service?

[@averayugen7802]

Yes but they don't because they don't like their work and it seems NO ONE does. Nothing is done right except by sheer accident. NO therapist I ever met cared what would happen if it didn't work out with them and its a huge sample trust me. And NO therapist I ever met ever imagined they could hurt ANYONE. It just was understood. They ALL acted that way...

[@FIRING_BLIND]

One thing ive noticed, is that these "wrongdoers"....they seem to be enabled by platforms like BetterHelp.

[@meameam]

A G R E E D

[@johnankrah299]

I asked an online "therapist" about the cost of his sessions, as they were not stated on his site. He said that if my main concern was money I wasn't the client he could work with.

[@neurotransmissions]

Sounds like you dodged a bullet!

[@bluesunquake]

Tell me he'd never been poor

[@potapotapotapotapotapota]

One of the only benefits I found from a therapist was that they helped me set goals in life. I learn so much more from reading books and watching videos online about psychological advice than I have ever had from just one person. Very few therapists know enough to be able to change your life. They have no life experience and just go off what they read on textbooks and questionnaires. But that being said, having someone there to hold you accountable to pursue the goals that they helped you set yourself is actually probably the most important part of going to see one. Having goals in life gives your life meaning and purpose. It's hard to come up with a purpose in life by yourself when you're drowning in negative self talk, so it's good to have someone there to encourage you and keep you going and to remind you that life is fun and worth living.

[@Anna_Rozanska]

Many therapists are burned out, tired, barely engaged or ineffective. I think a lot of them are overworked, although I don't know why, as they can make comparatively good money (I'm a teacher ha, ha) without overbooking themselves. Asking open-ended questions without any follow-up or guidance was our couples therapist speciality. I suspect he was trained for that, as oridnary people, be it friends, bartenders or shop assistants can't help but offer some commentary to what you're saying. It seems so natural, so ingrained in the way we interact - here you go, inter-act! - with each other. Our therapist was extremely unresponsive, the sessions often felt like the famous Tronick's still face experiment.

[@fairlind]

You forget one more category, good therapists having bad days. I tried to stay centered in my interactions with clients, and when I did, which was most of the time, it felt like dancing, words that were helpful to my clients poured out automatically, before I knew I was going to say them. But if some stressor disrupted that flow, I felt like a rocky boat, and that’s when I sometimes said things that made me later shake my head, and I had to correct myself later. Clients who knew me took it in stride, but new clients weren’t always impressed.

[@whiteegretorchids8234]

I’ve had 5-6 therapists and every single one was in the wrongdoer category (maybe one wasn’t, but they would have been in the bad fit category) Every single one had really good reviews and one of them did a ted/tedx talk I don’t want to touch one with a 10 foot pole

[@KristīneZvejsalniece]

My last experience with my therapist left me feeling helpless and desperate. Basically, she works according to the book - how to heal the inner child. At the first visit, she claimed that even if I don't get to read any chapter before the session, it's okay, we will continue to talk according to the plan (which I still don't know). The last few weeks have been very busy and I haven't had much time to read this book. And instead of her asking questions or creating a narrative to guide the session - she told me that she didn't need me and that I should have been prepared myself because now it turns out that we have nothing to talk about. When I started to tell her about the case that bothered me, she started scolding me for the fact that I myself am to blame for the fact that I feel bad, that I have these strong emotions, and that I don't want to change at all. She stressed out that I only blame others and don't want to work on myself at all. When I tried to explain to her that the fact that I mention other people does not mean that I blame them, I mention them as examples/situations that made me feel some strong emotions. And I don't want to feel that way anymore - I just don't know why I worry so much about seemingly small things. To which, she replied that it is my choice to feel this way, it is my fault, and that I myself am to blame - there is no need to feel this way and then it will be fine. I cried for half of the session because I felt pushed into a corner, nothing I tried to explain was good enough, and the therapist didn't ask any additional questions - she just continued to assert in a very aggressive tone that I don't want to change anything in myself and that I'm basically lazy and she now has to listen to my experiences stories that include other people. I felt devastated and after the session, I went into the worst episode of depression I have ever had - my trust was broken, I was judged for everything I said and all the information I had told her was turned against me. I have more visits booked but I really don't want to go there. The thought of having to speak with someone who has previously used all given information to humiliate me, makes me want to cry. I don't know what to do... Is everything really my fault? It was soo horrible.

