Posted by mmealltalk on October 28, 2011, at 9:48:26
In reply to Re: So far ..., posted by annierose on October 18, 2011, at 21:44:54
About 2 years into my treatment with my therapist, my boss walked out of her office as I was entering and it was so awkward and I felt terrible. I got mad at my therapist for agreeing to see her, as she knew from me what her occupation and name was but my therapist didnt know so much as that was a consultation session. I learned later that my mom had given her my T name and I was furious with my mom (I was like 15yrs old at the time and mom was friends with my boss and got me the job.) I didnt see my boss there for next 2 weeks and then learned from mom that my boss refused to go back as she scheduled an appt for day after Thanksgiving and my therapist didnt show. I know my therapist doesnt work that day so it wasnt her fault it was my bosses but my mom's whole group of friends started talking about how unprofessional my therapist was etc. That bothered me a lot. I was happy boss wasnt returning, and she wouldnt be recommended by anyone in my mom's group of friends but hearing everyone put her down made me defensive and angry. (BTW- my boss never mentioned seeing me there, ever) Anyway, that was years ago and even though I hadnt referred her, it did lead to strong feelings.
Years later I saw a psychiatrist (for hour long sessions) who was over an hour from my home and knew no patients in common. One day I left there and saw this easy to remember looking guy waiting to see her. The next day I went to my mood disorders group near my home and that guy was there. I thought I would die. My psychiatrist was someone I spoke frequently about, as she was always pushing meds on me and she was a big issue discussed by me in group. I panicked as I didnt know if I would have to stop talking in fear that he would repeat what was said, or what would happen. He didnt recognize me but I did him. Im embarrassed to say that I started the group explaining that he and I had the same psychiatrist and this felt very difficult for me to feel comfortable and the whole group chimed in saying I should be able to talk about what I want and he should be able to do the same without repeating to psychiatrist anything said, besides that we knew we were both in the same group. I feel like I attacked him his first day in group and my strong emotions just took over. Anyway, we both kept our promises, and nothing was repeated. After group concluded a year later he and I remained friends and we would compare everything said and done with her. He shared a lot of my feelings and as friends it felt more comfortable to talk about her, but in group there was always that worry, especially as I was having a rough time with her.
So, in my opinion if you could avoid seeing the same therapist or psychiatrist as someone you know it would be much better in terms of your own anxiety. I dont know if any of this helped, or if it even made sense but this was my experience.
-Mel
poster:mmealltalk
thread:999819
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20111017/msgs/1001048.html