Psychotherapy is a unique relationship, a kind of connection that is unlike any other kind of relationship a person has in their life. In some ways, it can be more intimate than our most intimate relationships, but it also paradoxically values a vestige of professional distance between therapist and client.
Therapists, alas, are just as human as the clients they see and come with the same human foibles. They have bad habits, as we all do, but some of those habits have the very real potential of interfering with the psychotherapy process and the unique psychotherapy relationship.
So without further ado, here are twelve things you wish your therapist didn’t do — some of which may actually harm the psychotherapeutic relationship.
1. Showing up late for the appointment.
Therapists will usually charge a client for an appointment if they fail to cancel it with less than 24 hours notice. Yet some therapists seem perfectly oblivious to the clock when it comes to showing up on time for appointments. While the occasional lateness may be excused, some therapists seem to be living in another time zone altogether and consistently show up late for their appointments with their clients — anywhere from 5 minutes to even two hours! Chronic lateness is often symptomatic of poor time management skills.
2. Eating in front of the client.
Unless you have enough for everyone, eating and drinking during a psychotherapy appointment is considered ill-mannered. Some therapists offer clients the same access to coffee or water that they themselves enjoy. (If you’re going to drink something in front of a client, make sure you offer your client the same.) Eating while in session — by client or therapist — is never appropriate (it’s therapy, not mealtime). And asking, “Do you mind if I finish my lunch while we get started?” is inappropriate — clients don’t always feel comfortable enough with expressing their true feelings.
3. Yawning or sleeping during session.
Yes, believe it or not, there are therapists who fall asleep during session. And while an occasional yawn is a normal component of our daily functioning, non-stop yawning is usually only interpreted one way by a client — they are boring the therapist. Therapists need to get a good night’s sleep every night, or else they cannot be effective in their job (which requires constant and consistent attention and concentration).
4. Inappropriate disclosures.
Inappropriate disclosures refer to the therapist sharing a bit too much about their own personal difficulties or life. Most therapists are warned about doing too much disclosure in session with their clients, because it’s the client’s therapy, not the therapist’s. Therapists shouldn’t plan their vacations while in session, go on endlessly about their graduate school training or research topics (especially if they were focused on rats), or share how much they enjoy their summer house on the Cape. Therapists should keep personal disclosures limited (even when the client asks).
5. Being impossible to reach by phone or email.
In our ever-more connected world, a therapist who doesn’t return phone calls or an email about an upcoming appointment or insurance question stands out like a sore thumb. While no client expects 24/7 connectivity to their therapist (although some might like it), they do expect timely return calls (or emails if the therapist allows that modality of contact). Waiting a week for a return phone call is simply unprofessional and unacceptable in virtually any profession, including psychotherapy.
6. Distracted by a phone, cell phone, computer or pet.
Therapists will often ask their clients to silence their cell phone before entering session. The policy has to go both ways, or it shows disrespect to the client and their time in session. Therapists should virtually never accept any phone calls while in session (except for true emergencies), and they should turn away from any other distractions, such as a computer screen. In a world that increasingly values inattention and multi-tasking, clients seek refuge from such distractions in the psychotherapist’s office.
7. Expressing racial, sexual, musical, lifestyle and religious preferences.
Although an extension of the “too much disclosure” bad habit, this one deserves its own special mention. Clients generally don’t want to hear about a therapist’s personal preferences when it comes to their sexuality, race, religion or lifestyle. Unless the psychotherapy is specifically targeting one of these areas, these types of disclosures are usually best left alone. While it might be fine to mention something in passing (as long as it’s not offensive), a therapist who spends an entire session discussing favorite musicians or love of a particular religious passage is not likely helping their client.
8. Bringing your pet to the psychotherapy session.
Unless cleared and okayed ahead of time, therapists should not bring their pets to the office. While sometimes therapists see clients in a home office, pets should stay out of the office while they are in session. To the client, a psychotherapy session is a refuge and a place of peace and healing — pets can disturb that peacefulness and calm. Pets are generally not an appropriate part of psychotherapy.
9. Hugging and physical contact.
Physical contact between client and therapist must always be expressly spelled out and okayed by both parties ahead of time. Yes, that includes hugging. Some clients are disturbed by such touching or hugging, and want no part of it (even if it’s something a therapist might typically do). Both therapists and clients should always check ahead of time with the other before attempting any type of physical contact, and respect the other person’s wishes. At no time is a sexual relationship or sexual touching appropriate in the psychotherapy relationship.
10. Inappropriate displays of wealth or dress.
Psychotherapists are first and foremost professionals, and any displays of wealth and style should be discarded in exchange for dressing in an appropriate and modest style. A therapist slathered in expensive jewelry is a put-off to most clients, as are blouses or dresses that show too much skin or cleavage. Too casual of dress can also be a problem. Jeans may suggest too casual an approach to a professional service that the client is paying for.
11. Clock watching.
Nobody likes to feel they are boring to another person. Unfortunately the therapist who hasn’t learned how to tell the time without checking the clock every five minutes is going to be noticed by the client. Most experienced therapists have a good sense of how long a session has gone without having to look at a clock until late in the session. But some therapists seem obsessively compulsive about making note of the time, and the client notices (and internally, they may tell themselves what they’re saying isn’t really important to the therapist).
