Is this a bad thearpist?

Quick question:
1.)
2 years of therapy and no progress
consistently leaving more confused and depressed
no solutions or encouragement is offered
therapist knew I was getting worse did nothing in terms of talk therapy, just suggested I see a colleague for depressions medications ( I then went somewhere else and took medications and as I knew would happen, they did not help at all)

2.) Patient terminated therapy after confronting therapist about lack of progress and all he wanted to do was book more appointments without any kind of treatment plan or guidance


3) after filing claim to receive sessions fees back in small claims court, patient finds out there is a diagnosis the Therapist never gave during treatment. Patient asked to get a copy, T said he would send it then never did. At court, Therapist threatened to counter sue the patient for unpai session fees since she was treated on a sliding scale

4) Patient filed a claim with Board of Psych for #1 and #2 (which are violations of APA Ethics) and for withholding the diagnosis, and promising to send the fiagnosis which he never did.

Finally, he did send it, but in an email word document, UNSIGNED, which renders it invalid.

Any thoughts on this therapist? Since Ive been to small claims and Board of Pysch without resolution (and cases dismissed for issues like no email and the threat was hearsay) Im ready to contact another governing body or just settle for a review on Yelp...

Thoughts please...

Certainly he wasn't a good fit for you if you didn't get anything out of years of treatment. To know if he is a bad therapist we would have to know how he does with his other patients. I've had several therapists who did nothing for me and I left after a few sessions or a few months, depending on how long it took for me to figure out their style wasn't going to work for me. I've had therapists who believe there job is to sit there and get you to talk, maybe go on some journey of self-discovery, without offering any insight or coping skills. No thanks.

TBH, if you are litigating because you think the therapist didn't do a good enough job, I think that's silly. You pay by the hour and you get whatever the therapist has to offer you. If an employee at a company does a bad job they get fired but the company can't seek any kind of damages because the quality of their work was poor. The managers have a responsibility to hold the employees accountable and terminate the relationship if it isn't working out. I also think it's biting the hand that feeds you if you sue someone who was charging you on a sliding scale. That's a rare favor.

As far as your diagnosis goes, I don't know if the therapist was legally obligated to disclose that or not, but they can't withhold your medical records. That's your private information. If you found out about it incidentally, I would let it drop. Any therapist or pdoc can confirm or reject the diagnosis for you (and having a signed document won't make a difference in your treatment once you move on). If you found out about it because it was used against you in court, I would find that highly unethical and suspect.

I think it would be best for you to let go of this so you can move forward with your treatment. It was a hard lesson learned, but now you know what you need to look for in a therapist. Don't be afraid to interview a therapist in your first session about their treatment approach and bail if it doesn't feel right.

Not being a good fit is one thing, but I actually got worse (which doesn't require a PHD to notice) and making no progress without any kind of treatment plan is exploitative financially and emotionally.

Even on a sliding scale a therapist has professional responsibilities that were not met.

yes, the diagnosis was prepared entirely for court (as recommended by a lawyer who wrote me a nasty letter telling me to cease and desist), it included BPD, low grade depression - dysthmia, and persecutory delusions (which is therapist speak for disgruntled). Also, look up BPD and all the lawyers out there will tell you its a legal blanket for people who are troublesome and cant be helped. He has since not wanted to sign it, after I told him I needed to submit to insurance and other providers. He cant stand by the diagnosis in other words and no one considers it valid unless its signed.

In deciding whether he's a bad therapist, dont forget that he threatened me in a court hallway if I continued on with my complaints. He was a bad therapist for sure, but its what he did when he was challenged that truly shows his lack of character and lack of ability to help others. This guy is all about himself.

Like Leili, can't really say if that's a bad therapist or not. But 2 years, you should be making progress, and if they have actually diagnosed you with BPD, should be finding some solutions to your problems at least.

Unfortunately, sometimes finding the right therapist means you have to do a bit of shopping. But if you haven't made much improvement at 6 months, for anyone, I think it's time to let go and find someone else. And there is no shame in that. Some therapists just want to talk about how your life is and "what's on your mind" not "what can we do to help your problems" or anything like that.

Yeah, move on.

I will say though, your ex therapist saying that stuff in the court hallway is very unprofessional.

Hi Thanks, but I was never diagnosed wth BPD while in therapy, so I was never treated for BPD. This is negligent in itself. I only discovered that a diagnosis existed when he showed up in court (which was 2 years later btw). Before court both parties go into the hallway and divulge any documents they have to show the court. He told me I had a diagnosis, but still did not tell me what it was until after I made over 20 requests for it by email and it took 6 months to get.... this guy tried to subvert every request with excuses until I cc'd the Board of Psychology in an email and I had to sign a release to include them in my emails... and then instead of sending the signed copy I needed with the envelope I provided, he sends me an unsigned emailed copy....

NoNonsense99 wrote:and then instead of sending the signed copy I needed with the envelope I provided, he sends me an unsigned emailed copy....

I'm sorry your therapist wasn't better (and definitely sounds vindictive or gaslight'ish in the end).

Is it possible you're using it to avoid working on yourself and making up for lost time with him? I did that all the time. My life was dominated by distractions like this. To some extent they were self-generated. To a greater extent I looked for reasons to view something as a distraction. And, to a lessor extent I was subconsciously fulfilled when the other person added to my distracting narrative (maybe reflecting me in a vindictive way which added to what I wanted to see).

I once saw a therapist after a narcissistic injury at work. I was a mess for a couple weeks, saw him maybe 6 times during that period. When I started seeing him I was completely ready to bare all. After two weeks and recovering my narrative, I painted him black. We had "different values" because he suggested I had a problem expressing anger. Clearly he wasn't a good therapist because everyone knows anger is a "bad" emotion. We should be loving and sing the Coca-Cola song ("If I could teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony...")

That was 25 years ago. He was right. It took me that long to see it. So, I wouldn't reject the possibility that you're "milking" your experience for a reason. I'm sorry if that's invalidating. I know your feelings are real and he does sound like a piece of garbage. A Yelp review and "ripoffreport" (and any other sites you can find) might help you find closure. But, ultimately, he's still affecting you because you're letting him(?)

(I identify with covert NPD which is a more hard-headed version of BPD, so to speak. If my post sounds insensitive, excuse me.).

Hi Truth Too Late,

No, your post was not invalidating, in fact, it was right on the money in many ways.

No, I have not used not it work on myself, I immediately sought help from someone else, which is where I discovered what rules govern therapy. After that 2nd experience (still not treated for BPD because he never told me, so I could not tell the new provider) decided that good help was impossible to find, so I had to do the work myself. I make progress to some degree but would feel better about anything I chose to do if I had guidance and reassurance I was correct. And while, yes, this interaction did become a distraction, I have to say it did not fit the narrative I envisioned. He made himself out to be a cooperative therapist but his actions were anything but. Of course, the worse he got, the more it validated my belief he is exploitative.

If I am milking the experience - it happens when things go wrong again, because I wish that my life would go right at some point, and I would normalize, so I revisit things to see what and where I missed something when moving forward is not possible.

I had a really rough 2 weeks, a job I wanted was put on hold, I got into a fight with my Narc Mother and made some very bad decisions about who to confide in. Everytime I am vulnerable, I end up regretting it. And a project I was planning, had some volunteer dropouts who I need to replace. I also need to keep my filters and pick my confidants more carefully.

Thanks for your help though. You had a alot to say and I appreciate it.