[@juliaalzofon9572]

It has been 10 months since your post and I am sorry no one has written to you. I hope you are feeling better. No, everything is NOT your fault. A poor therapist can, however, make you feel that way. Please believe in yourself and your perceptions. Best wishes!

[@janicemulligan]

Of course it’s not your fault. Do not continue.

[@disneybunny45]

I am so lucky that I can see the same therapist I saw in college. I love her and feel so comfortable with her. And she reduced her fee because she knows that I wouldn't be able to see her multiple times a month otherwise. And it sucks that so many therapists don't understand how adults struggle with ADHD. We are told by everyone that we're lazy, inattentive, and that we don't care, we don't need a mental health professional to do it too.

[@barbarajloriordan2697]

I wonder what you might think of this idea. I think that, when a client interviews a therapist in the get-to-know-you session, the client can ask one single question: “If you behave toward me in any way that is illegal, or unethical, or which I deem abusive, what recourse do I have? How can I connect with your supervisor? What is the licensing board that I can appeal to?” I believe that this should be a standard question in any introductory interview with a therapist. It may stimulate feelings of vulnerability in the therapist, but an adult therapist can get over that. I also think that the therapist might simply provide the clients with the answers they seek without making the question “about the client.” If asking the question were standard practice, the therapist would have the information readily available. In fact, I think that a therapist who is committed to a client’s welfare would be eager to provide the answers to the client. It would also make clear to the therapist that the client is not going into the relationship blindly, that they are an intelligent consumer who will take steps to take care of themself. Self care is an adult coping behavior, and helping clients to develop adult behaviors is one of the goals of therapy. Any adult behavior that a client uses might be accepted, appreciated, and approved by the therapist. I’d love to hear others’ take on this idea.

[@Meleeman011]

I never feel safe in therapy anymore

[@davidcrawford9026]

you're not. Any one of them can have you committed for anything they make up, indefinitely. Every interaction with one is a risk to yourself, they bear none of the risks, and they get paid for this. The math is not mathing, it's not an equal relationship, you assume all the risk and they are exposed to none.

[@nathanieljohnson6259]

Harmful and traumatic experiences in therapy almost drove me to suicide. I saw about a dozen of them, and every single one caused my mental health to decline further and further. I used to be pro-therapy, even wanted to be a therapist at one point. Now, I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. I think the whole mental health industry should be torn down. They don't care who they destroy in the process of "helping." The therapeutic relationship itself isn't even a healthy relationship. It's not a relationship that you would ever want to duplicate out in the real world.

[@walkingwith_dinosaurs]

Dude, I subscribe to your every word

[@walkingwith_dinosaurs]

The very foundation of this "relationship" is unethical, and almost no one seems to understand that. I didn't understand that, until I got hit by it so hard, it took me months to recover and I am still not fully though it.

[@weirdflex8158]

some of it needs to be turned down like gender identity things but why exactly should therapy for things like anxiety or deppression go away

[@ningyding]

Same.

[@nathanieljohnson6259]

@@ningyding Dang, I'm really sorry to hear that you had a similar experience. If you don't mind me asking, where are you at in that journey?

[@TheCatWrangler]

Finding a good therapist is indeed like dating. One of my first therapists told me that I have no reason to be depressed because my life is going fine. I was living with severe depression and anxiety and a very severe addiction. She told me I need to snap out of it!! Like wtf seriously!? You think I haven't thought of that? I wish I had known all of this info before going into therapy. I wasted so much time and money on therapists early on. After getting clean 5 years ago, I found 2 fantastic therapists who engaged with me and really tried to help me solve my problems. I finally got diagnosed with ADHD. I can't believe none of the therapists I saw before that noticed I was addicted and had very clear signs of ADHD even after I was totally honest. The great therapists I have had actually TAUGHT ME a lot of skills, especially about how to manage my emotions and take a minute to pause and notice what was going on in my body. There are great therapists out there, and you also need to find a good fit. It can take a little time but you know a good fit when you meet them, and its totally worth it in the end!

[@TheCatWrangler]

I do want to add that all the therapists I didn't get anything from were older than 60, when I was in my 20s, and both of the therapists I loved were in their early 30s. I don't know but it seems like the old way of therapy is just sitting there listening and asking silly questions, and the new way of therapy is teaching skills. Maybe training has improved in the last 30 years and the younger therapists learned that new way. I also think I could relate to the young ones better. Funnily enough, I actually far prefer my therapists to be recovered addicts or alcoholics like me, because they can actually understand what its like. People who haven't gone through addiction can know what happens in addiction, but never really feel what its like to walk in an addicts shoes. Same goes for mental health struggles. So if you've gone through something hard, you might make a great therapist!

