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“I Wanted To Hit Her”: 67 People Whose Therapy Sessions Took A Turn They Never Saw Coming
Therapy is often seen as a safe and supportive space where people can speak openly, work through difficult emotions, and receive guidance from a trained professional. For many, it is a place to better understand themselves, process painful experiences, and learn healthier ways to cope with life’s challenges. But therapists are human too, and sometimes they say or do something so unexpected, awkward, or unusual that the moment becomes impossible to forget.
In today’s collection, people are sharing some of the strangest, most confusing, and downright bizarre experiences they have had during therapy sessions. From comments that came completely out of nowhere to behaviour that left clients wondering whether they had heard or seen things correctly, these stories prove that therapy does not always go exactly as expected. Keep reading to discover the unusual moments that left these clients asking, “Wait… what just happened?”
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#1
It took me months to actually open up and talk to her then found out she told my mom EVERYTHING i said in my most vulnerable session. After that, I would sit in her office and stare at her face and not say a word just to waste her time and my mom's money.
Salttypepper 17 hours ago
That is a hippa violation big time she could lose her license even telling you parents
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#2
Told me "boys will be boys" after I admitted a guy had SAed me and I was confused about it.
Kristiina Männiste 15 hours ago
The logical response would be telling them where exactly they have derived this "nugget of wisdom" and where they can shove it back to. Cause girls will be girls - we use our words and also file a formal complaint.
#3
Told her about my bpd episodes. “have you tried taking deep breaths before it happens?” I wanted to hit her.
“Is he crazy? He goes to therapy, you know.” It may sound unbelievable today, but comments like these were once common when someone admitted to seeing a therapist. For years, therapy was surrounded by stigma, and many people wrongly assumed that seeking professional help meant something was seriously “wrong” with them. Thankfully, attitudes toward mental health have changed considerably over the past few decades. Conversations around anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, and emotional well-being have become more open, while awareness of (and access to) mental health services has continued to grow. The increasing number of people seeking therapy also reflects this important shift.
#4
Made me look in the mirror so i could name positive things about myself, before i said a wrd she said “i wouldn’t like my nose if it was that big so i understand why you don’t like it”. I never even mentioned my nose.
#5
I was severely depressed and told her I couldn’t get out of bed. She told me to just… get out of bed. Why didn’t I think of that??
#6
My therapist would make TIKTOKS right after our sessions talking about the exact thing we talked about just w/o mentioning my name.
In the United States, around 60 million adults received mental health treatment or counselling in 2023. Women are also more likely than men to seek professional support. In 2021, roughly 21% of adult women in the country had received some form of mental health treatment during the previous year, making them nearly twice as likely as men to do so. These figures do not necessarily mean that women experience more mental health challenges. Instead, they may suggest that women are often more willing to seek help, discuss emotional concerns, or access professional support when they need it.
#7
I misscarried she told me it was probably for the best as I'm "mental." Proceeded to go on about how she has fertility problems and less attractive girls get pregnant so fast but karma makes them lose them. I think she needed a therapist more than me.
#8
She made me lay down on the floor. I had to close my eyes and be quiet. After a loooong minute, she said "how does it feel laying in a coffin? That's where you'll end up if you continue"...I WAS SO SHOCKED.
Kristiina Männiste 15 hours ago
I have thanatophobia, I would have probably forgotten how to breath out of sheer panic.
#9
I started crying but tried to keep on talking, she said I sounded like Shakira.
Similar trends can be seen in the United Kingdom. According to an annual Public Perceptions Survey, nearly one in three young adults aged 16 to 24 (around 30%) said they had seen a counsellor or psychotherapist at some point in their lives. Overall, more than a third of people surveyed, or 37%, reported having attended therapy, up from 35% the previous year. The experience also appeared to be positive for many: 72% of people who had received therapy said they found it helpful, while 76% said they would recommend it to someone else.
#10
I was told by a therapist that if I ever felt anxious to slap myself in the face and I wouldn’t be anxious any more. He even made me do it during one of our sessions. Safe to say that didn’t work. I even told me new therapist about this and she couldn’t stop laughing.
#12
Uh my psychiatrist said he was in love with me…he was married with 3 kids.
Dr. Lisa Morrison, Director of Professional Standards, Policy and Research in the UK, highlighted the important role that counselling and psychotherapy can play in people’s lives. She explained that good-quality therapy can provide a safe, confidential, and non-judgmental space where people can openly discuss their concerns. Having the opportunity to speak honestly, feel heard, and explore difficult emotions with a trained professional can be valuable, especially when someone is struggling to make sense of their experiences or cope with a challenging period in life.
