Posted by fleeting flutterby on July 19, 2009, at 10:36:43
In reply to a therapist's personality means alot, posted by friesandcoke on July 18, 2009, at 21:02:33
> as i stated in another post, my best therapist in the world retired a year ago. she hand picked a replacement for me and it was a disaster. the hand picked replacement was/is having an ongoing crisis in her life and it was spilling over into our sessions. i terminated our working relationship having gotten zero benefit from her skills<<
---flutterby: sorry about your therapist retiring. Unfortunately life is about change, the saying "nothing stays the same for too long"-- is quite accurate. That's too bad the replacement therapist didn't work out. I had similar happen to me. The very first therapist I ever went to was so kind and gentle natured-- VERY unlike my mother. This therapist moved thousands of miles away(I had finally trusted someone for the first time in my life), she hand picked a replacement for me also-- it too was a disaster! The replacement was cold and accussatory, too much like the mother. it was such a wrong fit for me! (I went 3 years without help before I had another breakdown and had to seek assistance once again)
>>>..... she didn't smile once and her body didn't move. it was like she was frozen in one position in her chair. her room was huge and the chair i sat in....are you ready for this? was on the other side of the room! i couldn't believe how far away the chair was. it was embarrasing and awkward. i mean it was really almost against the wall on the other side of the very large office.<<
---flutterby: Yikes! that would be a wrong fit for many people, I bet.
>> the second one was well, nuts.i love dogs don't get me wrong, but she had her dog in the room. he was laying on a love seat. there was no warning beforehand when i made the appointment that a dog would be there. and i am a huge dog lover, don't get me wrong. i really respect dogs. but it was stressful in a way because the dog is her beloved pet and i felt funny sitting on a love seat with her beloved dog laying next to me. she took her shoes off during the session and was dangling her bare feet in front of me. one of the first thing she talked about was money too and that bugged me. she also asked me where i lived and started to then asked me "do you know so and so, they live there and his dog and my dog come from the same litter". needless to say i am not going back.it would have been "professional" to let someone know beforehand i think that a dog would be there. it isn't a therapy dog for her or anything. it is her beloved pet. i walked into her office and there was a food and water bowl on the floor. it was very strange. and the love seat was covered in dog hair.<<
----flutterby: Yes, I think it would be more professional of this therapist to say first up that she has a dog all the time in her office. While a dog/pet can be a great tool to help people-- there is a time and place for them. They can also be a distraction for some,(not that that was your issue) that for instance, can keep the hard work from occuring. Each person is different and handles things as such-- seems this therapist was not accommodating to that.
I wish you the best in your journey of healing.
flutterby-mandy
poster:fleeting flutterby
thread:907399
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090706/msgs/907473.html