[@Stettafire]

Exact same to me too. Lady said "you have a great job, so what's wrong?" I told her I felt chronically lonely, her response was "well maybe you have BPD then" I was like, WTF

[@Mayrita77]

Lol I hear you. My therapist thinks just because I'm married to a lawyer I should be thankful and she acts like I have no real problems and I should just please him and shut up. That's all I hear when I'm in therapy. I'm done with her

[@sparrowbarnesmusic5864]

Im having a terrible experience right now with a therapist. Ive felt a long time like it wasnt right. Shes got to many problems herself i think, that she wont deal with. But theres alot more. Anyway im wanting to leave her. So how do l know if its a good fit with a therapist or not. Especially in the early days. How do i know

[@ninaroshuk9229]

@@sparrowbarnesmusic5864If she’s telling you her problems, that’s not good. She should be listening to you.

[@TerraOmnia]

Oof, yeah, that first scene really captures the typical therapy experience. Those are the "good" experiences imo. My most recent experience was talking to a provider about the help I could receive for suicidal thoughts. The answer is of course that immediate hospitalization is necessary, despite me having a recording of the conversation saying "But I don't want to die today." Cops were called. I was hauled off in an ambulance. Boss left a few voicemails asking why I wasn't at work. I didn't know they could do that before you even started services with them. I hope I never reach out again.

[@birdseye2239]

The paradox of therapy is that the people who need it the most can't afford it. Mental issues prevent you from making money. The worse the issues, the less money you make. Meaning the people who are the most in need of help are the least likely to get it. Meanwhile the rich kids dad hires the phd psycholgist to help "unspoil" his kid because they're filthy rich and created a self-entitled monster. I imagine alot of therapists fall into helping their "easy" and wealthy clients handle their first world issues, all the while seeing the more difficult cases being also less lucrative.

[@SantaFeSuperChief1]

"Most therapists are good" Hard disagree. If you just need someone to talk to, sure, most people are fine, but if you're looking for someone to help you through deep emotional introspection or healing, most therapists don't even know how to begin.

[@neurotransmissions]

I’m sorry that’s been your experience, but it is true! Most people find their therapist to be good. Perhaps you haven’t found the right fit yet?

[@wilhelmu]

@@neurotransmissions maybe it's just reports. for example, I've had bad experience with therapist 5 times. 5 different therapists. I didn't write a single negative review or comment or even leave a bad rating, cause I saw no point in doing it, and thought it might even harm me in the future, if therapist decides to disclose some sensitive info about me in revenge. It's much psychologically easier to write a positive review.

[@neurotransmissions]

@@wilhelmu I’ll reiterate this just because I think it’s important: if a therapist reveals information about you without your approval, that is illegal. It is a HIPAA violation and would likely result in the loss of their license if it was done in a way that was intended to hurt you. If there is a therapist that would do that because of a bad review, then they shouldn’t be in the field.

[@wilhelmu]

@@neurotransmissions yes, but information revealed are still revealed. I have nothing to gain and something to lose. I bet a lot of people thought the same and what if therapist respond to the negative review or comment, not in a way that is breaking the law, but in a way that prompts an argument? so we have this stressed, depressed, whatever individual, do you think someone with such psychological profile is more likley to seek arguments, or avoid them? for me it was the latter. I just had too much stuff going on with my life to bother writing negative reviews, then having to argue them in a beat around the bush not reveal anything sorta way. all my bad therapy experiences left a bad aftertaste in my mouth, but didn't make me feel like arguing further or seek revenge. they made me feel tired and burned out. hence I never wrote a negative review or left a rating. I doubt im alone in that. on the other hand, if you leave a positive rating, chances are the therapist will tell you something like "thank you, you're such a sweetheart!". it will make you feel good. so people are more inclined to leave good reviews.

[@SantaFeSuperChief1]

@@wilhelmu Not to mention all the people who straight up don't know that they have a bad therapist. Traumatized people, the primary clientele of therapists, are more likely to go along with things and not stand up for themselves, so they likely wouldn't even question whether or not their therapist is good or not. The lack of overtly negative experience does not mean the therapist is good. There is no part of therapy training that helps the therapist figure themselves out, so if a therapist is a screwed up person, unless they're working on themselves on the side before their training or alongside it, they're going to be bringing their own screwed up perspective into the therapy relationship. And the sad fact of it is, no one had perfect parents, we all have screwed up perspectives, values, and compensations for their inadequacies that we inherited from them and those will always affect relationships with big power differentials like a therapy relationship. And the vast majority of people, clients and clinicians, rarely even consider these factors when judging the quality of their therapy relationship. From what I've seen, people I've spoken to, people I've known who have engaged in therapy, the clients are more likely to say that therapy in general doesn't work rather than placing blame on a therapist. So using a poll to judge this kind of data is flawed to say the least. On a side note, insurance companies force therapists to break confidentiality all the time, so to say that they never do or that it's illegal to do so is just inaccurate.

