Therapist terminated therapy

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Saw this therapist 3 times and told her last week that I've been thinking about death a lot and one day thought about suicide so she sent me to the ER. I felt fine in the ER and didn't tell the Dr. about suicidal ideation. I got an email from therapist's boss stating that they reviewed my file and decided to terminate me because they aren't a crisis management service. I never heard of this before and it was totally unprofessional and unfair. The therapist took my words out of context. They didn't even give me a chance to respond to their actions.

Thing is I think this therapist could have helped me because she said I needed a specialist for my personality disorders. Previous therapists and drs haven't even listened to me when I've told them I have personality disorders.

Do you have BPD?

Cluster B disorders are so stigmatized they will drop you like a hot potato.

Email them back and ask for a referral to a specialist.

Yes, the absolute bare minimum for a therapist that doesn't think they can provide service is to hand the client off to somebody that can. This is incredibly unprofessional to terminate sessions in this manner without even bothering to give a referral. Especially if there is a suspected crisis going on.

I don't have borderline personality disorder, I have schizoid and avoidant. I did write them back and said they were unfair, etc. and they never got back to me. I told the therapist I was having general thoughts about dying like "What happens when we die?" and I said I had a moment where I was thinking about suicide (with no plans).

At least you know they are unqualified to help you. I wouldn't want to work with a therapist or an organization that would treat a client so poorly anyway - and now you know that about them too.

I'm sorry you were so badly treated. You deserve better care.

There are many terrible therapists who can do more harm to you than good. As hard as this situation was, you were lucky to find out early that you should RUN from this therapist. Find someone else. You can search Psychology Today for therapists in your geographic area who specialize in the problems you are experiencing. Or try getting a referral if you now someone who is seeing a therapist.

Unfortunately you can't ever tell a therapist or doctor that you are thinking about suicide, unless you are actually afraid you might do it and you want them to help you not do it.

I'm extremely lucky in having a therapist I can talk to about anything I want or need to, including the kind of thing you mentioned, and know that I'm safe. But I live in a whole different state from you, and such awesome and progressive therapists are rare, unfortunately. There are services that provide online therapists, through video visits, so you might have some luck that way, as well as maybe the ability to try a different one if the first doesn't work out. The right fit is essential.

I agree it was unprofessional to not give you a referral when the fit was bad to begin with. You were treated terribly. I can't see how anyone can truly be helped by a person, or agency, they can't trust. I'm glad you got away from there before anything worse happened, especially given that the way they shot you out the door was so ridiculous. I hope you're able to find a better resource soon.

The speaker has only one definition. All other definitions are misunderstandings. Taking something out of context is one out of many ways to misunderstand something.

Some counselors acted like the correct answer to "how are you doing?" is "perfect". All other answers are wrong and the punishment for a wrong answer is 5150.

Happiness is just an emotion. Happiness is not magical or anything like that. Happiness is not superior to sadness

Anger is not a felony

Some counselors kept overreacting to every slightest thing


That is just on out of plenty of reasons why I am not in counseling right now

DBT specifically deals with people who sometimes conflict with the therapist. Don’t forget therapist are people too - they have flaws. I just started a DBT IOP (again).
Really if your therapist fired you you probably don’t want him/her and he/she probably really couldn’t help. Try again and you may find a better match this time.
If suicidal ideation is a real problem consider inpatient.
If not find a way to try again with someone new.

I've had many therapists over the last 6 years and they were all lousy. None of them wanted to get to know me.
I've been inpatient 28 times since 1990 and haven't had much relief at all (including ECT 4 times and taken every medication). I have PTSD from being ignored and abused in hospitals. I told one therapist that I didn't want to do anything (I have anhedonia real bad) and all she said was "I can't help you". Then I told her I didn't want to live and she didn't say anything.
I can't do anything, I am so limited - been on disability last 20 years. I don't have the strength anymore to fight this.
When I was hospitalized few mths ago I was treated horribly. I asked for help and the staff just ignored me. They expected you to go to groups and pull yourself together and I can't do that. One morning I told the nurse I was exhausted and she said, "We all are" and walked away from me.
I live near DE and there aren't any good drs or therapists around here. All my Dr. said to me the last yr is "Hang in there" and I landed in the hospital 4 times since I've seen him. I called him and told him I was having panic attacks and my mornings were bad and all he said was "I can't help you".

Sweet Pea hugs

Most therapists have a specialization and while they will do some crisis care for their patients, it's limited. For severe cases and especially in the case of someone they haven't had an established relationship with, they will refer you to a crisis care center(via the ER). Essentially they terminated you for being more than they could handle; you need more care than they can offer.

This therapist you saw sounds like is part of a group/organization. They can be rather stringent with their policies and the like too. The private sector may be more flexible and forth coming.

Instead of seeking a therapist I would look into getting into see a Psychologist. Or look for Pharmacologist for an evaluation. Then supplement that with a therapist (mental health clinician.) I'm not trying to throw drugs at you. But if you are struggling that much, you really may need the help to balance you some.

Calling or emailing the place back may not help much. Unless they are affiliated with a hospital, their resources of other practitioners may be limited. They may have a name or two and tell you to look at Psychology today at best. You can call your Dr.'s office and ask for a referral to a psychologist and or pharmacologist though. If you have insurance you may be able to contact them or look at their website. Insurance companies sometimes will have a list of providers available.

What is it that you need, do you think?

I have seen quite a few therapists and hospitals take the approach you described. The hospitals have a limited number of beds and the therapists have only so many patients that they are legally allowed to claim to be caring for. Unless someone is Baker/Marchman Acted, court mandated, etc... The inpatient hospital will discharge a patient who doesn't adhere to the treatment schedule. You may experience it as 'can't' because of anhedonia, but they are documenting it as 'won't' because of refusal to comply. In which cases, they discharge the patient on grounds of noncompliance to free up a bed for someone who will follow suggestions. They will term it, "someone who wants to get better." I'm not saying you don't want to get better, I'm saying your inability to attend groups, sessions, etc... might make it appear to staff that you are there for reasons that do not include getting better.

Doctors and therapists are quick to discharge patients who don't follow doctors orders. They see it as a waste of their time. And if they are billing your insurance for services they need to be able to demonstrate that there's a goal, a treatment plan, getting better?worse, adjusting treatment, etc...

I would think about what it is that I want to get out of the treatment. Then, seek a doctor or therapist who specializes in it. The kicker will be to do what they ask, or they may discharge you.