12. Excessive note-taking.
Progress notes are a standard part of psychotherapy. Many therapists do not take notes during a session because it can be distracting to the process of psychotherapy. They instead rely on their memory to cover the highlights of the session after the session has ended. Some therapists, however, believe they must capture every detail of every session in their notes, and obsessively note-take during sessions. Such constant note-taking is a distraction for most clients, and some may find that the therapist uses the behavior to keep an emotional distance from the client. If note-taking is done during session, it should be done sparingly and discreetly.
222 comments
my therapist always seemed shocked when I told him things. Like he’s never heard this ever before!!
I have seen several therapist myself. One was just a pill pusher and didn’t both to get down to the real problems I had which would require different medication. When I would tell her it wasn’t working she would just increase the dosage.
Another one would eat, drink, and tell me about herself and her daughter who works in the same school system as I do. Not very professional at all.
A third one who the one above told me that a bunch of people complained about him and that he was no good. He was the one who figured out that I was Bipolar II and not just depressed. However, what made me leave him was that 1. He was never on time, even when I was the very first person of the dad. And 2. he was so dang happy all of the time. I’m sorry but if I’m feeling bad, I really don’t need happyness shooved down my throat. I believe concern would be more appropriate. If I’m discussing something that has upset me, by him being happy go lucky makes me feel that my problem isn’t imporant.
Let’s see:
I had a therapist that did yawn and rub her eyes during our session. She also dressed up in “finery” and jewelry and made sure her cleavage showed everyday. She also took notes while I talked. She then hugged me and told me she was sorry that my life was so sad.
Then there was the psychiatrist that told me at every visit that I needed to read some of his religious literature, that it would help me to get better and then continued to shove his religious beliefs down my throat.
Then there was the psychiatrist that asked me only two (2) questions and told me that I had Borderline Personality Disorder and needed to be institutionlized because (Yes! this is the only reason he stated!) I had seen several psychiatrists in the past and that I had issues with them. I attempted to explain why I had to leave the psychiatrists (change in insurance, the psychiatrist moved away, the psychiatrist retired) but he wouldn’t listen to me. His remarks in my medical records have caused multiple issues with proper diagnosis and treatment for GAD and Major Depression. I paid for my own psychological testing and I was found not to have Borderline Personality Disorder or any other Personality Disorder that interferes or complicates my life.
Then there was the psychaitrist and therapist (LCSW) that accused me of being “racially biased” because I did not/could not drive an hour to see her at her new location.
There was also the psychiatrist that held my hand and attempted to force me to take Lithium telling me that I HAD TO TAKE IT and that I could not leave his office without taking it…I left his office in an out-right sprint and that was the only time I stood on the ledge of a parking deck and contemplated jumping off of it…HE HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT TO ME!!!
I resent the psychiatric profession because of the BAD ones that I have had. They try to play GOD with my life and will never accept NO as an answer.
As for the psychiatrist and therapist I have now…they are acceptable…Do I trust them, NO. And since my therapist can only “make room for me” every 4-5 months, I have to begin the terrible process of finding another therapist. And so the world of psychiatric medicine and psychology rolls on and I am the one who suffers.
I’ve had a lot of bad therapists/psychiatrists, but that is another story…
I prefer my therapist to be down-to-earth, laid back, human. When they are too professional I just don’t feel comfortable.
I had one very respectable psychiatrist, one of the best where I live, who kept his dog in his office and his wife was his secretary.
The Doc was very professional and helpful and I loved the atmosphere, especially the dog. When his dog would sit next to me when I could pet him I felt much more comfortable and relaxed and could open up much more easily.
I got further with him than with anyone else, until he retired!
I hate it when I see a therapist whose office and demeanor is cold, reminding me that they are a “professional” and that they run a “business.” I know this but when I am constantly reminded it just makes it much harder for me to feel comfortable with them. I don’t want them to be my friend, I just want to receive good therapy.
I find this much easier to do when the place and therapist is more human.
As long as my clients are comfortable with it, I have my cats around the office. If someone is allergic or would prefer that we keep the animals out, that’s fine, but in ten plus years of doing what I do, I’ve never once had anyone who didn’t smile at seeing my cats. Many of my clients consider the kitties to be an integral part of the experience and feel it’s a comfort to have an animal to hug while they’re feeling blue.
We are talking of what is not expected of a person in professional life. The fact, however, remains that s/he too is a human being after all. And, mind you, which profession doesn’t have black sheep! Let us not paint all professionals with the same brush.
Those professionals who don’t come up to our expectations form only a minority. For us to have a total picture in front of us, to be truly balanced in our assessment, let us also have a TWELVE (if not more) MOST ANNOYING HABITS OF COUNSELEES, who too are human. = Gurudatt, selfhelp support group facilitator, Pune, India
We are talking about Therapist. I had one who wouln’t let me seek another therapist or try to get any other help. She took it personal. She would say, I can do what they do.I quess I felt oblgated to stay with her. Even though her therapy wasn’t working. I guess she has a self-esteem Problem. But that didn’t help me.
Where is the list for the worst habits of patients?
