First appointment at psychotherapist (POCD)

Hello.

I am going to have my first appointment with a psychotherapist tomorrow because of what I think might be POCD. I am very nervous because I am afraid that she'll just say "You're a pedophile." and that's it. I know that I have the symptoms and I read an article about POCD in which I could find myself a 100 percent but I saw a psychiatrist some weeks ago and she didn't really have time for me. I feel like she just wanted to diagnose me with depression. At the beginning she said that this might be OCD but as soon as I talked about groinal responses she just started saying something like: "I can't tell you whether you're a paedophile or not." and asked me if I ever molested a child which I never did and never want to! Of course this made me feel horrible! I couldn't even tell her everything I wanted to tell her.

Maybe you could tell me about your first appointment, especially those with POCD?

I talked to a GP about my intrusive thoughts. He dismissed it and said everybody complains about OCD these days, LOL. What an asshole.

I also talked to a psychiatrist about my OCD but he wanted to treat me for depression instead. He didn't really understand what I was talking about (intrusive thoughts).

So my experiences with health care practitioners has been negative. It's like they all understand depression but not OCD.

I hope it goes well for you. I have my mental health assessment on Wednesday. I don't have POCD but like you I am worried they'll tell me I don't have OCD and I also saw a therapist last year who seemed to think it was all just depression.

Thank you for your fast replies.

It's really weird that many psychiatrists seem to say that it's depression. I understand that there can be parallels between those two disorders but they should understand OCD and be able to differentiate between these two.

Good luck, kah80, for your assessment!

Thank you! Ive just filled out a questionnaire for the assessment and it's actually a good time to be doing it as I have to say how I've felt in the past week and it's been a really awful week. 'Wanted to cry?' Often. 'Wanted to hurt yourself?' Often. 'Thought you'd be better off dead?' Often. 'Had unwanted thoughts?' Often. You get the picture...

Yeah the problem with the GAD-7 etc is that it evaluates only as depression and not OCD.

Dear tanja:

i didn't find a good therapist until I was 50 years old. Before that I had a therapist who wore two different shoes, grossly different shoes, not a fashion statement, mind you, and then she told me something that grossed me out so much that that sentence she said is the only thing I remember her saying to me. That and the shoes, my only memories of her.

Then there was a therapist, became the head of the psychology department of a major hospital later on. You'd think he'd be good, not he competed with me in who had a worse childhood, took the limelight away from me.

There was one who was maybe good enough but not hard working enough.

The psychiatrist you wrote about, maybe felt uncomfortable about pedophiles, about talking about it, cringing inside, so ... you get that.

Pay attention to the one you will be seeing tomorrow. He or she should give you a good vibe of sincerity, empathy, respect, and the ethics of hard work, dedication. Ask questions. Please update us here, I would like to know how it went and what is the next step.

atina

Hello,

the appointment went very, very good. The therapist was nice and seemed to understand me and diagnosed me with OCD. She said that the reason for my OCD is probably a result of too much stress because of school and my parents' divorce which I haven't come to terms with yet (Is that the right way to say? English is not my mother language, so I hope this was the right term). She also mentioned that she treated pedophiles so I think she is able to differentiate between OCD and pedophilia very well and signs going on with these.

So.. yes, I am very happy about this right now.

Thank you, tanja, for the update. I am glad it went well. Your English is clear enough for me (English is not my first language either).

atina

-tanja- wrote:Hello,

the appointment went very, very good. The therapist was nice and seemed to understand me and diagnosed me with OCD. She said that the reason for my OCD is probably a result of too much stress because of school and my parents' divorce which I haven't come to terms with yet (Is that the right way to say? English is not my mother language, so I hope this was the right term). She also mentioned that she treated pedophiles so I think she is able to differentiate between OCD and pedophilia very well and signs going on with these.

So.. yes, I am very happy about this right now.

I'm happy for you tanja, I wish you all the best!