Eve B

http://cornerstonefamilyservices.org/4-reasons-not-to-ghost-your-therapist/ What do you guys think about these 4 reasons not to ghost a therapist?

Is therapist ghosting of a client the same as abandonment? If clients 'abandon' their therapists though, that would basically be the same as firing them, right?

Welcome and thanks for introducing yourself, Pam!

I think therapists know how they would like to ideally act during a sensitive session, but when it actually happens, they more commonly tend to react instead, and the therapy gets messed up.

Psychiatrists are the only therapists who are also medical doctors, but they're mostly just pill prescribers who understand their drugs more than their patients.

Consider also those cultures (usually patriarchal tribal) that accept child bride marriages and that kind of 'normal' pedophile situation is arranged by the parents.

Are clients really allowed to get their therapist's session notes if they request them? Reading their psychobabble could prove useful to the client, especially early on.

Hi, WoundedSoul74! I hope you'll find your soul feeling less wounded in our community. We're here to be supportive, but we also value honest perspectives regardless which way you want to lean. No worries!

Just because they're therapists doesn't mean their diagnosis is accurate, and clients can always get 2nd and 3rd opinions, right? I still think the public sees the therapist as much a quack as a healer. Isn't there also power from the client's side in labeling the therapist with names like 'shrink' or 'mental manipulator'? Therapists can only gain power from us if we allow them, but yeah, it's tricky once you start opening up to them.

If my therapist was a tv or movie character... he'd be Kermit the Frog! No, I don't respect my therapist or his abilities. He's a nice, non-threatening (aka 'safe') guy with whom I'm sure many clients could easily be chummy with, but little else to inspire real life-long changes.

Therapists are... actors paid to play a role. Some would actually be good enough to win an Oscar. Clients need to remember that once they leave the therapy movie theater, they're on their own and in the real world, unhappy endings are the norm.

I admire your resilience, Mary! I think all that bad therapy made you stronger and smarter! For therapists to do no harm, they need to be taught specifically what the harm can entail. Considering the individuality of clients though, harm can be anything, and many therapists can't or don't want to see it even when the client tells them.

Therapy is like a loaded gun. The gun's (and therapy's) harm depends on the aim and the squeezing of the trigger. How the talking and sharing of personal information is being handled and processed is what can make therapy helpful or harmful or even have no effect either way. Some clients don't believe their friends or family will understand so they turn to the 'stranger' psych professional or an online forum like ours. Sure, there are issues that can be made worse by the disclosure, but if you're holding it in and suffering by keeping it secret, then it probably needs to be released. Talking it out is just one option, and it can be helpful with the right kind of support. Therapists are emotional voyeurs, and they're trained to find that pain and pick it apart. Clients coming into therapy should be aware of these risks, and it's also supposed to be mentioned in the consent forms.

Put up a 'No Trespassing' sign to a therapist, and yeah, they'll likely notice and target it because issues clients don't want to talk about tend to be issues they may still need to talk about. However, it is the client's money...

Here's a useful link about clients setting boundaries for their therapists from Mary S: http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/08/6-strategies-for-setting-boundaries-with-your-therapist/ Unfortunately, many clients new to therapy aren't going to feel that empowered until their head gets really screwed up by the therapist.

Addendum: The continuation of this forum also relies on active community participation. There is a maintenance cost for this board, and it needs to be worth paying the monthly fee. I strongly believe in quality over quantity, and I will keep it going so long as there are people who show real interest and can benefit from its creation. An expiration alert will be sent to members who have not contributed at least one post. We would like to keep it fair for those who have already been sharing their personal stories and perspectives. Lurkers, please let us know you're alive!

Since this will likely remain a small community and in keeping with the 'confidentiality' nature of the therapy world, only members will be able to see and participate within the forum. Curiosity may kill the cat, but curious passerbys are still welcome to join!

I don't know of many therapists either who would want to publicize how therapy can be more harmful than the supposed benefits. Even therapists need to believe in their own delusions or they wouldn't have a job.

For new members attempting to join, an error message of some sort may be encountered due to a registration delay pending admin approval. I usually will approve membership within 24 hours of receiving notification. Your patience is appreciated, thank you!

Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sylvester! I was looking around for a forum like this too and couldn't find any so that's why I decided to try and start one myself. I didn't care if it would be just me 'talking' to myself on an internet discussion board. I think there's a lot to gain by spreading the other side of the truth, and I felt just as fearful to honestly post my personal feelings about my therapy experiences on those huge pro-therapy psych boards. I think I'll be lucky if I get a max of 10 followers here, but what matters the most to me is providing a safer place for voices like ours to speak up and out.

Quality over quantity. I expect this community to stay small in number and mindful about the purpose of this forum. Therapy harm is real, and until it's acknowledged, real healing and help can't happen.

Welcome to the Therapy Reality forum aka TTCS (Therapy-The Client's Side) Community! The intention of this forum to serve as a safe space for those who have experienced harmful psychotherapy to honestly share their stories and concerns. Perspectives are client-oriented towards better awareness and information for empowering and protecting the consumer as well as helping to improve the therapy profession as a whole. The troubling reality of therapy is that it is a risk that can harm more than it heals. When the process goes wrong, it's the client who usually suffers more than the therapist. Therapy carries a stigma, and especially so after it fails. The voice of any client who has been maltreated by bad therapy (and a bad therapist) deserves to be heard not hidden. The courageous challenge for clients is to still be able to offer solutions and constructive criticism despite the damage that was done to them. Let's hope the ears of the therapists are as willing to listen.

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