Get a life, live and let live. Sure, some habits are annoying. To my thinking a patient/therapist relationship is about keeping communication open and honest. Why not just tell the therapist that the certain behavior is getting in the way of your progress? If nothing is said or happens it is the PATIENTS responsibility to change therapists. You are responsible for your own life and decisions. I find that I get frequently annoyed hearing complaints against professionals. Generalization of a group is just wrong. If in fact an innapropriate action occurs, report it to the proper authorities and then LET IT GO!
Denise,
Here are some things you may not have considered.
It can be difficult to find a new therapist who accepts your insurance and is available when you are. So it is not so simple as “go find a new therapist.”
Not all therapists are the same. Some are wonderful, some not so much. The client should have the ability to choose. But this can be difficult (see my first paragraph.)
Wow, you sound kind of threatened.
There are many reasons why a patient might not feel comfortable bringing up such bad habits, primarily because of the power differential in the relationship.
Also, not all therapists take such feedback or criticism well. Not all patients want to risk the work they’ve done and their progress over a bad habit.
Excellent points.
Oh..How I see my own therapist in this report. I often wonder if she has something else to do that is much more important, as she watches the clock incestantly. She is also on that computer and says she MUST get the paper work done FIRST. She is already late, anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes after our scheduled time, before she opens the hallway door to announce 11:30 Group! and it is now 11:50 ! , but regardless of how late SHE is; our session ends promptly at 12:30, BUT my INSURANCE IS BILLED FOR THE FULL HOUR ! She often apologizes for eating (she says finishing, but she has just taken it her salad from the refrigerator and is putting dressing on it) her lunch during our sessions ! She often forgets our names during Group sessions and must be reminded what our nmae is. She says that paperwork is the reason she is always behind, but I really can’t see that because she is always doing her paperwork the entire time we are in session ! I think your write up indicates true concerns of Patients.Being a Patient myself,I certainly feel qualified to state that every one of the 12 items that you mentioned DO create a tension or cause that ill at ease feeling. And to address the Denise: Denise, letting it go is not that simple. We are given forms, by Park Center Decatur, IN, to address concerns or compliments for services afforded us. I, and I do know that several others as well, have listed all of our disapprovals of the aforementioned problems with our therapist. We are asked to put our names on these forms and we have done so. The message on the form states that we may be contacted regarding our complaints or concerns. I have never been contacted, and I have been told by others in my group, that neither have they been contacted. As far as we can tell no action has ben addressed or taken. I say this because our Therapist continues with her same bad and unprofessional habits. My Insurance company is still billed for a full hour of service, when it has only been 45 minutes or LESS spent with the Therapist and during this time, she has completed my paperwork. Upon seeeing this write up, and seeing my own complaints shown here, I do not believe this is just a ‘generalization’ as you contend.
Per Dr Grohol’s, and prior to his that of Denise, I think it is nothing less than fully appropriate for a patient to raise concerns if therapists’ behaviors are impairing the psychotherapy process.
If a clinician is going to do something to compromise the therapeutic alliance because they as professionals cannot take a well intended concern or criticism from the patient, then such individual should not be providing care. If the comment is in error, it could be used to enlighten or empower the patient to see where the flawed assessment or opinion came from, and see that responsible and well intended feedback or disagreement in treatment style or intervention can be processed and worked through.
Yes, I agree with your last comment that patients do not want to risk losing progress if the said concern comes up after treatment started, but wasn’t the point of this post to educate and empower patients to have some idea what to not tolerate or endure by an alleged professional?
As per Denise’s comment, I totally agree, and I think what I read in alot of comments at psych blogs these days represents what I call characterological features, not necessarily frank personality disorders, but I read a lot of inflexible and rigid commentary by some, and that is not going to improve with meds alone, nor by coming to a stand off with a professional because the patient, in the end, does NOT really want to change. Just an opinion.
By the way, to Vickie, better to have gone through the process in filing a complaint than just let things ride as is, because you have started a paper trail, and if the supervising authorities have any real interest in protecting the public, documentation has an impact in the end, so I applaud your efforts, even if you feel not effective in the end.
But does the client always need to change? If the problem is not “poor relationship skills” or “making others and yourself miserable” but rather grief, PTSD, or emotional fallout from severe physical health issues, then trying to guilt-trip the client into changing his/her personality when his/her personality did not cause the problem to begin with is inappropriate. Then, too, there is the issue of the controlling or domineering therapist who countertransfers all over the place and is hell-bent on making the client into a clone of him/herself.
I just started seeing a psychiatrist a couple of weeks ago for the first time. He sat me down in the room and basically asked “so whatsup?” without any getting to know eachother talk or anything to make me comfortable. It was so akward, I just started crying and eventually had to say something so that he would stop staring at me and nodding. Is this normal??? I thought it was a bit bizarre. Things are better now and I feel comfortable talking to him, but I just thought that was so strange that he couldn’t make me more comfortable at a first session.
I have a question that I hope someone can answer… My therapist was late for a session so after waiting 15 minutes for her to show I just left. She called me another 15 minutes later and asked that I return. I declined, told her I didnรขโฌโขt appreciate her unprofessionalism, and never went to see her again. Now she is threatening to take me to small claims court if I donรขโฌโขt pay the bill for the session that day. Does anyone know who is in the right here? I believe I am, but I donรขโฌโขt want to waste my time if she is correct. Advice?
