Therapist gave up on me after one session

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She said she's not qualified to treat me.

I think I freaked her out. I didn't mean to.

I have cptsd with possible psychosis and dissociation and it's so complicated.

She phoned me this morning to say that she's put me back on the list for treatment and that she can't treat me.

Is this normal for therapists to do or what. I already waited two years because of the pandemic and wotnot.

What did you do to her.

My daugther's psychologist and OT basically gave up on her when she was in primary school over her auditory misophonia as well.

The psychologist honestly had no idea what she was doing. The OT simply did not re-book.

Yeah I think she was out of her depth. I don't understand this though. I thought trauma therapists were supposed to be well qualified to deal with trauma.

I've kept my trauma in all my life and tried to not tell people because I get that it's complicated but it started to cause serious problems in my life and so I went for help.

I don't really know how I thought anyone could help me but they reckon emdr. I still didn't have much faith in this but I'm going along with it anyway because I might as well and then it turns out that the therapist can't help me anyway after all that.

I mean am I supposed to sugarcoat my trauma to make it easier for them to be able to listen to.

I feel like I'm running round in circles and getting nowhere.

What does OT stand for?

I'm not sure about the UK, but where I am (the states), yeah, it is normal for therapists to do that. From my own experience, there are trauma therapists and then there's trauma therapists. I know I got passed around a little bit while trying to find one who was able to deal with me and my issues. Some were just not qualified to deal with my type of trauma and the issues that came with it. I was a mess back them with flashbacks, body memories, and I was dx'd with a dissociative disorder. Where I am, there are a lot of therapists who treat trauma, but most have no clue what to do if you space out, turn into a kid, or go back in time in front of them. I was a whole different kind of critter. *shrugs*

I totally freaked out a therapist once too. She was new, and then there was me sitting in her office. I felt bad for her after the fact. I was annoyed at first, but she had no clue what she was in for, and I had no clue that being myself would scare the crap out of her. Yeah, I totally get that.

And no, you aren't supposed to sugar coat it. I know it seems crappy right now, but it's probably for the best she bailed when you were honest. You didn't waste time with her, gently building a rapport and so on, only to find out a few months down the road that she couldn't hang.

I'm sorry you got placed with someone who wasn't qualified. That sucks, to say the least. I know how discouraging that can be. I really am sorry that happened to you. But if you are in a place where you're willing to deal with trauma head on, I whole heartedly encourage you to keep trying, keep looking for someone who knows what they're doing. From my own perspective, the trauma work was hard as hell. Maybe the hardest stuff I've ever done in my life. But damn was it worth it. My life is soooo much better now. It's like a completely different reality. So worth the work. My two cents.

It happens. She likely just didn't feel qualified or capable enough, which is a good thing IMO. Psychiatrists tend to be the best at traumatic stuff in my experience when it comes to advice, as they're doctors and have all seen things in EDs/ERs. They're the most expensive though. I'm not a fan of "therapists" or psychologists other than being people to speak of experiences to. I've never been a fan of their advice.

I had a good psychiatrist that I saw for a long time that went through some similar things as me too, though he's gone now. I stopped seeing them after him and just go to GPs, and my GP is better than any of the psychologists I've seen. She always looks at my arms for anything new (she tries to be sneaky about it). I have a psychiatrist in my family, but that'd be awkward, even though she'd know most things (she's around my age too).

Therapists are not trained to deal with absolutely every possibility. Some are trained in some areas, some in others. While they all (hopefully) have a certain core competence, it is entirely possible for them to run into things they have not themselves been trained in (yet).

This could simply be a case of that. They're not a specialist in the particular area that applies to you. Human psychology is an enormous and enormously complicated subject, and I don't think there's a therapist or psychologist alive today who knows all of it in any depth.

Hopefully, the therapist you saw would at least be able to get a rough idea of what you need from their general psychological knowledge, and could point you to someone specialized in the appropriate sub-area. Sometimes, achieving things can be a process of iteration, rather than a single step to the finish line.