[@Boobooboo835]

My therapist turned out to be the worst mistake of my life he lost control showed anger rage then was so defensive shouting telling me he was defending himself from me can you not see I am protecting myself. Such a lot of unethical behavior I am still trying to get over it all especially after trusting in someone sharing my life with them. Don’t think I could ever trust a therapist again

[@lizziedanse8335]

Dude is completely unhinged

[@llpolluxll]

Had a therapist that I got through Better Help tell me that she was actually a member of the Mormon church which I left years ago. I asked her if she thought being in a gay relationship was the best thing for me and she said "I don't think that it's what god wants." I'm not an expert in therapy but that seemed like a really unethical thing to say. It certainly felt horrible to hear. I eventually did find a therapist that was really good for me and wasn't putting their religious beliefs above their job but it did teach me a lesson about putting unquestioned trust in any professional.

[@yfa6244]

Knowing she was a Mormon, and you being previously exposed to their value system, I am not sure what you expected her to say.

[@candicisco9666]

The problem is therapists are trained to simply mirror what you say & to give you a safe space within limits to express yourself. In this example, it seems that the issue may be either ADHD or dissociative disorder.. most therapists will only offer basic advice on how to deal with not completing tasks or being forgetful. They are trained to simply ask questions until you realize the problem yourself. They won’t provide you with an answer. If they are a psychiatrist they can prescribe meds but the problem with the majority of therapists is they aren’t trained to offer solutions. Of course if you have plenty of money & time, you may eventually find a therapist who will work with you to actually help but you need to look for someone who is willing to do more than the typical therapist.

[@BradleyGalbraith]

Thanks for this video. The section on "wrong fit" therapists helped me realize that where I'm at right now isn't bad but just isn't a good fit. It feels like they don't really relate to me at all and nothing they say ever feels like it comes from a place of mutual understanding.

[@emilybixler3166]

I told a therapist I couldn't feel comfortable with anyone other than my then-boyfriend touching me, even hugs. She brushed it off and said, "oh, that's just boy-girl love." I later learned I'm touch sensitive due to autism. Oh, and I'm 99% gay, and was just playing a role with that boyfriend. She once responded to a complaint about how my parents punished me growing up with "well, what will you do when you have kids?" When I said "I don't want kids" she had nothing to add. I've had other therapists that just listen to me talk and say "good insight, you're very intelligent," but add nothing. Another told me "I won't see you if you don't go on antidepressants," which makes sense on its own but was traumatizing considering at that point, every medication I'd been on had made me suicidal and I told her that. She didn’t say maybe a future one would work, just brushed it off and implied she'd rather I be suicidal as long as I was on meds. Not to mention the psychiatrists who tried to talk to me about God. Now, I'm unwilling to do therapy that isn't focused. My last therapist was a neurodivergence specialist and my current one focuses on PTSD and other trauma. Those have been useful to m

[@briselarkin7203]

I came to a therapist stressed out of my mind. I was at Uni, and couldn't keep up with the stress and lack of sleep. So, I talked to her, and after 15 minutes, I realized, that she is a person, who couldn't possibly understand a single sentence comming out of my mouth. She literally believed in Tabula Rasa FFS. So, I lost hope after a mere 2 sessions.

[@KimberlyJSteiner]

Thank you for making this video. I'm an MHC grad student not professional but have lived experience from 3 children with psych/neuro issues (spectrum, SAD, epilepsy, ADHD, MDD & ED (AN)). I wanted to add scope to your list. For example, even though states don't mandate special credentials or require a special license for treating ED, clinicians who don't screen/question/probe, readily identify, or know effective interventions eating disorders, especially anorexia and bulimia should self-disclose. These are extremely dangerous disorders and like other difficult-to-treat conditions (like BPD) require in-depth knowledge & expertise. Ineffective therapy esp. in these cases has a terrible impact-- bc the longer adolescents have ED, the less likely their recovery. Therapists on Psychology Today who include severe illnesses on a large checklist of disorders they treat may be misleading the public.