I just read this tonight, August 2, and would like to take a stab at Jim K’s question.
report this person to whatever professional board your state has in place to consider unprofessional conduct by a licensed professional. Because, as I used the word professional several times in the last sentence, this person’s behaviors and subsequent actions are as far from professional as I can see. And make sure anyone who has an interest in your situation knows about it. Word of mouth can be effective. And make sure this idiot knows you are letting others know she is clueless and will be labeled as unprofessional. My advice, use that term very deliberately if you choose to contact this unprofessional clinician.
Anyone who takes a patient to court better realize there are two sides to a story, and some will see through the clueless side!
Interesting! I think my comment was erased! It was the last one of 163, and now…
Sorry! Never mind!
One more thing – I don’t care if your feet hurt. Leave your shoes on! It’s distracting (and kind of repulsive) to fixate on the fact that my therapist prefers pantyhose with reinforced toes. Ick!
For four years I saw a psychiatrist who told me she had psychotherapy and CBT training, but actually didn’t. This was discovered when my situation got worse/more complicated as a result of many of her well-intentioned, but hackneyed suggestions/theories. When I finally got the strength to leave her (it was hard for me to leave someone I had been seeing for so long), I decided to do my research when it came to finding my next therapist. I looked up names of individuals trained in CBT and I contacted the local universities psychology department for referrals. I ended up with a list of four individuals, and I interviewed all four over email.
The one I settled on changed my life for the better. I had to pay out-of-pocket for his care, but it was worth every penny.
The last time I saw my therapist (LCSW), she took notes during the session using her computer keyboard. She put the keyboard in her lap and tapped away on it during the session. She didn’t look at the monitor and mostly kept eye contact with me but it was really very distracting. In the past, I would notice her jotting things down occasionally but that didn’t bother me. About halfway through the session, I told her that I didn’t like the keyboard and she informed me that doctors and other health professionals were moving to this kind of system. She told me that I would get used to it. In my view, therapy is different from other health professions and some how being aware of her observing and documenting me changed the dynamics of the session for me. I’ve seen her off and on for 3 years and she has helped through the loss of my mother and the breakup of my marriage, but I don’t think I’ll be going back.
I just started seeing a therapist. The first session was me giveing her TONS of info on my family growing up ect… at the end of the sessions she said there’s alot there and so many themes. I was pretty excited thinking we’d make some break throughts and she would help me with some action and coping skills. I felt like I got alot out the first session,second session there must have been a total of fifteen or twenty minutes in dead silence just starring at eachother and her later telling me she was waiting for something to come up.So out of the 50 minute session twenty minutes was wasted. Nothing was coming up for me and I found it a bit annoying and a waste of my money that there was all this dead air time. I felt like leaving at one point!
Forawhile she would just stare at me with a half smile on her face. This just feels awkward and lazy in her part to me.
I know she explained to me she was waiting to see “what comes up” but she just got done saying the previous week there was tons of stuff and these,the pevious week when she was gathering info I even cried about some stuff….can’t she draw on that to spark some feeling or what she thinks might need to be addressed first? This is a womans clinic and she is actually an intern in her 50’s,so she’s just getting out of school.
am I the only one who experienced this? and does anyone else find it rude and annoying?
I was just a bit annoyed by her stare therapy approach and wasting my money ticking on the clock. Honeslty I could have talked to my friend about the same thing over drinks.
Its your life. What to do you think you should talk about? In today’s managed care world you’re fortunate actually that your therapist wasn’t leading you through a manualized ” evidence based practice” cookie cutter treatment process. That said there is productive silence and unproductive silence…
It sounds more like your own discomfort in the session. Therapists are actually trained to sit in silence even when it is uncomfortable. It is not their job to set the agenda, but yours. If you feel it was a waste of your time, perhaps you could have used your time better. You don’t just sit there and expect the therapist to do the talking. That would be the mark of a bad therapist.
But it’s not okay for the therapist to never respond to the client or engage in dialogue at all, or fail to ask any questions. Some people need structure. Some people don’t know what to say. Some therapists are lazy. And some use the silent treatment as a form of passive-aggressive intimidation or a way of making the client feel ignored.
I know this thread is old but I want to say that “How does that make you feel” is definitely preferable to “That must make you feel…” I had one therapist who did that a lot but I liked her otherwise. Finally I told her that “must” is a command and she was telling me I had to have feelings that I didn’t have, which made me feel like I was even more abnormal than I thought! Or that she thought I was abnormal in areas where I had normal feelings. She agreed & put a stop to it.
My current therapist takes notes frequently and then she brings stuff up in later sessions especially if I contradict myself. Sheesh. The reason I’m in therapy is because I have mixed feelings about things and I want to sort them out! It’s almost like “gotcha” journalism sometimes and I’m starting to be careful about what I say in case she’ll haul it out later.
All right I’ll take a crack at this one too. I’m on my seventh therapist (I’ve moved a bit) and of them I can say that two of them have really been excellent, two good, one ok and one who was such a rip snorting bitch that it felt like I might have walked into Eva Braun’s office by accident.
