I had one who said “I have no idea why you are the way you are so I have no idea how to help you, but if talking helps then you’re welcome to keep coming back every week.”
I had one who said, “Tell me about your self esteem.”. This was not a specific enough question so I didn’t understand what she was asking. When I asked “what about it?” She snapped at me and said, “Well, do you have any?”
I had one that I mentioned these experiences to and she said she was shocked I was even willing to try therapy again.
And I think the best one was the therapist that tried to pray the ‘spirit of bitchiness’ out of me.
I finally found a good one but due to finances i can only go every few months.
You will either meet a good or bad therapist in your life. I have a met a few bad therapist that didn’t help me with my mental health. They all give awful advice because they didn’t struggle with mental health disorder like me. You aren’t the only person that goes through the same situation. It took me long time to find the right therapist that I felt comfortable to talk. The therapist must be aware that not all clients can understand your questions. You need to give an example for me to answer about self-esteem. I can explained in a detail for my self-esteem. I hope that make sense to you. That therapist sounds kind of mean that snapped at you. That’s good that you find another therapist that respects you. A therapist should open-minded and not be rude to answer a question.
Wow, you’ve definitely been through a good amount of very frustrating experiences with therapists. The examples that you share are particularly infuriating, especially in light of how much efforts it takes to get to the point of accepting that we need help and to actually take the steps to receive that help. I can only imagine how disappointing and hard these remarks especially have been for you. It is so hard when you present yourself in front of someone, are expecting from them to hear you out and to help you, but the only response received seems to be misunderstanding, stigma, if not complete dismissal of what you said. The first example you share about the person having no idea why you are the way you are is so troubling and so wrong, not to mention the other examples you’ve shared of course.
I’m really sorry that you have these experiences because it just shouldn’t be that way. Help shouldn’t be so hard to receive, especially when we find ourselves in a place of vulnerability and suferring. For what it’s worth, I am really thankful that you kept pursuing and trying to find the right person for you. It must have been very difficult and felt like some kind of endurance race at times. You can really be proud of yourself for your perseverance, your resilience, and for not giving up on your right to get the support you need. You didn’t let these experience discourage you from asking for help, and the fact that you share this here will certainly be inspiring to people who may read your comment and be in the same spot.
It is amazing to hear that you now have a good therapist and I hope that this is going to be a very healing and fulfilling journey for you. From a personal experience, I can tell that once you find the right therapist, it is so life-changing. Although all the negative experiences were definitely an eye opener to all the things I did NOT wanted from a therapist/ as type of therapy. We grow and learn from it, even if it feels particularly bittersweet.
May this journey be positive for you moving forward. You deserve to receive a support of quality, to feel heard, to be respected. Hold fast friend.