#13
When i was 16 my 60 year old therapist told me it was NORMAL for us to have romantic feelings for each other (i never had romantic feelings for him and left so fast).
#14
I cried for the first time in front of her and used maybe five tissues… I think it was because she felt awkward but she really said “let’s keep the tissue usage eco friendly” CHRISSY NOT THE TIME.
Anne Jones 44 minutes ago
Idiot. If she can’t communicate better than that she shouldn’t be a therapist.
#15
My psychiatrist when i was 15 begged me not to kms until after i was 18, bc once i was 18 he could invite me to his house to “cure me” of my depression.
Of course, people seek therapy for many different reasons. Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health concerns, affecting an estimated 19.1% of adults in the United States, while depression affects around 8.3%. Other conditions that may lead people to seek professional support include post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, therapy is not only for people living with a diagnosed mental health condition. Many people also attend counselling to navigate grief, relationship difficulties, major life changes, work-related stress, family conflict, or feelings they simply find difficult to manage on their own.
#16
My ex-therapist called me a manipulative liar because my abusive mother somehow convinced my THERAPIST that I was lying about the abuse. She then shared my notes and personal information with my mom resulting in me getting PHYSICALLY HURT!!!!!!
#17
He told me to tell myself I’m ugly to “be at peace with being ugly”. First session btw.
Richard Graham 9 hours ago
In college I had a therapist tell me that I am so ugly that I will never know love or success. (I am now in my 70s, a self-made millionaire married to a beautiful, smart, and successful woman.)
#18
After losing my dad to Alzheimer's, she wanted me to tape the words "Alzheimers" and "dementia" to the bottom of my shoes and stomp around. and no it didn't help even a little bit.
UnclePanda 6 hours ago
As a child therapist, my mom used to have kids write down all their fears and then they'd burn them. Until I pointed out she was teaching them to deal with their emotions by setting things on fire. They she had them roll the list in a tiny scroll, tie it to a balloon and release it, waving bye-bye! to the fears. Until she realized she was just polluting the desert with mylar. In the end, they'd tear that list into tiny bits and flushed them.
Therapy can also offer benefits that extend beyond addressing a particular problem. It may help people develop greater self-awareness and better understand how their emotions, past experiences, beliefs, and behaviour influence their everyday lives. Working with a therapist can also help individuals build healthier coping strategies, identify unhelpful thought patterns, communicate more effectively, and approach conflict in a more constructive way. While therapy is not a quick fix—and progress can sometimes feel slow or uncomfortable—it can give people valuable tools for understanding themselves and handling life’s challenges.
#19
"I can control my urges. I look at you, you’re an attractive woman and of course images pop into my head of what I could do but I can push them away." I was 22, he was in his 50s. Last session ofc.
Bob Brooce 18 hours ago (edited)
Sounds like he couldn't control the urge to tell you he wasn't going to assault you..
#21
I once had to talk to this lady who took over bc my OG therapist had to have a major surgery. We just had a normal session over the phone (covid era) and at the end she forgot to hang up and was telling her husband all about ME and proceeded to call me CRAZY !! She hadn’t met crazy till I sent her a text letting her know I heard everything, she was fired the next day.
#22
Told her I didn't smoke, Vape, do [illegal substances], or go to parties and she just said "so you're a [freaking] loser." I was 15.
Ultimately, seeking therapy is not a sign of weakness or failure. Reaching out for support can be an act of self-awareness and courage, and the right therapist can provide guidance without judgment while helping people work toward meaningful change. At the same time, therapy is built on trust, professionalism, and clear boundaries, which is why the relationship between a client and therapist matters so much.
#23
I disclosed some disordered eating habits for the first time and she responded, “have you ever noticed that people with bulimia are never really that skinny?”
KitchenToto 50 minutes ago
Oh great just what you don't need, a therapist who likes to fat shame people
#24
When i asked my ADHD SPECIFIC SPECIALIST therapist strategies to help my ADHD she told me i could “google them” and began talking about her own adhd instead.
#25
“You know who else had a rough life… Jesus Christ when they killed him for being right”. I was 16 and struggling immensely with depression. Weirdly enough, I’m a trauma therapist and educator now.
