a day ago
People Are Sharing The Things Their Therapists Did That Got Them Fired, And All I Can Say Is Wow
Recently, Reddit user Normal_Enthusiasm194 posed a question to the popular Ask Reddit page asking, "What is something your therapist did that made you fire them?"
Obviously, that seemed super juicy, so I had to share some of the best answers:
Note: Therapy is still a valuable resource for mental health if the therapist is qualified, professional, and supportive. Please do not let these stories turn you off from going to therapy if you have the means and desire to do so!
1."She told me that my cousin masturbating to pictures of me was normal."
—u/the_asa
2."Sat there and stared at me while I talked without ever offering feedback, reflections, or insights."
NBC
—u/LowKeyGlitch
"Same! Then, when I showed up for our second session and complimented her scarf she said, 'Are you saying that to get me to like you?'
I was there for grief counseling. 😒"
—u/gildedblackbird
3."Not mine, but my sister was doing a session over Zoom when the TikTok her therapist was watching offscreen started playing on full volume."
NBC
—u/sillykathleen
4."She told my mom everything I told her. I was 15 at the time."
—u/I_want_pancakes_123
5."Tried really hard to convince me my dad had sexually abused me and I had repressed it. There was no way on earth that was true."
ABC
—u/Timely_Egg_6827
6."She talked way too much about herself and her experiences and talked over me when I tried to take back the conversation."
—u/LickADickASaurus
7."She brought up things that my friend told her about me in their session."
—u/WWHarleyRider
8."My first appointment with a new therapist, there was a knock at the door like 15 minutes in. It was the therapist's supervisor. The therapist said she didn't think there was anything they could do for me, and she was emailing her boss the whole time I was speaking, telling her that I was a danger to myself and needed to go to inpatient care. The therapist WOULD NOT BELIEVE ME that I wasn't suicidal. I ended up having a panic attack and leaving."
"The boss called me later that day to apologize, and she said after reviewing everything, I was right and the therapist overreacted. She said she'd set me up with a more experienced therapist at the clinic, but I never went back."
—u/MelissaOfTroy
9."I told him I started feeling suicidal again, to which he responded, 'I don't really think about it or worry when you say that, because you've been suicidal for a while and you're still here.' I almost wanted to write a note and do it just to have his license taken."
Mubi
—u/RiversareprettyCool
"I'd like to think he just meant that he wasn't going to report you for inpatient treatment. But I've also been told the same thing before, so I'm probably just desperately grasping at straws to validate my need for people to not be assholes."
—u/euclidian-viridian
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10."I live in a very nice neighborhood, which is well known for being an affluent area. After finding out where I lived, my therapist went on for about 15 minutes about how awful the east side of Indianapolis is and how he wouldn't live in my neighborhood because it's too close to the 'bad part of town.'"
"He was saying stuff like, 'Aren't you afraid living there? That can't be good for your anxiety, I'd be a mess all the time.'
I corrected him and told him I live in Geist, which is actually quite safe and quiet. He brought it up in our next session too, and mentioned that I should move to help with my anxiety levels, that living in a small town or a nicer suburb would make me feel safer.
Dude was projecting his bullshit insecurities about bad neighborhoods like a motherfucker."
—u/will_write_for_tacos
11."Scheduled an appointment for me on a holiday when the office wasn't even open, then tried to penalize me for no-call/no-showing."
—u/MistressLiliana
12."I said I was feeling suicidal and she said, 'So just do it then.' I was flabbergasted."
—u/SprinklyBoi
13."I had an eating disorder, I told her peanut butter was a safe food and she said she packed on the pounds when she started eating peanut butter. Messed me up a bit."
—u/Lasagnaoflife
14."She no-showed me at 5:01 when my appointment was at 5:00. I was waiting in the virtual room for the appointment to start to boot."
Paramount Pictures / Via
"Every single time we met, she would start off by saying I'm her last patient for the week and she couldn't wait for the work week to be over.
I cannot express how badly I was struggling and needed her, or anyone competent, to help me.
Oh, and she charged me a $100 'no-show' fee."
—u/Hungry-Helicopter-46
15."Slept with my (now ex) husband. After making fun of my name. Oh, the paperwork I filed for breach of ethics with THAT situation…"
Pop TV / CBC Television
—u/Oneonthefence
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16."I went to a therapist for the first time ever. It was fine..."