One of the good ones had the highly annoying habit of comparing my situation to her or her other client’s lives. This would not have been so bad if I had been there for relationship problems or adjustment issues, but I was actually there to process a highly traumatic event, and frankly, many times the comparisons she was making didn’t even come close. At times it was actually was quite insulting, and even though I liked her and she did help me, I eventually stopped seeing her because I never gained the level of trust in her that I needed to fully disclose what had happened to me.
This was very frustrating, and ended up causing me some suffering as I was having a hard enough time with ptsd without worrying about how to get out of the therapeutic relationship. I also wondered how much of my (anonymized)story was being discussed with her other clients, and that made me very uncomfortable as well.
Fortunately I was able to end that relationship and after a short break found someone who I feel very comfortable with. I have been able to open up completely and I can sense a real improvement in my symptoms, which feels great. It makes me wish I had moved sooner!
What Dr. Gohol said previously….about if you had a plumber type problem, you would simply call a plumber…How much damage could he do!?
Except for perhaps doctors/surgeons, there is no other profession that can be dangerous to your health of not done ethically.
How scary to think that the profession has so many unprofessionals. “Above all, do no harm.”
I’ve talked to so many people who had terrible expriences…..one was a woman who was in abusive marriage, lost her job, tried t commit suicide 2 times and was a cutter. her therapist had sex with her….he then decided to try and work it out with his wife and dumped her. Unfortunately, this stuff goes on more than we know.
My now former therapist once mentioned her political views in passing. Maybe it’s my fault, but for whatever reason I wasn’t able to get past this for a very long time. I don’t think I ever did until I met my current T.
My therapist wears knee length dresses.
Every session I look up her dress and see thigh.
Today I saw panties and she asking caught me looking but didn’t move
So the first thing that annoying about my psychiatrist is that he is alway 15-20 minutes late to the appointment, which would be bad enough seeing as I’m always a few minutes early to any aponntment if it was not for the fact I’m the first one of the day and therefore locked out of even the waiting room untilled he finally shows up. Then he has a tendency to check mail and faxes which often envolves him swearing clearly audiobly in another room.
He then spends more time making the tea he drinks during the appointment.
Most appointments start with him venting/complaining about what’s going on with him and an excuse for why he was late this time. Fallowed by 15-20 minuets of awkward silance whale he waits for “something to come up” which I can’t stand its very uncomfortable and dose not really lead to progress because i judt start saying what ever I think he wants to hear to make the dang silance end.
Then there is the total lack of any concreat stated goal or path to it and a dismissive attitude when I bring up wanting one or possible sidecefects of the medication I don’t like. I also don’t like the constant feeling That I’m being abserved like a lab rat but not being told why or for what it makes me feel uncomfortable and like a freak.
I have only just found this blog but interested in it as my therapist always looked bored and seemed moody. She analyzed what I told her and turned it in to a personality disorder. I am not sure if she wanted to write another paper or was particularly excited by a vulnerable client. I felt unable to say what I felt with her and felt I was protecting her by keeping quiet, a mistake I would not make again. I just agreed with everything she said to keep the peace in case of making her annoyed. I was training to be a psychotherapist and didn’t want to provoke her through fear she would talk to my tutor, they all knew each other. TA is a very small world, all chummy and I don’t believe that anything we spoke about was sacred, I dropped her like a hot potato, she continued to write to me and I asked her to stop as it was becoming abusive. Dangerous stuff!.
I wish I had read this 4 years ago before I allowed my therapist to send her husband to my house, to pick up the cat they bought for me, She made me feel like I owed her something so I joined her suicide task force, took her safe talk suicide first aid training all at the same time I was suicidal but could not tell her or no one fear of letting her down. She talked about me to to her family and husband, her husband went to his job and talked about me to my neighbor who also works where he does but he didn’t know it. My final straw with my therapist is when she allowed her husband to listen in to a phone session, than after I confronted her she says I am confused I do not see where I done anything wrong. Hello, what happened to the code of ethics with therapist. It got to the point where I was so confused about what therapy really was suppose to be, we always talked about the task force and the cat no more therapy the last year. I withdrew from her and finally ended therapy and filed a complaint with the licensing board.
Actually, some therapists do engage in Pet Therapy. Certain states allow you to get licensed or certified as a pet therapist. It’s one of the many undervalued expressive therapies. I don’t use it in my practice, but I’ve seen it used with a wide variety of practitioners with different theoretical orientations. So technically, That can be taken off the list
Annoyances:
A therapist getting mad at me for talking too much. The therapist could have kindly pointed out to me that I was talking so much it was not allowing them to say anything. I never went back. A therapist should try not to sound mad or frustrated.
4 therapists I tried out I think in the name of their theories and philosophies, or something, err on the side of coming across overly reserved and cautious, like they are afraid of the patient. They end up coming across standoffish. I would like to have someone’s tone of voice and body language at least feel a teeny bit empathetic, compassionate, caring which I believe can be done while maintaining a professional level similarly to what one would expect from a primary care physician or any other physician or healthcare professional.
