Six Signs of a Bad Therapist (Counselor / Mental Health Clinician)
This video covers six signs of a bad therapist (or really six signs of a less-than-ideal counselor). I’m using the word counselor here not necessarily to refer to a particular professional identity, but to anybody who can deliver therapy. A professional counselor would be included in that, but also a social worker, psychologist, marriage and family therapist or some other similar profession.
It’s also worth mentioning here that most counselors are good. This video is focusing a lot of negative aspects that might be seen in the world counseling, but the vast majority of counselors do a good job under a lot of different circumstances. I tried to make this list fairly objective.
#1: Not being clear about licensure status.
#2. Falsely claiming doctoral-level competence.
#3 Suggesting or engaging in a friendship or a romantic/sexual relationship with a client.
#4 Incorrect diagnosing
#5 Dogmatic loyalty to one treatment modality.
#6 Confusing art and science.
49 Comments
Signs of a bad therapist:
1. They’re a therapist.
The End.
Making up diagnosis is straight up banana pants.
A lot of this goes into psychiatry. Most "therapists" won't be treating someone who wants medication or diagnoses.
I'm looking for the video that explains what to do when my husband's "counselor" in Germany, which has no standard licensing for emotional counseling, asks him, in a session with his grown daughter, "Do you think you were a good father?"
I'm dying laughing at "pre-traumatic stress disorder." Sounds like an issue of owning a DSM. 😉
When you cant cry and then the comment, " i guess its true big girls dont cry" is made. It cut even deeper because i have an eating disorder.
This is why supervision is so important in those first 2-years.
All therapists are bad therapists. The entire system thrives on suffering to sell people drugs.. It's sick.
Your talk reminded me that I asked a couples counselor (LISW) what the modalities she specialized in were, and what her training was and she got annoyed and said "it's like your interviewing me". Oh, I'm sorry – I just wanted to know bc there's no info about what you do on your practices website.
I have never even thought about asking my therapist if he has a license 😂. But I eventually knew he had one, because I found some of his academic papers on the web some years ago.
this reminds me of Dr.Laura on AM talk radio
good news, I passed
A bad therapist is someone who cannot accept that the DSM categorisations they stamp people with can be just as life ruining as the behaviours and thoughts that are subsumed under those categorisations. Well, at least that's one type of bad therapist.
Wanna know a type of brainwashing modern people rarely question? 'Physicalism'. The secular belief that nothing exists beyond physical matter. This belief has stifled psychology for 100 years so that hardly any progress has been made besides medication for 'physical' symptoms.
7 mocking
8 invalidating
9 minimizing
10 telling you how you fee,l or should fee,l or should sound ,or critisizing your tone of expression
As a Polish Counsellor in the UK i found lots of client experiencing English counsellors not educated in different cultures. Its okay to not know but as an EX Jehovas Witness myself I felt not undertood by many therapists (asked me why I havent left the cult etc …not knowing about consequences like shunning or ostracising). I then found Therapist who specialises with Indoctrination and it was amazing match. Thank-you for the upload Dr. Grande. ❤
My therapist is not mean or anything, they just expect too much from me and hardly give me validation when I ask for it
Betterhelp has some of the worst therapists. It should be called get Worsehelp!
I spent 3 years split between two therapists. The first therapist routinely cancelled appts last minute, would hand me print-outs from web sites, changed my DX several times, talked about her own problems and forbid me from bringing up certain issues. She was eventually caught embezzling money.
2nd therapist: Initial interview she informed me of her specialty in handling depression and childhood trauma/abuse via EMRD. It took 1 year before she implemented the practice twice for about 3 seconds, which ironically, began after losing my insurance and was at a reduced rate self-pay. I feel like she milked the 1st year, offering stickers and a book (yes, stickers!) then realized the money was over.
She did give me some useful tips but after I shared a childhood molestation incident, she dismissed it and along with other incidents, always taking up for the other party. Last session, I came in begging for help. 2 years and the depression hadn't improved (her specialty), my intuition was shot thanks to her convincing me to doubt my own voice and she finally said she could only offer antidepressants or refer me out. I am finding YOUTUBE to be better and free.
when they won’t silence their cell or smart watch 🙄
I think a therapist should also get therapy
I left each session more depressed – she was evil and dehumanized me.
My therspust list her temper. She also said I was raised by wolves… I don't feel comfortable with her anymore. What do I do?