[@banmonsterg.8245]

The sketch in the beginning hit me really hard. When I was in high school I went to therapy for a few weeks one winter. My sport of choice was cross country, but I struggled to find motivation to run during the cold winters, whether it was due to snow and ice and the cold conditions outside or the grim feeling of running on a treadmill. Their response was to tell me "It sounds like you don't actually like running then" which just infuriated me to no end. I didn't come back.

[@matthewkopp2391]

I had many bad therapists, but did not stick with them long. The worst experience was Freudian mirror therapy of simply repeating everything back to me which was unhelpful. I had chronic PTSD plus a bipolar 2 and later bipolar 1 diagnosis. I desperately needed to get out of distress, and stabilize not be in an echo chamber. The therapist that was effective said my bipolar symptoms were likely caused from trauma, so therefore likely not genetic and I could recover from it, so work on trauma issues. Which was the best path for me. The main issues I found is that many therapists have a myopic perspective of the human condition, and I was researching psychology to try to find information on my condition to find clues as to what to do. But the therapist that worked encouraged me to do as much research that I wanted to and to find my own path. At one point I tried to self diagnosed, he would actually question me and prove my self diagnosis wrong, and get me on the path to just attend to symptoms. And said, „I am training you to become a good self psychologist.“

[@KH-tt3wv]

The first therapist I saw for disabling depression when I was in college was a perfect example of a "bad fit." At our very first session, she literally prescribed (like, I had to go get it from the pharmacy) me the book "Feeling Good" by Robert Burns, and told me to come back when I had read it. I read it. It's terrible. Needless to say, I never went back. It was several years before I found a good therapist who was on the same page with me, and he was able to help me tremendously.

[@ExtraneousB]

I always ask a new patient what if any past experiences they have had in therapy, partly because I want to know what has and has not worked for them in the past. But also because there is a part of me that enjoys the therapy horror stories.

[@pnwlady]

It took me years to admit I’ve had a series of mediocre to harmful experiences with therapists. One literally told me to dump my partner, lose weight and I’d find a better partner. (What she should have done was help me get through a difficult phase by focusing on my physical health and stop obsessing over fixing my partner.) She compared my situation to her first marriage. Yikes. Mostly though they’re burned out, tired, barely engaged or ineffective. Asking open ended questions without useful follow up, guidance or advice is awful. I can have better interactions with close friends and family. I can’t remember having a breakthrough or aha moment with the last 5 mental health professionals I’ve seen. I’m done trying to find a competent therapist, psychologist or couples counselor.

[@LesleySASMR]

I recently switched therapists. I was doing okay was seeing her a year. I felt like I was doing so well, but it all came to a head when I started dating someone and I completely fell apart and I didn't know why. My therapist wasn't helping me at all. She was just letting me vent and all she ever did was ask what I was going to do for the rest of the day after our sessions. I switched to someone with 30+ years of experience as a psychologist. She had me pegged in 10 minutes in our first session and has given me so much more insight in ONE 45 minutes meeting than my other one did for a year.

[@shannonoconnor1468]

I do have a vivid memory of my first ever therapist from high school. I had seen her for a few things, but this one time my parents essentially dragged me in because my mom found out I had been smoking weed. This lady kept repeating over and over how weed is illegal and that is why it is bad, as I tried to explain that I do not base my personal morality around the US legal system. This was a concept she seemingly was unable to grasp, which blew my mind because I had figured out the distinction between amoral and illegal in middle school. This put me off therapy as a concept for years.

[@bethanyjohnson8222]

I have cptsd and thought my bad feelings about the way my therapist was treating me were my own fault. I ended up feeling so much worse about myself and it took years to realize it wasn't me failing to heal.

[@walkingwith_dinosaurs]

Had a therapist who'd say the same things about bad therapists and ethics, meaning how he's not one of them. And then a chain of events happened that makes me believe now that the whole "therapeutic relationship" thing is a lie

[@walkingwith_dinosaurs]

Or rhather is built on a lie. Because you'll never know who that person is irl, unless by an exident (like I did). And I was disgusted and hurt to the core, becauseat this point I was seeing him for about a year. It wouldn't happen if I knew who he was beforehand.