Therapists should not have more than a 6 week wait time to get in for an appointment at the very most! and that is not even very good, a month at the most, and 2 weeks is more ideal. When you are hurting and they tell you, you can come in 4 weeks?!? One therapist I had this way would not allow you to schedule another appointment until she had seen you for the initial time as a new patient, then being told another 4 weeks!! Try being in chronic pain, depression, being told 4 weeks for one appointment, then once that time another 4 weeks to get in again. By that time it’s the end of the year and you can’t go back because your deductible is not met!
Another time I was a new patient, and the therapist canceled the night before or same day 3 times! When I finally did see her, she talked about her personal health issues that had prevented her from making her appts. The office should have found me someone else in the network and got me in right away being new. I never went back.
Therapists: please find ways to manage your allergies. The same therapist I waited in chronic pain and depression for 4 weeks, had an allergy attack for half the session. She seemed standoffish as described above, then her eyes started watering and it was obvious she couldn’t concentrate. I finally told her it was fine if she needed to go take something, it was obvious she wasn’t able to pay attention anyway. She should have charged me for half the time on that visit and scheduled extra time to get me back in right away. I have allergies too which are managed very well now with acupuncture and herbs, and nasal saline w/ occasional over-the-counter meds.
Many of these issues caused me not to go back for a while. I’m finally sticking it out with a therapist. If I ever want to change now I’m afraid I’ll get accused of doctor hopping.
Also, I sometimes feel like being so booked w/ patient after patient therapists let the session time get eaten up not really giving 100% on their part during the session, not enough focused energy, not working hard enough as a worker who lets their work day time go by just to get through the day.
Recently I started seeing a Dutch therapist, since I live in the Netherlands. I am an English native speaker, and speak Dutch with an accent. Dutch people aren’t always very kind to people with accents. Even though I’ve lived here for 15 years, and have worked as a translator, my Dutch therapist asked me if I could read Dutch before giving me some forms to fill out. She came late to our appointment, was very cold, asked a bunch of rude questions about my religious beliefs, then proceeded to ask if I could read! I’ve gotten pretty used to being treated badly. I guess that’s just the lot of foreigners (I even have a Dutch passport), but I was so shocked by her unprofessionalism, I didn’t say anything. I have found the professional level here to be quite a bit lower here than what I was used to in the US. It’s just so infuriating. The person before her spoke slowly to me so “I could understand,” and the psychiatrist didn’t even bother to read my file. It seems like there just aren’t any good therapists here, or perhaps they’re only good for Dutch people.
A therapist who talks about himself just puts me off.The same therapist making comments about my looks put me off. But the worst was when he rolled his chair so close to me & freaked me out. If I wanted a date I wouldn’t pay %35 for it.And of course, he’s married.
The red flags are all very helpful but what about the therapists who are true predators. By this I mean the ones who don’t do any of these things until you have known them for a while. They earn your trust and then they start to do some very upsetting things??? By then you already trust them and it makes recognizing all of these red flags very difficult. By this point, you aren’t really sure you are experiencing things correctly because they keep telling you you’re not.
something I have found is very common is the returning of phone calls only once per day, and not answering their phone – only accepting voicemail messages. For example: I call therapist and leave a message. Therapist calls me back the next day (so far so good – return call within 24 hours). I miss the call and return the call sometimes this can be anywhere from 30 seconds to an hour after their call. The call goes to voicemail and I leave a voicemail and receive a return phone call the next day. I miss their call and call them back and leave a message. Then I receive a phone call back the next day, on and on. I can certainly understand therapists having clear boundaries and having “phone time” once per day, and also not answering incoming calls, because, understandably, the rest of their day is spent in session or spent outside of work. However, this takes on truly bizarre proportions after several days of this scenario. This can happen even if I leave times that I’m free to receive their call, because even if they call during those available times, I may just miss their call by a moment and call them right back. Communication can certainly help ameliorate this with a therapist I work with regularly, but recently this phenomenon has come to light during a search for a therapist, where it happened with several therapists concurrently over many days. This led to unnecessary delays, in my opinion, and an overall curiosity that they were possibly either not easy to work with, too old-school phone-wise, and/or a bit rigid in their phone boundaries. I don’t expect a therapist to be available 24/7 either before or after I’m their client. I do, however, expect some sign that they’re easy to get a hold of, at least a little bit administratively savvy and that they value my time and effort.
