
Taking the first steps into seeking support for your mental health can be daunting.
Even more so if you’ve had negative experiences working with mental health professionals in the past.
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It doesn’t mean therapy isn’t for you, or that you’re somehow unfixable. Everyone has mental health issues that are different and will require treatment catered to them with the person they feel most comfortable with.
Like any relationship, there needs to be a good dynamic between a psychologist and patient. They are the people you are trusting with your problems, your recovery, and your mental wellbeing.
But it’s not always easy to get it right the first time.
It’s a process, one many people have been through. Sometimes, it’s as simple as just not “clicking” with the therapist you first sat down with, leading to the need to part ways and find another.
Here, six women share how they “broke up” with their therapist, and how it ultimately helped them find the support they needed.
Trudy*, 31.
I’ve seen three therapists throughout my life. The first two were very ordinary and that meant I kept putting off getting professional help until my late 20s.
The first therapist was found by my mother when I was a teenager. I had severe depression (or we thought it was depression). This psych was mediocre. She would often ask me ‘on a scale of one to 10 how did I feel’ and I didn’t find that particularly helpful. I ended up not seeing her anymore and I was prescribed antidepressants, which I took for about a year.
The second therapist I used was when I was in my early 20s, following a period of restlessness and anxiety. I was referred by my GP and only saw this psych once. During the session, he accused me of ‘making up names’ as apparently all of the males in my life have very common names.
This got me quite angry and I battled it on my own, not seeing another therapist until me late 20s. At the time, my relationship was breaking down and my partner basically gave me an ultimatum. I was referred to a third psychologist, again by a GP, but this time was different.