[@dustinnickolas1583]

I went to a bad therapist for 6 years and she honestly made things a lot worse--I was in high school so I believed everything she said, which is why I didn't switch sooner. I struggle to this day to be totally honest with a therapist because I'm afraid of talking about hard things to just have someone completely not get what I'm saying or say things that make me feel worse. I found myself feeling worse after sessions with my old therapist and she never seemed to really understand or listen to what I was saying and had a very different idea of how things were going. Like she would always act like I was making so much progress and that things weren't "too bad" even though I'd tell her every fucking time that I didn't want to be here anymore and life just always felt bad because I'm constantly anxious (and also had undiagnosed autism, OCD, CPTSD, and a dissociation disorder because she "doesn't diagnose"). I learned from my current therapist that she was doing the wrong type of therapy on me due to her not diagnosing, which is why my OCD got so much worse.

[@mooncove]

I've been to about ten BAD therapists in a row before giving up on therapy. I've been too traumatized by narcissistic therapists who only know how to do CBT and DBT, and one who, after 12 years, committed a malicious act, and I had NO rights with him because he works with the police department & as an 'expert witness' in court & personally KNEW every lawyer in town. So after six months, he finally ADMITTED what he'd done wrong, and I had no recourse, and I'd been through six months of inexplicable rejections by every lawyer in town, ALL of whom told me I had a case but THEY couldn't take it because of a 'conflict of interest with one of your likely adversaries,' as one of the more honest lawyers put it, but there were time limits, so I'd better find a lawyer fast. It was only after six months of calling lawyer after lawyer & being rejected & telling everyone I knew what had happened to me that my massage therapist was the one who told me that his secretary had committed a HIPAA violation. That was TWO WEEKS past the deadline for me to have filed a report to the government for the HIPAA violation AND Medicare fraud, and when I went back to the therapist, he admitted that he'd know it the whole time, which was why he wasn't letting me talk about the incident, particularly his secretary, & kept gaslighting me. He was running out the clock for me to DO anything about it. Then I was psychologically abused by the narcissistic and/or lazy therapists I went to to try to fix the PTSD he had caused me. Because it turns out that good trauma therapists do NOT accept Medicare, and THAT was what I needed. Someone who'd even HEARD of Complex PTSD & didn't just mechanically interrupt me every time I tried to tell them what had happened to me because 'that's in the past' and give me 'homework' assignments they refused to help me with in the office because all the questions were DESIGNED to FORCE a wrong answer. And then I looked up what DBT actually WAS, and it's designed to -get rid of- process a client within 10-20 weeks by convincing them of their erroneous thoughts. Well, if that technique WORKED, I wouldn't HAVE Complex PTSD caused by narcissistic abuse in the FIRST place. By the time I quit therapy for the LAST time, I was SO traumatized, I was having NIGHTMARES about my therapist having moved in across the street from me (siding with my narcissistic father next door against me since he kept contacting them & turning them against me, convincing them HE was the victim of MY abuse!), and that they were chasing me around with unsolvable homework assignments demanding to know why I hadn't done them! There were other ones from the 3rd circle of hell, but if you want to know what the therapy experience is like in Rochester, NY, when you're on Medicare, watch the video by Daniel Mackler, 'Why I Quit Being a Therapist' in which he gives six reasons from the therapist's point of view that PERFECTLY align with my experience of the way they ALL treated me as a client. YOU find me someone who's licensed to practice in NY state who accepts Medicare and can help someone with PTSD & C-PTSD caused by narcissistic abuse, PLUS autism and ADHD, and maybe I'll give it a shot. But I guarantee you will NOT find one! Daniel Mackler is 100% right about therapy & therapists. If you're not a millionnaire, they don't want to get emotionally invested in you, and CBT & DBT (i.e., repackaged Buddhism, a religious practice that's automatically forced on EVERYONE who presents as 'emotionally dysregulated' regardless of the reason, taking an INSTANT dislike to us because they automatically associate emotional dysregulation and want to diagnose everyone with Borderline Personality Disosrder, which is a stigmatizing, toxic Type B personality disorder that NOBODY wants to work with, especially if you insist you DO NOT HAVE IT (since they have to pick from the options in the DSM, and C-PTSD isn't in there, and they completely miss the autism & ADHD & that THEY cause incurable emotional dysregulation due to the hard-wiring in the brain), and their DISLIKE is palpable, if not audible in the form of outright SCOFFING at what we say as if we're making it up to manipulate them! Like we're paying for therapy for fun in order to manipulate the therapist! Therapists need to get OVER themselves. But there's a local shortage, so they take advantage of your lack of options. NO THANKS. I'd rather just spend the rest of my life happily traumatized and miserable than be abused by ONE more BAD THERAPIST!