"For our second appointment, I had to reschedule, and she said something along the lines of 'I know making it to your first appointment can be tough.' So she didn't remember meeting me. She also called me the wrong name.
Not a good first therapy experience."
—u/Flat-Upstairs1278
17."Tried to get me to join her MLM side hustle, was VERY pushy about it. Never went back."
Pop TV / CBC Television
—u/tiger_lily17
"That is something that can get their license revoked! That's so inappropriate."
—u/Immediate_Falcon8808
18."Confused me for another patient twice, asking about my husband's infidelity. Do you know something I don't???"
Warner Bros. / Via
—u/trigunnerd
19."The therapist that I was seeing for a devastating miscarriage kept bringing up how I should leave my husband, who, it must be said, was being distant and unsupportive."
"However, I never indicated that I wanted to leave him and end our marriage, and after a few visits with this as the topic of discussion, I never went back. I'm still happily married to my husband, going on 34 years, and I am a proud mother of a 21-year-old son. I'm convinced that had I left my husband on top of a miscarriage, it would have taken years to regain a sense of balance."
—u/Downinthevalleystill
20."He told me I should quit taking my bipolar meds and microdose mushrooms instead (this may not be bad advice for someone with depression, but it's terrible and irresponsible advice for someone with bipolar disorder). My psychiatrist was mortified."
—u/notade50
21."She kept a single goldfish in a shallow bowl of water. I mentioned that it has negative effects on the fish to be kept like that, but she brushed it off. I couldn't go back."
—u/MsGhoulWrangler
22."Well, I only lasted one session with one because she said, 'You've only been physically and emotionally abused? The majority of women I see have also been sexually abused.' Well, I'm sorry I don't have enough trauma for you!"
"I did find a much better therapist."
—u/littlp84-2002
23."I was barely three months postpartum, so I normally rolled up in sweats. I wore 'real clothes' and makeup one day to a session (might've been my fourth or fifth time with her)."
"She looked at me and said, 'Wow, you must not feel depressed anymore if you're putting makeup on again, how exciting! I think we can be done now.'
I was literally speechless."
—u/howiruinedmykidsday
24."They connected my issue to me being a person of color when it wasn't connected to that. Forced this issue in sessions."
"Talked over the end of my sentences. Unsubtle yawning when I talked.
When I said I didn't think we were the right fit, they said that patients often try to quit when things get hard in therapy, and it was a sign it was working."
—u/cardiacbach8981
25."I told this guy about some issues I have with girls/women being seen as less than in the culture I came from. A few sessions later he was cheerfully telling me about how great his men's groups are and how he wishes he could only work them."
—u/andronicuspark
26."After six visits, my therapist continued to call my dead husband by the wrong name, then told me to go home, write my 'troubles' down on a piece of paper, and burn it so I'd feel better."
NBC
"I'm not a teenage girl. I don't subscribe to 21 and I was not having mere 'troubles,' I had a complete break from reality and was looking for follow-up care. I don't seriously think writing stuff down on a piece of paper and burning it will help, lady.
I walked out and never went back."
—u/Legion1117
27."Tried to seduce me to have sex with her."
CBS
—u/SkyZone010
28."I was talking about how much I struggled to gain weight (I have literally been under 100 pounds for my entire life and have an eating disorder). He told me I shouldn't gain weight because he thought I looked great and he wished his wife was 'tight' like me. 🤮"
Pop TV / CBC Television
"I responded that I'm clinically underweight and unhealthy and he told me it didn't matter because he thought I looked good."
"He didn't understand that my eating disorder doesn't have anything to do with my body image. I'm autistic, don't like eating food, wish I liked eating food, and I just want to be healthy.
Never went back. That was my first visit with him too."
—u/TheLuckyShamrock
finally: ""While I was explaining how I wanted to process the trauma of my C-section, she interjected with, 'Because you took the easy way out?'"
—u/The_RoyalPee
Okay, please dish all your thoughts about these in the comments — some of these were absolutely wild. And if you have your own story to share, go for it!
If you have something to say but prefer to remain anonymous, you can use this anonymous form!
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