Had a Bad Therapy Experience?

I am a mental health professional and have had several therapy experiences myself. I created an online resource for people who have ever been harmed in therapy in any way. It is called Therapy Consumer Guide. There is a wealth of topics there that help people understand their therapy experiences and what they can do to help themselves. If anything is missing you can submit your question and I will write a post related to your therapy question. I hope you would find this source helpful, as many people have so far.

I had a bad experience with a Phd Pschcologist. He did absolutely nothing for me but mention that I had OCD, depression and anxiety. I was very depressed at the time and he offered me no hope and would not talk about solutions. I was in menopause and I think had problems from that. I did not know to go to my OBY/GYN. I am a CPA with a masters degree and a small practice. Thanks to him I ended up in a mental hospital with him calling my husband that my business should be shut down since I was incapable of doing it.l was 51 at the time. The amount of money lost to my family would have been incredible. I am still running that business today and take care of my own mental health issues using religion, books and acupuncture. I will do my own therapy.

The former therapist made so many mistakes. In many areas, boundaries of many types. I felt unsafe. Because I didn't go to him for a long time I was shrugged off. I went to him less than 5 months..I trusted the wrong person too much.I wanted him to lose his license for 6 months to get some surpervison. He also got angry about something to do with one of my children and his values came through. I am very caring, I am not ashamed by my values. I want the best for my kids to hurt anyone. This was a hard concept for this crazy fool.

I had a bad experience, but even my "ethical" therapy was inevitably regressive and paternalistic. We've had an ongoing discussion here. <url removed>/

My 'bad therapy' lasted a year. I had warning signs early on that all was not well but persisted as I doubted my own gut feelings. To cut a long story short I wish I had listened to myself. I went in with one set of problems and came out with another. The therapist 'led me on' both romantically and sexually then one day just stopped after I was totally hooked on him. My dependency was then joked about confidential details of abuse I had suffered was twisted and was made to feel it was all my fault. As time passed the worse the humiliation got. I also want to say that the time the 'affection/ love boming' stopped was the time I told him of a one night stand that ended up in me confessing to my partner who then contacted the guy who I had the fling's with partner. I was then told I had 'form'. Whatever that means, basically a no go area for him although up to that point I was fair game. Eventually I got the courage to quit and now have a really supportive therapist who has proper boundaries, is ethical and has given me more insite into myself in a month than the ex therapist (or jerk) did in a year. I hope the people who read this and may be getting warning signals that alls not right in their sessions to listen to their instinct and quit and find someone who is professional, take it from me its worth it.

I had a bad experience similar to the first poster in this thread. I had become way to close with a female therapist I had. There wasn't any inappropriate behavior, but she allowed me to call her at anytime. One day I confronted her about the nature of the therapy she was using and she immediately terminated the session after I had only been in her office for 5 minutes. She told me that she did not do the kind of therapy (addiction therapy) that I needed and that I could leave now and find another therapist on the internet. I was devastated and literally went to my car and broke down crying. I put so much trust in that therapist and it was very misplaced.

Sorry hypnosis that should be. I tried to sue my therapist but I got zero help from solicitors who didnt know what I was talking about. I still suffer from complex PTSD over this event. I later found, from this relative of his I spoke to that this bogus doctor had a conviction for living on immoral earnings. I feel that a lot of bad therapists are pathological narcissists and my type of experience isnt unusual.

My therapist advertised bypnosis on posters. After eight years of Freudian analysis I was very involved but he broke off treatment without explanation just a few months before my college finals. I couldnt work and couldnt get over it. Later I found his qualifications were fakes bought from a US bible college. Years later, after meeting a relative of his, I learnt he wouldnt have wanted me to get a college degree because he didnt have one. At th time there were not controls of therapists in the UK

Hi everyone, I'd like to share my story especially knowing that there is very little information on the Internet about abuse in therapy and what forms it could take. Usually, the first thing people think of when they come across this subject is therapists' sexual involvement with patients. While sex with patients is an ethical violation that causes long-term damage, there are other types of abuse in therapy that could be just as damaging if not more. My former therapist engaged in a close personal relationship with me while I was a patient. I don't want to go into details because it'd make the story too long. I can only say in general that there was a lot of mutual sharing during sessions that certainly did not coincide with the purpose of therapy. He was getting his own needs met in our relationship. There was some physical contact that obviously was not a part of therapy work. Overall, even though the relationship was not overtly sexual, it was very much sexualized. I felt at some point that I was being exploited because I continued to pay him and it felt like I was paying for friendship or whatever else that had transpired between us. No real work was being done. My own problems grew bigger and my life circumstances were becoming more challenging and complicated. I felt lost and didn't know how to deal with all that. When I tried to discuss it with him, the only thing he could say to me was how much he loved me and how strongly he felt my pain. He expressed his love for me and his admiration of my talents continuously. It felt very good and was seductive because it felt good. I can't really describe the whole dynamic of what was happening because it is too much. I am going to write a book about it and also articles about abuse in therapy. It is important, however, to say that he and I took our relationship outside of therapy setting. I decided to terminate therapy but we continued seeing each other as "colleagues" (supposedly) as I am a therapist myself. Contrary to what I hoped for, the exploitation did not stop with my stopping paying him. The whole experience still felt good on some level but on another level I was suffering as I was utterly confused about what was happening. There was a complete role reverse. He was telling me his personal story and I felt like I became his therapist. He formed a strong attachment to me which he repeatedly denied for a long time but confessed it later. On top of that, he violated me on a professional level. He plagiarized me, used a lot of my ideas for his presentations at the professional organization that he belonged to without crediting me. I could go on and on. As I said, this is a long and complicated story but I believe many people should know it in order to protect themselves from being exploited in therapy. Whoever wants to contact me privately about this, feel free to do so. marina@tonkonogy.com <url removed> I also want to add that the damage that my therapist caused me is very similar to the damage that comes from sexual abuse from a therapist. For anyone who is interested in the subject, there is a couple of good websites that have a lot of information about it <url removed> <url removed>

Hello there, I have been working as a Psychotherapist for past 24 years. I do it differently. People do not need to talk on and on about their problems with the therapist. Therapist should be asking these questions only; 1. What has brought you here. 2, What would you like to see change with your current situation. 3. Help them find and change their Subconscious beliefs, to match their goal. 4. Create an action plan to support their new goals That's what i do to help my clients with a process called PSYCH-K. My clients stay in therapy with me for 6-8 times, once a week. Sometime they are done in only 2-3 sessions. This process works equally well in person as well as at a distance via Phone?Skype. I have clients Worldwide. process online. I feel very blessed to know this process. People don't waste their valuable time and ton of money with me. Thanks! <url removed>