[@averayugen7802]

I know the Maclker material and you are SPOT ON. This is a TERMINALLY TOXIC RACKET, its not a profession, that stopped happening when the few PHD Psychologists were suddenly crowded around with every pseudo counselor and addictions expert on the planet asking almost as much money, and not providing any competent help at all. Even Frieda Fromm Reichmann failed half the time. Helping someone back to sanity is the work of angels but there are too many imposters for terrible reasons. You know what they are and so do I. So my advice to everyone is have quality friends any way you can make them. I never succeeded at that either but I know YOU can. Make real friends too, never rely on the Big Machine and all its phony promise.... or they will leave you with nothing when u need them the most. WORDS OF WIDDOM. There is no problem-solution in healing, only COMPASSION. The rest is life itself.

[@sophcw]

Unfortunately I'm going through this right now. I think this gets harder as you have been in therapy for longer, I think what you need becomes more than what many people can provide.

[@dannyvanhecke]

The psychologist I have now fits me very well, she's very friendly, soft and shows she cares. Previous therapists I had were more distant, so felt like they didn't really care.

[@makingnoises2327]

i counted up the number of behaviors that you listed that various therapists ive seen have engaged in. ive dealt with 24 of the 33. i don't have the time, safety, or security to report all of the therapists who've hurt me. ive consulted with a lawyer in the past, who advised that the re-traumatization of a court case would likely outweigh any renumeration or justice that could be served. this system, where victims have to confront their abusers in front of a board of that therapist's peers, is unjust and designed to limit the recourse victims can have and the punishment bad therapists can receive.

[@epicglitter7218]

I did try to take action. No-one believed me, I had no proof (SA), it went nowhere. I was also told that having a mental illness means I'm not credible, while being a licensed professional meant the abuser was credible

[@epicglitter7218]

...."just give therapy another chance" is WILD advice given my above comment

[@davidcrawford9026]

now you see how it really works, how it's meant to work. never fall for their tricks, never become a patient, never get a diagnosis. This is all it's for

[@epicglitter7218]

@@davidcrawford9026 If this was intended to show some sort of support or understanding for my experience, it did not. Weird move, tbh. I have known some people who benefit tremendously from therapy. I'm not here to take that away from them. However, I wish that there was room in the conversation to acknowledge experiences like mine (being harmed/abused/traumatized by an MH professional), the power dynamics inherent in the therapist-patient relationship, the extremely limited/lacking accountability processes for survivors like me. I wish my concerns about "giving therapy another chance" with a new therapist were taken seriously, and that other options and resources might be available, affirmed, and encouraged for people who want them. Like I don't want therapy to stop being an option for people who want or need it, but I want other options to be available and legitimized, instead of the sort of monopoly we have now. Where either you go to therapy (...even if a therapist was your perpetrator in the first place...) *or* you're this awful hopeless person who clearly doesn't want to do any work on thermselves, or heal, etc.

[@matthiaslangbart9841]

And that's the biggest flaw in the system: Therapists being paid by the hour, not by their result.

[@mordaciousfilms]

I can rarely connect with a therapist, because I haven't felt like they ever really cared. Plus, my only insurance has been medicaid, which limited my choices. I saw therapists since age 7 until recently, and I'm 30 now. For a time, they worked, and then I got real with myself and realized I wasn't getting anything out of it anymore but a few simple "uh-huh, that must be hard". I'd prefer just good friends and a real authentic support system of loved ones - I need that emotional connections, especially when a great deal of my depression and anxiety comes from feeling "lonely and disconnected" from others and WANTING more of a social life... so it seemed silly to sit and talk to some stoic figure in a room about how I'm sad and lonely when instead I figured I'd just save myself the energy drain and keep working on building better, more authentic friendships and relationships and getting out there, pursuing more of what I love in life. Therapy can really help when you're in a bind or lack that self-awareness but after a while, once I'd picked up on the methods and learned enough about myself - I felt I had to make drastic changes to the way I looked at things and approached things in order to really make progress that mattered to me.

[@kyriahowey3322]

Got told I have to learn to deal with recovered traumatic childhood memories on my own...

[@Ry-iz9bc]

A friend of mine shared an experience of seeing a therapist who traumatized them and left them hanging and suffering without helping them re stabilize from a session. My friend has been looking for help with re stabilizing and getting back to their normal self.