HOW ABOUT WHEN A THERAPIST INSULTS YOU ESPECIALLY ON A TOPIC THAT WAS NOT AN ISSUE I NEEDED HELP WITH
Yesterday was my second visit and she fell asleep both times. In addition she insulted me that day. I came to her office to deal with family issues and at the end of yesterdays session she says “I been meaning to ask you, why are your clothes big on you”. I was stunned especially since my issues had nothing to do with my clothes. Also almost every day I get complimented on what I am wearing. I dress very chic and elegant, I do not dress slutty. The blouses and sweaters are not tight on me at all. I asked her why she said this and she said “I want to know if you have body issues”. Again I was stunned. I told her that the way I dress is none of her business and I always get compliment on how I dress. All of a sudden I felt very insecure about the way I dress. I told her I will never come back to see her again and she had no right to put down the way I dress. When I got to my car I called my best friend and she was stunned as well
Once you realise that therapy is a business you learn to expect professional treatment from anyone who is paid to help you. I have experienced all of these annoying habits, and more from the various therapists I attended. By now I laugh at some of the indiscretions as well as the fact that many of the therapists are less clued in than their clients and seem incapable of apologising for unprofessional comments or behaviour. The last therspist arrived late, slurped on coffee and couldn’t hold her notes upright or remember any of my details. She seemed strained and intimidated by me, and the last session was a disaster and cut short as she didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but decided that I had to return to ‘learn to trust her”. While away on four weeks holiday i called her receptionist to cancel future appointments, and explained that she was too overwhelmed to offer help. the receptionist insisted that I return and pay to resolve HER problem. I laughed and said that this had to be insane – me paying for another person’s incompetence and failure to provide any treatment. As a collective, many therapists are driven by power and money and do not care about their patients beyond being means to a growing bank account. Most come from abusive backgrounds and have failed to resolve their own issues adequately to be able to help other people. Many are nutty, abusive, self-serving and dishonest in their desire to cover for the incompetence, misconduct and gross negligence of their peers. And they get paid for being ineffectual and obnoxious? What a weird world where the client can be more observant than the therapist and more switched on about appropriate behaviour. Psychiatrists are the strangest of them all and wield the greatest power in the system. After years of therapy I now delight in analysing the therapist and so I guess it is time for me to leave and keep my money in my purse.
I recently started with a new therapist. The former one passed away several months ago. This woman is definitely helping me, however she has some habits I find a bit strange in a therapist. Some I have decided to accept, one I just can’t. She draws lines on paper – I am thinking maybe it is a little like Tourrette’s or something, she can’t control it or its to calm her nerves. But it doesn’t bother me and she seems focused. She eats during sessions. I told her I was hungry too and asked if I could have a couple of the crackers she was eating. OK, no problem. Today though she did something I will have to talk to her about in a different mode. She continuously checked her Smartphone for about the last half hour of the session. I didn’t say anything this time because I was trying to concentrate on what I was saying (thinking, feeling) and didn’t want to get off on a tangent. Next time when we start, I will say something to her about it. It felt like other people who weren’t present, were more important than me, who was. Not what I want for my role model. I would not accept that in a friend, why should it be acceptable in a therapist I’m paying for support. Anyone encounter this and how did you deal with it?
I had a therapist who often fell asleep, unless he was discussing his dinner plans or next trip to Atlantic City! I finally got some guts and walked out and slammed the door waking him never to return. My current therapist is awesome. I just wish she’d put her cell on silent. Although she never takes a call, it is a huge distraction.
Being a therapist, enjoyed the comments more than the column(as it is what therapists should know already)Hey it’s tough out there, after many yrs, my “style” changed completely, dumped the bs we got in grad and post grad school yrs ago and did what a therapist really should do be a good grandma, priest, minister, teacher, kind next door neighbor or friend who has common sense etc. Therapists are pretty much an invention of the 70’s, when State Mental Hospitals started cutting everyone loose and the traditional family began breaking down. Was an interesting job early on, and we did Good Work in those days, when there were next to No meds for anything!! Also still have bite scars and a broken nose from old In-Patient days. By the nineties Meds, Too many meds started showing up as did the “patients” faking anything to try for disability. Psychiatrists were swell at enabling this bunch. The fakers will keep an apt once every three mos. just to stay on the dole. Too many psychiatrists come up w/toxic cocktails and are notorious for overmedicating. Far too many cannot diagnose well(they took NO classes in it, unlike therapists) The Whole MH thing has turned into an Industry, as is all of Medicine. We must keep you coming to exist, so we will dx you w/anything that is billable and keep scheduling unnecessary appts. All about $$ now. Every Agency staff meetings are about how to attract more of you and keep you coming in. Most of ppl working in the field have as many or more issues than do the patients, but you actually trust them with your children? They Will dx them w/ADD or now Asburger and anything else in that Autism Spectrum-so fashionable now. These Dx will follow you kids throughout their lives!! most are Normal as Normal is??? but, we must get those Insurance/Medicaid Bucks. Could write volumes on what I’ve seen, know, and that which makes me want to scream. Though obnoxious clients are not uncommon, it’s the Looney Therapists and useless psychiatrists that really makes one,such as this therapist, want to puke. You have NO clue just how Bad some are. How they got out of HS is baffling let alone made it through /grad School? Speaks Volumes about the fabulous Higher Ed. in US now. And re: Psychiatrists-lowest level on the MD totem pole~~Too lousy for Real Medicine, so, they got into the “Gray Area” = MH, where it is Very Difficult to prove mistakes, since we really have NO clue. All guess work, yep. We are just guessing!! and you are the Guiana pigs(if you agree to the meds or an obviously “damaged”{by some of we slick ones,anyway} therapist.)Careful out there. Though Some do Very Good work and have good skills, far too many are Dangerous and or Worthless. Ask yourself, would you pay out of pocket for this?? if not, Run. Find a good friend (unless you really do need meds for whatever) and if all you have is a Pers D/O-you cannot be medicated for that (most psychiatrists just can’t seem to grasp this~want to medicate everything RX are all they know, and NOT well~~~so get out if a Doc tries to medicate you for such. So much to say re: the horrors of the MH system/industry/now SCAM and that which I’ve seen and know to be true, as do most therapists, but we CANNOT talk about it, because we need an income!!!
