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40 People Share The Things Their Therapist Said That Shocked Them
‘Therapist’ is a broad definition that refers to mental health professionals who specialize in helping patients process difficult emotions and experiences, equip them with coping mechanisms to breeze through life challenges, and reduce symptoms of mental disorders. Such help has improved the lives of many, but let’s not forget that therapists are also people, which means they make mistakes too. Speaking of...someone online asked netizens to share times when a therapist said something so completely unhinged and unprofessional it immediately made them want to switch to another one. Scroll down to find their answers below, and don’t forget to upvote the hardest-to-believe ones.
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#1
I had wounds (sv) and showed them to my therapist, she said that they were not deep and that I should go deeper next time. I have another therapist since then
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#2
When I was talking about how my mom abused me my whole childhood and she said “do you not have empathy?” Basically saying I should have empathy for my mom for abusing me?????
No therapist is perfect, and the therapy journey itself can be uncomfortable (for good reasons!), so knowing when to act on what could be 'red flags' in therapy can sometimes get confusing.
According to a Psychology Today article, some of the warning signs of a bad therapist include talking excessively about themselves, refusing to accept constructive criticism, and avoiding talking about what the process will look like.
"Other warning signs include: being judgmental or critical of the client’s choices or lifestyle, appearing bored or distracted during sessions, treating the client as emotionally or intellectually inferior, or seeming easily overwhelmed or upset by information the client discloses."
#4
I have ocd and i get really bad intrusive thoughts, which give me bad anxiety. She then asked me to tell her the thoughts that i get. So I told her, and she just straight up started to laugh.😀
#5
"you can't be lesbian because you have daddy issues" ok sorry let me switch sides real quick
#6
"You're so boring, that's why you don't have any friends. Just go outside, the depression will cure itself and you will make friends." (for context: I have social anxiety)
Some specific phrases that give away that a therapist is acting unprofessionally are “There’s not much we can do about that” and “You just have to [be bad] it up/do it/snap out of it.”
These phrases imply the minimization of the problem and hinder faith in mental health professionals, which is one of the most important things about treatment. When a therapist is unsure of what can be done for a specific patient's situation, they should see it as a learning curve and seek supervision and withhold commentary, like the phrases mentioned just above.
#7
"You're not autistic, who told you that wasn't right, you need to find God and go to church"
#8
She asked for a hug. She knows I don’t do hugs. She said “but what if I wanted one?”. I told somebody because that’s a BIG violation, when I told her I document everything she got … weird
#9
I told my therapist all how I felt since I didn't feel brave enough to tell my parents since they'd push me away. I was showing clear symptoms of stress and depression. Yet she proceed to tell my parents everything and giving me barely any access to the internet, where my most trusted friends are. She made me get more worse, I don't want to see her ever again. She never even really helped me either and didn't understand me either
#10
Came into session saying I was finally ready to speak about the details of traumatic events. Crying and shaking while I explain… look up to see her falling asleep in her chair.
#11
I’m adopted, and she drew like a life board for me and in the family section she drew me outside of the circle bc it “wasn’t my real family”
#12
She secretly had a session with my husband (not her client) exposing everything I had confided in her about 😍✌️
#13
"if you really want to die then why are you still alive" looking back on it I can see what she was trying to do but to me it just sounded like a dare
#14
my second psychiatrist who did my diagnostics told me she couldnt help me anymore but thinks i have bpd AND THEN told me i could go switzerland for assisted death
#15
basically dismissed my attempts and was OBSESSED with my mom. he saw her once and i guess he fell for her [laugh out loud]?? she’s one of the reason i’m like this YET he’d always bring her up 😒
#16
I told her how i lay in bed all day and cant do any of the things that i desire and she said "well sometimes its nice to just lay and do nothing" LIKE WHAT?? I just told her how i want to do so much but can't
#17
"idk how to help u so u don't have to come back" and treated me like a child because Im autistic and couldn't identify what emotion I was feeling
#18
I Said that i struggle with feeling like nobody around me actually likes me and she goes ”yes, i can understand that you would feel that way, u are very far back in life for your age”. She also shamed me for not wanting kids. She thought it was weird meeting women who don’t long to be a mother, and that was an indication for being ”odd” as a person
#19
“your scars aren’t pleasing what will you do in summer to hide them”, babes, nothing, im getting my tan thats what
#20
I was at my psychiatrist's nd they were taking my blood for tests and the nurse asked me if I was feelinv okay and my psychiatrist said 'she's alright, shes used to bleeding, right?'
#21
I told her that it’s hard for me to go outside because I feel like everybody is watching me. She said « don’t worry you’re not that pretty »
#24
“I understand lesbians and gays, but i cannot stand bisexual. In my opinion they don’t exist”.
#25
After I told her about my mom trauma she just said “Your mom probably doesn’t have it easy with you.”
#28
uh idk but when I was 14 & skipped school for over a year because of depression, extreme anxiety & ptsd she just straight up looked at me & said „So you didn’t went to school because you were lazy.“ she was also the one who diagnosed me.. Like I got my diagnoses & two-three sittings later she said that into my face, I was like ?????
#29
I have a lot of horrible stories but this one’s the easiest to share: “You’re too smart to commit s*icide”
#30
“it’s for egoistic people like you that I hate my job” idk Marta, I tried to kms yesterday, maybe spare me a bit
#31
“every time I see you I lowkey get [angry] off” I was terrified of opening up and this made me crash out real bad💀
#32
she said "can't you just get over it?" after talking about the same situation for the millionth time😭
#33
"I know you don't want a session with your mother, but-" Yeah guess who's mother was all smiley and good at that session (I didn't even want) and then made me regret life at home
#34
Not too crazy but dropped the ”not all men” bomb when i told her i feel a bit uncomfortable with men for many reasons and past experiences
#35
my therapist said i dont have a reason to be depressed cuz i go to school everyday(i really struggle with it tho) and have loving parents, then my psychiatrist diagnosed me with deep depression
#36
I started crying and I avoided to loot at the therapist face because I was crying and she said "why don't you look at me you know when you talk to people you have to look at them"
#37
I was inpatient at the ed ward and my psychiatrist recommended I watched TO THE BONE to get motivation to recover - it backfired VIOLENTLY and made my situation even worse 😭
#38
That I would be great for medical experiments because my case is so complicated, unique and insane and she would love to see many experiments on me 🥰
#40
“You look a bit pale, you feeling okay?” I was honest and I have an ed so I said yeah haven’t eaten much today. Lol she just said “well then you know what to do!” Smiled and ended the session
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