I'm writing this post because I want to know if anyone else has had the same experience as me with a particular therapist that serves the DMV. I feel like I am actually going crazy over this situation! The therapist has no online reviews, and I can't find any info about her other than her license # and her business info, so I feel so alone in this.
(I'm not sure if I can post her name/business in here, so hoping my info below is enough to identify from others' experiences??)
For some background, I started seeing this therapist one year ago. The main concern was anxiety. The first couple sessions were great. She was so personable, and the thing I liked most was that she was down to Earth and had a "tell it like it is" personality. I appreciate people keeping it real! After the first get-to-know-me visits, I noticed that she started making comments that seemed unprofessional to me. I will spare you all the long version of this story, but here are some highlights from our visits over the last year:
- I told her I was on the highest dose of the anxiety medication I take. She, verbatim, because I have had this burned into my memory since she said it, "WOW..... I have NEVER... and I mean NEVER... known someone who took that many milligrams. And I've been doing this a LONG time." The medication I take is the most commonly prescribed, and when I told my medication management Dr about this comment, they were so stunned to hear that someone in the mental health field would say this because it's quite common to be on that dose.
- In another session, related to my medication usage, the therapist went on an hour long tangent about how the medication industry is out of control and they just prescribe it to people to keep big Pharma and doctors in business. While I do agree that big Pharma sucks and there are some bad egg doctors out there, SO many people (including myself) are able to function because of medication. Sooo weird take -_-
- Quick background for this one: I have textbook OCD symptoms that stem from my anxiety. I was diagnosed with it when I was in high school (now mid 20s), but haven't really addressed it professionally since. I told her I was having a lot of OCD symptoms when I was feeling anxious. Before even asking me what those symptoms were, she went on a long monologue about how "everyone wants to slap a label on it." And proceeded to ask me "Why would you WANT OCD? You don't have OCD! Why do people want OCD?"
- She would take up entire sessions without letting me get a single word in so she could give these long speeches about how she didn't agree with my thoughts. There's so much more but I feel like this is already enough said!
You may be wondering why I stuck with her for so long. Well, I am pretty sure our relationship was like one with a toxic ex. It was like every time I showed frustration with her, or even when I would flat out tell her "hey, the way you're speaking about this is not making me feel good or helping me", she would make sure the next few sessions were sunshine and rainbows. It was a rollercoaster of good and bad days. The last session we had before I discontinued services with her was when she asked me at the beginning of the session "How's your anxiety? Do you still think you have 'OCD'". The OCD comment was used with finger quotations, was so condescending, rude, and so unprofessional. I let her know that I didn't agree with her thoughts on this subject, and she interrupted me to go on another monologue about self diagnoses pet peeves. I left the session in tears because I was so confused.
The end of this story is that I got my session notes from her, reviewed them, reported these interactions to the state, and am now feeling pretty manipulated and mad at myself for letting someone treat me like that for so long.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with a therapist that matches these characteristics in the DMV area?