Use humor in therapy to break the ice😂
What do you think about this. I was going to a therapist, a psychologist. And she would say there is nothing wrong with many problems that I faced. She said they were normal behavious that everyone faced. She also tried convince me of not being mentally rigid by debating with me about topics I knew a lot about and she had a different perspective. I aslo asked her if I was autistic and she said she didn't know and that she wouldn't diagnosme me because she wasn't an expert on autism. I had to find an association to diagnose me because she wouldn't. I now have a diagnosys. But I don't understand why she didn't encourage me to seek a diagnosys, instead it seemed like she didn't want me to get it, yet she kept saying I was too rigid on my ideas, like, isn't that a diagnostic criteria for autism in the DSM-5? Then why aren't you helping me with this instead of comfronting something that is just part of me.
I had a therapist steal money from me. I was an intern therapist myself at the time. He charged my card daily for 140 dollars, our session fee. It was several days before I caught it, and the total was over 700.00. He did admit to it, finally, after I threatened over a voicemail to involve his supervisor. He told me he could not afford to repay due to bills.
hahahah "outstanding warrant disorder"
A therapist who talks too much about themselves. I understand the use of self in therapy , but has to benefit the client
another one is when therapist rolls his/ her eyes …. it is a no no
Two counsellors did not believe my daughters sa. She wouldn't go to another as adult when she needed. In the meantime the perpetrator went to prison for what he did to her and it came out later she was not the only one.
I had a bad psychiatrist, who after i finished with him, was in court being in some way responsible for a young couple to do away with themselves. Still got newspaper article.
Took me a while to be able to listen to you. I was cynical at first.
Saw a real winner at govt office. Saw him twice. Started lecturing me for not trying hard enough with my kids mother. Who was placed with me due to her abuse. Diagnosed BPD. Asked him what his qualification was. Nurse. Had a bookcase with dummies guides to counselling, mental health etc. Dangerous. Never went back.
All mine says is to take walks more often. I have agoraphobia and live in the worst part of town.
Can’t have a therapist without the rapist
People put way too much weight in these fake terms they are a mental construct everyone is just a dumb monkey there are no doctors there are no politicians there are no therapists there are bipedal monkeys with more or less morals knowledge and bravado nothing special happens they poop and they’re naked just like you under those silly costumes.
I had a couples counselor once who started off a session by asking if we know anything about automatic cameras that give are involved in tickets for running a red light. 😂 I didn’t even stop her. I just wanted to see how long she would go on about it. Then we got rid of her.
Yeah mine shamed, judged, and put me down for making progress? She gets the boot
I requested an all female office. I thought I was going to be meeting with a hot Latina or something because of the way her name sounded. I picked her for the name and gender. Turned out she's an old, blonde, white lady. Bummer. Maybe she is married to a Latino guy.
Anyway, she doesn't ever listen to me or remember what I told her. She confused me with someone else. She started talking to me about some career that she thought I had. It must've been another client. The other Jamaican sounding lady is more concerned with trying to get me in trouble and painting me as whatever kind of psycho she can paint me as. They want to make people look crazy.
The only reason I went there is because it helped me to collect food stamps at the time. I was told by the food stamp office that I need to prove I am incapable of working in order to receive food stamps. I could temporarily bypass this stipulation by making an appointment with a psychiatrist, then I could get food stamps. I needed help dealing with anger, anxiety and depression anyway. I would also like to address my ADD, which has never been diagnosed. They didn't help whatsoever.
They once left me waiting in the office for forty-five minutes longer than expected, so I had to leave. They tell you not to knock on the glass for assistance or to check in. There is no bell or no buzzer. The girl at the desk gets an attitude if you knock. She is very unfriendly.
I was asked about what I do for work, even though I have already told her how I used to be a carpet guy and I brought up how I worked with my dad. In the past, I've even talked about the carpet in her office. She asked me where my father is, who I also already told her MULTIPLE times had passed on. I can't believe the incompetence of this office. Then, EVERY SINGLE TIME, she asks, "How do you feel about him dying?" That is not even why I am there. I have moved on, but it is very insensitive of her to bring that up every single time and forget what I told her in the previous session. It angers me when she does that. How the place remains in business is astounding. Very insulting. These people do absolutely nothing. Must be nice to sit and do NOTHING while collecting a check. People like this collect big checks while I scrape by.
I came back after only a month long absence. When I returned, there was no file on me. They threw it away. First they said they lost it. How about following up on a client and showing some concern instead of flat-out throwing away and losing the entire file? All those sessions wasted. I could have used that wasted time and insurance doing something far more useful.
Then they act like it's casual. No apology.
I called my insurance and reported her for negligence and incompetence. I left Terrible Google reviews about her. I want her fired. I want her to be banned from taking on clients ever again.