Kristiina Männiste 15 hours ago
Honestly he had a pretty easy life. He had THREE loving parents who doted on him, zero health issues, not rich, but not impoverished either, no depression, wasnt bullied, was a cis gender man in a society focused on cis gender men, had 12 close friends + a special lady friend + tons of admiring followers. AND he died without knowing the exhaustion, dissapointments and pains of old age. Dude lived like a peach on a branch.
#26
Told my therapist I had religious trauma and she proceeded by breaking out into prayer, attempted to get me to pray and ask for forgiveness and got mad when I sat and looked at her with my jaw on the floor.
Safe to say that was my first and last session with her.
Coming back to today’s collection, however, it seems that some therapists may have left their clients with more questions than answers. From awkward comments to unexpected behaviour, several of the experiences shared here sound unusual, confusing, and, in some cases, downright questionable. Keep scrolling, Pandas, to discover the strange moments that made people wonder what was really going on during their therapy sessions—and let us know which one surprised you the most.
#27
In our last session she said to me, "You're not going to jump out of the window when I open it, right?"
#28
I love this man with all my heart, but when I was in a depressive episode, he once said to me, “Maybe some people just aren’t made for life.” Like, I get what he meant, but…
#29
Put "bisexual" into my diagnosis list.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 14 hours ago
That reminds me of when I first saw an orthopedist about my hip issues. He wrote "BMI of 26" in the "diagnosis" portion of my paperwork. Yeah, no, dude, I'm not JUST fat, I've been having hip issues since I was a kid XD Got a second opinion and it turns out I've got mild congenital hip dysplasia.
#30
My therapist said the cause for my depression was because I had four ghosts in my kidneys so that was fun.
nicholas nolan 2 hours ago
Four? Those are rookie numbers in this racket. I have at least nine ghosts in each kidney and a poltergeist in my spleen.
#31
First time I talked to this therapist and when we were talking about my weight and stuff she asked if I still got my period and I was like "ehhh not really" and she just said "I'm guessing there's more blood coming out of your arm."
#32
She called my parents in (I was 25), she was their couples therapist and my individual therapist. Then she started sobbing and dropped me as a client because she “wanted to tell my mom about my sexual activity with women”. My mom knew. And was livid… Wild.
#33
Talked about how my cousin SAd me when i was 10 and he was 15 and [she] told me "u were both young just let it go" i just looked at her and said "okay i think our session is ending soon, see u never" and walked out.
#34
My first therapist forced me to talk about my SA experience. She asked me want I would do if he was here right now and I said I don’t know. She then proceeded to say “you would want him to do it again wouldn’t you?” I was speechless and ready to cry.
#35
During an intake: "what did you do to get bullied at 4 years old?" what did *I* do??? I left & called the office asking for a new therapist bc how did you graduate w a degree in Psychology and you ask some diabolical stuff like that???
#36
I said I didn’t feel skinny enough and maybe not being skinny and pretty like other girls is why boys don’t like me. She started yelling at me really loud how I’m a stick compared to her and should be grateful for my youth and beauty…. Another therapist came in to check on us bc “she heard yelling.”
KitchenToto 13 minutes ago
The therapist needed to go to therapy to cope with her body image problem
#37
Not therapist but my autism assessment. "you wont even talk to me!!"... yeah Sharon thats a sign of autism.
#38
When I told my childhood therapist my brother would hit me, she told me her own brother killed himself and I should just be thankful I still had a brother. Jokes on her my brother is dead now too
#39
Told me my hallucinations were all actual ghosts trying to talk to me then started telling me to do things that would make me much worse just cuz she was curious.
#40
Drank coffee from a leftist tears coffee mug months after I cried in his office about Roe V Wade being overturned. I fired him.
nicholas nolan 2 hours ago
Totally ethical to take the mug from him and pretend you're a Manchester soccer hooligan.
#41
Went to a trauma therapist after being sa'd by my manager. she literally said "just stop thinking about it, wrap it up in a box and push it to the back of the wardrobe of your mind." now I'm no expert, but....wth?
Chaos Pandas Unite 12 hours ago (edited)
For some people, a containment visualization like that can be very helpful. Not for everyone, but some find it effective.
#42
“Rent is expensive, can you tolerate being with him?”
KitchenToto 16 minutes ago
Does this mean you were in an a*****e relationship and the therapist thought you should stay in it?
#43
“So how does your mom plan on paying for this session?” Mind you I was 12 and just told her I was severely depressed.