Later, topazmarie
He was mirroring thoughts and comments. He told me not to read from my notes. He decided I should be back for therapy after causing near PTSD for me. I knew nothing of PTSD he didn’t need to scare me. He needed to apologize and explain why each sessions had him sitting closer to me. This is his way of being closer? Enotionally? Pschologically? Maybe something else?
I can think of two cases where I felt uncomfortable bringing up an issue about therapy with my therapists:
The first was an MSW who was a really nice guy, but who had what appeared to be a really bad problem with jock itch. He’d squirm around uncomfortably during most sessions, then BOOM, he’d grab his crotch and scratch. Thought it would clear up but after several months I just left.
The second was a female MSW who was great at first, but then started to talk a lot during my sessions about conspiracy theories involving the AMA and Ebola, alien abduction, and “destroyed studies about chakras the govt is hiding.”
In the first case I was too embarrassed to say anything. In the second I didn’t think her mindset would change (she was not a thinker who valued evidence-based knowledge). Not all issues are amenable patient assertiveness.
Reading this brings back memories. Gosh, I’m blessed I forgot most of what happened. It is nearly 2 years. He stopped doing therapy between the 3-5th session. But it was always abut him. He came into a session and told me the dr. told him he’s fine. I wish I could get my money back. Some of my sanity went missing. It is returning. I was told I had the personality of a person who would take this shit. –Those comments really helped,not. The one time I needed to ask him something he tried 5 times in one day to call me. Is this professional or just freaky. He always had something unusual to say. I hope and pray he got help by now.
By someone who is very qualified. He talked like someone who could have been a sex addict or just liked talking about sex, fitting sexual stuff in when I spoke of something unrelated to sex, which was almost always.
For someone to counsel and advise others, they sure should have lived some life and really have had a lot of experiences. Not just hearing others, but having experienced things, or else they cannot advise others. I’ve ones who pushed religion on me, insisted I go to church singles’ groups, pitied me, kept changing the subject, etc. The worst thing was being told that “I can’t advise you or tell you what to do”…well, then you ask for $120 dollars for what??? What did I just pay for? Nothing/ You’re supposed to be brighter, wiser, and more resourceful than me. Or else, why am I going to see you? We can all work out our problems free then by ourselves, since you INSIST we do that. And you NEVER answer your phones. What’s with that? Hire a darn front desk person. You make $120 for less than an hour’s work. That’s like being a doctor.
My child therapist had a tendency to jump to conclusions, some of which were off-mark. For example, one time she claimed the reason I was afraid of the dark because I was born feet-first – except that wasn’t true at all, I was born via C-section. Given how common the fear of the dark is, I don’t know where she was getting this from.
Another time when I was 10 years old, I was telling my therapist about a girl at my school that said she was in 8th grade, but looked younger than that. Her response to me was that the girl was “obviously” lying. (Nevermind there are conditions that can make a person look younger than they actually are.) Sometime later I found out that the girl in question had Down Syndrome, and that was the reason she didn’t look her age.
I think that was one of the reasons my parents stopped taking me to see her – she just never took the time to get all the facts before coming to a conclusion.
It’s just amazing. Went to one today. Told me everything I already know. If I was someone who made 100-150 dollars an hour, I’d expect to be giving people a higher level of advise or perception. Can’t give advice, eh? Maybe the local psychic is better?
Eh, I wear fun t-shirts, jeans and converse to pretty much every session because that’s what I feel comfortable in (I get tons of compliments, especially on my gummy bears shirt). I’m always punctual, professional, and engaged…anyone who thinks my outfits are unprofessional isn’t a good fit anyway.
I always feel SO embarrassed when I hear about bad therapist behavior, like it reflects poorly on all of us. I know it’s easy to get burnt out, but I really wish these ppl would take a vacation and then join a consult group or something.
I can’t find good therapy. One always drinks coffee , playing with computer mouse, looking at watch , trying to open automatically door to someone else , critisize me. By the end she told me ….I can’t tell her anything , because she has her license. Now I get another one, she likes to take notes. …and by the end she plays with computer. …let’s see. …
I had one therapist who used to check her lipstick in a compact mirror and re-apply it. This happened almost every session. She also used to take phone calls from people who called to tell her that they were running late. I once spoke up about taking the phone calls and she said she needed to know if people were going to show up and when. Isn’t that what your answering machine is for?
Another therapist who I really liked got all excited when I said I wrote fan fiction with a loosely disguised version of myself as the main character. She kept asking if she could read my stories and I had no desire to share them. First of all, are you going to watch two seasons of a cult TV show so you know the back story? Two, are you going to know what’s me trying to add some drama to the story and what’s me dealing with issues? She kept asking about it and I finally just had to say No, not gonna happen. Please stop asking. She finally accepted my answer, but I sure had to keep standing my ground on it. No means no…
What should a client think or feel about a therapist who is out of the office at least 1 week a month and sometimes more? Especially when that wasn’t the case originally? Or when the client finally shares how it affects them (owning it’s them and their own struggle) and gets no response the first time and then the therapist finds other issues to that “frustrates” the therapist with never really discussing the clients reaction or feelings surrounding the difficult time the client has begun to have with the frequent breaks in appointments.