I was only allowed to have food stamps that one year and that's it. No more food stamps. I couldn't prove I am incapable of working, probably because I'm not.
Last time I went to.thterapy, the therapist had 1 month left until.retirment. I didnt know. This was a little federally funded clinic infamous around here. I had no choice in the choosing of the therapist I went to.her 3 or 4 times During all.the visits, she asked me the same questions and stopped me off whenever I tried to talk about my feelings She tried to push psychological medicine on me I told her I didnt want to take the meds I told her my doctor wanted me to take blood pressure meds to get my heartrate down and I didnt want to take it The high heartrate might ne anxiety so I was trying to get therapy to get rid of the anxiety so I wouldnt have to take blood pressure meds The therapist ignored all that about not wanting to take any medicine of any kind I told her up front I just wanted to talk and I didnt want to take psychological medicine She kept pushing the meds on me and sent me to a psychiatric nurse to explain how to use medicine I said I wouldnt take One time the therapist asked if I felt nervous.I said yes she replied well, you wont take the meds so what are we going to do? Guess your just have to walk around nervous tsk tsk I cancel a appointment and rescheduled The receptionist said the therapist wouldnt be there after that month I asked why and she said the therapist was retiring I coukdnt believe they hooked me up with someone that was leaving anyway I got no respect for therapists
less than ideal counselor: he tried to sell me cocaine during a session. not lying.
I watched this video to see if I was making mistakes common to bad therapy. I am absolutely shocked by by some of the lame diagnoses like angry person disorder. How do people get their licenses? Am I just naive. Where do these counselors come from?
I had a counselor who invalidated my feelings. I immediately dumped her.
My therapist basically told me I had no reason to be depressed and was just being a crybaby. Got rid of her.
My psychiatrist used to drink a lot and was a amazing when he was drunk and when when he was sober he would suck, one day he apologize and told me he was never drinking again, I was like hey no worries, I am perfectly fine with it 😂
I had gone to a therapist who expected me to know what my problem is even before my first (and last with her) session.
When my daughter was giving birth to her first child, the nurse in charge of her room told all the other staff working with her that she was exhibiting drug seeking behavior. All she asked for was an epidural.
One experience that stood out to me half relates to the one-hit-wonder problem, but goes a bit beyond that into maybe the attitudes and culture of the organisation I was treated at.
It was in this one particular organisation I followed group schema therapy at. At one point I got some comments where I felt one of the two therapists was very persumptuous in determining for me what my problem was in response to what I shared in that session. I sort of acepted their conclusion at the moment, not being so sure of myself, and feeling the therapist was probably an authority on these kind of things. But later felt their conclusion wasn't really fair, I couldn't really get how they got to that from listening to my story. So the next session, said therapist was absent and another stood in for them. I tried to explain how I felt unheard, and how their comment was hurtful to me. The new therapist asks "So to summarise, you think that the psychologist did something wrong last session / mistreated you". I half agreed, but said that I'd want to get my story across proper, before the therapist and other patients jump in to give their interpretation. He then asked me why I wanted this control over the narrative, and what schema was triggered to make me feel attacked and defensive by being misunderstood. Basically a chunk of that session escalated into both of us arguing about who was being self-righteous and defensive.
Wanting to discuss it with my case manager later also made me feel like everyone at that organisation kind of covered for each other. For me the relationship was strained, and I wanted to feel heard, but their insistance was along the lines of "I understand you feel hurt, but there must be a reason you're this triggered and you can work on repairing that schema-mode and wanting to be in control".
I still think about this a lot. It felt it was just determined that this was my problem and that I should work on that. It was like the goal became being able to follow that model of therapy.
If they don’t care at all to help you find resources for housing when your situation is bad
I recently started therapy. During second session he told me he was grandiose narcissist. In fourth session he was constantly talking over me, wasn’t listening to me properly, I got frustrated and angry, he also got angry, he ended the session, then continued the next day. Then after session I texted him about my anxiety, after session my frustration and anxiety spiked up, he saw the text and didn’t reply. Then in the evening he texted me about fees, I sent him fees. Again texted about how bad I was feeling, he didn’t even respond. I felt extremely bad, and my situation got worse..
They all lie
I had a therapist that said people don't like people like you… AND that I cost the government extra for having a seizure, unnecessary costs. Like wtf. Never went back and should have reported her.
Wow, I didn’t know clinicians made up disorders! I am a therapist and I take dx very seriously because people can live out a label,or it will follow them in life. That is scary.