#44
Male therapist on session one, upon me explaining my past trauma with men, mansplained to me what toxic masculinity was.
KitchenToto 7 minutes ago (edited)
I shouldn't have but I actually laughed at this because it was so typical of some men
#45
Once held my session in their storage closet because there was no offices available. 2 chairs and a broom.
#46
"What happened to you wasn't that bad" because I wasn't full on graped. I was repeatedly as$aulted by a family member, but not graped. So it wasn't that bad, and I need to be grateful.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 14 hours ago (edited)
My mom told me that after my dad's nighttime caregiver videotaped me while I was in the shower. He also used to exit our house into the backyard, sneak around the side of the house where my room was, and try to peek in my window. I caught him multiple times doing this, and I caught him trying to open the door to the bathroom when I was showering multiple times (I didn't know about the videotape until my SISTER found it later on.) Because this guy was a longtime employee/family friend, my mom refused to fire him or even talk to him about it. "What do you want me to do? It's not like he ráped you or even touched you!" -my mom. And no, he didn't, and I'm not trying to say it was as bad as if I had been ráped, because being videotaped náked without consent is awful but NOT on the level of rápe... but what hurt was that my mom chose our employee over her own daughter. That hurt a lot.
#47
Asked me ”And you feel like you can’t tell your dad about this? Why’s that?” I’m in therapy due to my dad being dead.
#48
just started seeing a new therapist, i gave her the rundown and her response: “yeah…i just don’t know how to help you..”
#49
My therapist told me if someone is ever super upset, do something silly/dumb to distract them and pull the out of a bad mood. His example? His fiance was upset about something and he did a cartwheel to distract her and get her mind off things.
hannahbahngswife 17 hours ago
When I was a kid, my mom was upset and I did some silly stuff to "pull out the bad mood" and she hit me. So safe to say it doesn't work🩷
#50
I had a therapist who was absolutely fixated on my weight and was very insistent that I weigh myself weekly and send that to her with PICTURES of measurements of my waist, arms, thighs, etc. Any time I tried to talk about smth she always redirected the conversation to weight loss. Once, I opened up to her abt smth and she said “that could’ve been worse… have you considered weight loss surgery yet?” One of the reasons I was seeing her was for an ed…
#52
Not smth he said but he had the entire fifty shades of grey series showcased on his bookshelf in his office idk what all that was about.
#53
Mine had a breakdown. Went off about his dad abusing him, starting crying. It was at this like social care, so the rooms weren’t sound proof, and I’ll never forget him getting swarmed by other team members. Never saw Dave again.
Kristiina Männiste 14 hours ago
I went in as emergency reference for my depression (after my second attempt) and was explaining how I saw my life and life in general (I have pretty bleak views) and the poor lady psyciatrist started weeping..... I had so switch back to my fake "sunshine and flowers" mode to console her 😂 Well, at least I got 3 weeks of free hospital stay out of this. And then the hospital psyciatrist was disturbed that I kept smiling and laughing during our sessions - Lady I wont make the same mistake twice!😂
#54
when i was 15 i tried to kill myself & my mom asked if she should take me to the hospital or to see a psychiatrist & my therapist said “no she doesn’t have depression this is just normal teenage angst.”
WhyamIhere? 17 hours ago
Sounds like my dad, any opinion or feeling was either 'just angst' or 'deliberately trying to be combative with him,' even if I was just like, "yo dad, I don't think that, I think this, you were wrong."
#55
Spent an entire hour and a half long session telling me about a soup recipe in detail. I didn’t get a single word in.
#56
She started singing „what doesnt kill you makes you stronger“ after a failed attempt (its okay tho, i did laugh)
#57
He told me it seemed like I had a lot of built up anger. Than proceeded to ask me why I haven’t beaten someone up. I was like that’s not my character. And he asked they hurt you so why haven’t you hurt them. I was just like why are we allowing violence?
#58
FIRST session ever. first time im seeing this lady. she wants me to take a few mental health assessments. shes scrolling theough them, I hear her mutter, "no, youre too young to have trauma" okay leslie im seventeen but yeah im too young to have ensured sa several times throughout childhood and been abused over the internet. thats kinda the whole reason I wanted to see you but yeah I'm too young. only therapist in my area though.so I have no choice.
#59
His office is like in the highest floor of the building. So it's quite a drop down. I don't remember exactly what I told him (a story from school and how a teacher who was a jerk got humbled I think) but I remember how he broke down, tears, laughing, opening the window and just making a "YEET" sound while leaning out. That man is crazy.
