I don't know what to do about my therapist

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I've been quite quiet about how therapy for OCD and everything is going but I feel I need to be honest now about how I feel about it.

I've been going to her since January and was an urgent referral from my GP so I didn't wait too long which was good and I was told that I should get an appointment at least every week because I was in a bad way which I wont go into but the therapist said she thinks just once a fortnight will do. Fair enough but I've only saw her once a fortnight at a max of 3 times. The rest of the time there has been a waiting gap of between 3 to 6 weeks between appointments. I have no other help bar her. I can't take meds due to my OCD contamination fears and my OCD was and still is crippling so I couldn't just man up and take a pill so it was therapy and self help, nothing more.

She cancels a lot of the time an hour or 2 before my appointment and there is no back up for me to visit if she is off, so that is an extra 2 or 3 weeks to see her again. If I cancelled as much as her, I would have been struck off the patient list.Therapy is a place you talk. You talk about big and major things. Well get this...apparently I talk too much! She would be moaning if I didn't talk at all! She has even admitted that she doesn't think her type of mindfulness based therapy will help me. Yeah, that made me feel brilliant to hear that just a few sessions in. I shouldn't feel the need to dull myself down at therapy. Everything I talk about there is relevant - things that happened in the past, my OCD fears, what triggers me etc - not random things like what I had to eat 3 days ago.

I don't want to sound like an arrogant bitch here but I am proud of what I have done in regards to making myself better through my conditions, well she said what I have done hasn't really helped me much. I was housebound for 6 months, couldn't even make it to my bins. I forced myself out of that. I made my challenge chart and look at me now 2/3 years on, I can go everywhere now, rarely have panic attack setbacks. If you have never had panics or been agoraphobic then you wouldn't believe how hard it is to climb up from being scared of going out your front door to building up to going out alone, going to town and all that. I am proud of that. I got myself out of that with help from family and friends and nothing more and she shot that down. The one thing in life that I am truly proud of, she belittled. I have confidence now that I never had all my life and she thinks what I done was useless?!

This isn't a dig at the NHS. I love the NHS, I think I just got the wrong therapist. I don't know what to do about it. I have mentioned it to my GP and she says to talk to the therapist about it but how awkward would that be?! I don't know whether I am justified in feeling how I feel about it or I am overreacting and should just grin and bear it.

If anyone has any advice or been in a similar situation with therapy please let me know.

I think i used to have very mild this but i somehow have suppressed things and began to learn that things don't need to be perfect(although there's that one part of me which tells me this needs to be this way and that needs to be set out like that etc but i just ignore it, that's what willpower can do for you .-.)

Original post by Spock's Socks

My GP didn't suggest that when I told her how unhappy I am with my current therapist. Maybe its because of how long waiting lists usually are for counselling and therapy :frown:

I think this is also another reason why i don't ever want to go to a therapist even though when i spew out weird crazy stuff outta my mouth and ppl recommend me to go.

Reply 41

Anonymous #2

Original post by Spock's Socks

I had my appointment. The GP was bloody useless. He said I have to talk this over with the therapist herself and he said I should just stick with her because of how long waiting lists are. I feel like he didn't take in anything I said. I had to go alone because my mum is in England atm. She forgot she would be away for a few days when she made the appt for me -_- feel like I'm back at square one

Posted from TSR Mobile

Can I just ask, what were you expecting your GP to do?! Your GP has appropriately referred you to the mental health service, the fact that you were given a therapist who isn't able to help you is not your GP's fault. If you want another therapist, speak to the mental health team - it's their jurisdiction, not your GP's.

Reply 42

Rum Ham

Original post by Anonymous

As I have said before, I don't know who to contact. I don't have a mental health team or crisis team, just my therapist and GP so I felt my best bet was to go back to my GP. I don't see what was so wrong about that. I never once said it was my GPs fault either.

Also don't see why you went anon for that post :laugh:

Posted from TSR Mobile

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 43

squeegee

Original post by Spock's Socks

Posted from TSR Mobile

I would suggest speaking to your therapist directly, as she will be part of a team and there may be the possibility of working with someone else. It doesn't have to be personal, you could simply say that as she herself had initially suggested, mindfulness does not appear to be working for you and you were wondering whether there was someone else who could offer a different type of therapy.

However, bear in mind that in some places you are not allowed to change therapists so it may be her or no one...

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 44

Little Popcorns

Original post by Spock's Socks

Posted from TSR Mobile

Your therapist will be part of a team and that team will have been the people headed at the top of your initial letter you should have received confirming your assessment with the therapist. Do you have that letter?