[@maramoon333]

I “broke up” with my CBT therapist because I felt like it was just me waxing poetic about my feelings and I needed more practical steps that I could take. My new therapist and I create tangible goals and she gives me tools to use when I am emotionally dysregulated

[@Megaghost_]

Great topic to talk about, thanks for making this video. I've had many therapist through my life and a few of them were terrible. Nowadays I still go to therapy but it is hard to really trust the person in front of me after those experiences, I never feel fully comfortable anymore around them and I've lost a lot of trust in the psychotherapeutic process as a whole. In the past, one therapist tried to give me pseudoscience BS like ""family constellations". Another threatened me to not treat me anymore if I didn't take clozapine (a drug with serious side effects, anti-psychotic, and I'm not psychotic, btw) while this person wasn't a doctor, she was trying to force me to take a drug without knowing a single thing about medicine just because my psychiatrist suggested it as an option (and he told me it was fine if I didn't want to try it, as it was a serious decision). She also brought up religion to the session and got angry because I wasn't christian (keep in mind I never disrespected her religion). The worst case was a therapist who wanted to continue our sessions via webcam while she was traveling Europe, when I politely declined and told her I didn't feel comfortable talking about my issues from my own home with my family around, she started screaming at me and kicked me out of her office. I was utterly confused by her reaction. That person also used to tell stories about herself that went nowhere and also made sexual comments about other women more than once... And the last case: I had a therapist who at some point I suppose got bored of me because the process was going nowhere and she systematically started coming 20min late to the sessions, groggy like she was about to fall asleep at any time. When I pointed that out she got confrontational. She also blamed me when the implemented strategies didn't work out, to the point of calling my parents to "check if I wasn't lying" about things like doing exercise... and I am an adult. Very degrading experiences.

[@MightyMyna]

So many comments I reading so called "Christians" belittle and have a "holier-than-thou" attitude and it just gives people a horrid idea of Christians. As a Christian myself, we are not supposed to act that way, nor are we perfect, nor should we push our religion on someone else. I'm sorry about your experience.

[@ancient_bam]

I have autism and I've been in and out of therapy since I was a toddler. Part of the problem is that I was born in the 90s and people just didn't know how to raise autistic kids back then (they're still figuring it out). Some of what they did was helpful and some of it (like the restraint technique they taught my mom) is now illegal in most states. They meant well so I don't blame them, but it still messed me up. The one I do blame was a therapist I wasted four years on as an adult. She'd spend our sessions telling me personal anecdotes about her life, diagnosed my mom (who she'd never met) with borderline personality disorder, asked me for advice on her other autistic clients, and tried to talk about me to her husband (who'd been one of my better therapists when I was in middle school) so much that he asked me to sign a release. Oh, and when a coworker tried to ask me out and I rejected him because he gave me the creeps, she told me I was mean to him and that I should apologize. He ended up raping me. She seemed to really like having conversations with me, but somehow the whole arrangement was about her ego. Most of my therapists just weren't good fits and I struggled to trust them. The best therapist I've had so far was neurodivergent--not the same kind as me, but close enough-- and he "got" me in a way the neurotypical therapists couldn't.

[@mistressofstones]

I admire you greatly for this but im not sure you comprehend that we pay everytime to check if there is a good fit and theres a cost to opening up to some of these people. Some of these people do really strange, harmful things and the fact we payed them to abuse us is SO disturbing. Right now im realising as i heal independently after finally finding some tools that actually help my neurodivergent brain i am so weirded out by how inappropriate and abusive some of these common behaviours are.

[@davidcrawford9026]

he's a therapist he can't mentally see the system for what it really is because he depends on it. he's compromised

[@sawyerbass4661]

s no coincidence that the description we have of our bad therapists is always the same" It basically goes like: "They just nod along and let me talk. Sometimes they ask obvious questions, but they don't offer any real insight.. Sometimes they give me homework. But often it's the kind of stuff I can't remember, or don't wanna do. Sometimes it's even things that feel a little psedudosciency and I can't believe could work. They forget they assigned homework often anyway. There's no accountability. It just feels like I'm talking to someone mandated not to judge me, but who doesn't know how to help me"

[@alexacarenati]

I am a therapist and you have all my respect and support. I am the only therapist I know who had the honesty and courage to spontaneously quit the profession (for a long time) as soon as I realised I wasn't fit to practice due to some personal circumstances. I did it twice. I had 15 years of horrible experiences with therapists myself. HUGE elephant in the room. I will get in touch.

[@michele219]

After many incompetent therapists I’m convinced a neurodivergent brain needs a neurodivergent therapist. The others don’t “get” us at all.