#60
I was telling him what i liked in a guy and i said “good hair” and he proceeded to move his hair and say i think mines pretty good and then realized he said it outloud. Never went back.
#61
She asked me about my friend who just died at 30yo "why do you think he died ? I mean related to you ?" girl he had a heart attack th are you talking about.
#62
I was having a mental breakdown because my childhood home was destroyed in a flooding in 2021. I said “I want to help clean up but I’m scared of finding corpses” (because it was a common occurrence that during clean up and moving rubble you’d find dead bodies who’ve been in water too long -> so you know how these bodies may look, how terrifying this is.) my therapist: “maybe you just need to do it and see a dead body? It cannot be possibly that bad.” Brother—
#63
Mind you i was like 7 and i was afraid of people breaking into my house and taking me right? she got me to draw out my house for some reason and i told her that my brothers room was the closest one near the front door. she responded with “oh that’s ok! if someone breaks in they will abduct your brother first! you’ll be fine!” i was scarred. Never went back.
#64
As a therapist, I have explained C-PTSD by telling my clients they are like volcano sharks.
#65
When she said, “Oh, so you want to be a farmer?” when all I’d told her was that I play Hay Day.
#66
Opened up about what my ex was doing and she told me I was the next Gabby Petito. Needless to say I found a new therapist because insane way to handle that.
#67
Told me she takes notes during session. Our third or fourth session in, she got up to grab water with maybe 10 mins left of our session. I peeked at the notepad and the only “note” on it was a dog she had spent our entire session drawing.
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What do you think ?
Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 18 hours ago
Therapist here. I couldn't even read all of these because they were so horrifying. Safe to say that every one of these people (of the ones I read) should be fired as therapists and also be reported to their respective boards.
Ace 12 hours ago
How common is it? Of course we only get to see the bad ones here, but "therapy" seems to be suggested so frequently on many US-centric threads I can't help wonder how many of the therapists are actually properly qualified, and there's an implication that getting a "licence" does not require an actual degree in psychology, which I would have thought was a pre-requisite.
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Rick Murray 16 hours ago
I saw a few child psychologists and therapists when I was young (part of the reason I ended up in a special needs school) and I very quickly got the impression that these people needed help WAY more than I did.
Rick Murray 16 hours ago
The outstanding one was the therapist who had already, before we met, determined that my mother was ab-using me and simply wanted confirmation, so he bluntly kept asking. I told mom. We hatched a plan. The next week I cried, because it hurt to be pushed down the stairs, thrown out the window, smacked across the head with a garden shovel for not finishing my dinner. When I talked back to her, she'd throw frozen chickens at me, but what hurt most of all was being run over with the car. And then I had to whip myself for being in the way because mom couldn't do it as she was at work. He was furiously writing all of this down with a big smirk on his face. The next week, I had a completely different therapist, so I hope the idiot went to his boss, who took one look at the notes and figured out exactly what was going on. But, jeez, what an absolute spanner.
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Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 18 hours ago
Therapist here. I couldn't even read all of these because they were so horrifying. Safe to say that every one of these people (of the ones I read) should be fired as therapists and also be reported to their respective boards.
Ace 12 hours ago
How common is it? Of course we only get to see the bad ones here, but "therapy" seems to be suggested so frequently on many US-centric threads I can't help wonder how many of the therapists are actually properly qualified, and there's an implication that getting a "licence" does not require an actual degree in psychology, which I would have thought was a pre-requisite.
Load More Replies... Rick Murray 16 hours ago
I saw a few child psychologists and therapists when I was young (part of the reason I ended up in a special needs school) and I very quickly got the impression that these people needed help WAY more than I did.
Rick Murray 16 hours ago
The outstanding one was the therapist who had already, before we met, determined that my mother was ab-using me and simply wanted confirmation, so he bluntly kept asking. I told mom. We hatched a plan. The next week I cried, because it hurt to be pushed down the stairs, thrown out the window, smacked across the head with a garden shovel for not finishing my dinner. When I talked back to her, she'd throw frozen chickens at me, but what hurt most of all was being run over with the car. And then I had to whip myself for being in the way because mom couldn't do it as she was at work. He was furiously writing all of this down with a big smirk on his face. The next week, I had a completely different therapist, so I hope the idiot went to his boss, who took one look at the notes and figured out exactly what was going on. But, jeez, what an absolute spanner.
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