I decided to finally see a psychologist in our university bcz too much was happening the past few years, and I no longer believe I can be better without help. When I saw her finally I was only crying and crying and crying and talking my heart out, but she didn't say much, she only asked me a few questions and talked to me for a little bit. She gave me a task to start journaling for a week and to see her again the next week, is this what usually happen? They remain quite and just listen to me yap for an hour?

I have no words to say i am so in pain. I have BPD and this pain is becoming worse then anything. I knew her for about 5 years on and off, we r both women and she is more then 20 years in the field (!). I already felt like she is some kind of safe mother role, and a place i was always waiting and happy to go and see her. Things started to get weird when she accepted my social media request (we had an off period for about 2 years before it) and i ended up going to sessions again. I did not feel anything about it at the time, but then i read about this and everywhere everybody said on the internet that this is boundary crossing and i got panicked, i brought this up to her and she did not make any problem out of it, she admitted though she is not typically accepting this from clients. I started to feel special and i got a relief. But as time passes (1 year since) i ended up posting things mainly for her to see (not in manipulating manner, they were things about my creative hobbies and i wanted her to see this side of my since session time was not about talking about my works) and i started to feel more and more addicted to this extra presence and care (i already have a history with searching for attention from )mother figures. She also reacted sometimes. I felt like our connection is special and no one would really understand, and one of my friends was warning me about little red flags about her or the situation, but i dismissed and i pushed them away. So lets jump to the present: anyaway this relationship is not really working out because i am attending another collage and wont be able to see her again and this triggered me so hard that i sent her a text listing all my doubts, ny feelings about boundaries not feeling right, about feelin that there is no structure we follow, and i am confused etc… she replied mainly that she is proud of me for being so smart and she is sad because she agrees with things but she dont want to discuss this via text, she wants a closure session. I agreed to go (this will be next week). I ended up crying all day so bad…like i have deep abandonment and emotional abuse traumas, i TRUSTED her and this relationship that it will never and badly, finally i have someone safe and she will always be in my life somehow…. And now i feel like suddenly i got into a nightmare and i dont even know what she wants to admit or say.. i got so emotionally close that i was and still i am afraid to hurt her feelings, and she also disclosed one time things about having a similar relationship with her mother like i do.. i feel like our “love” for each other got off track and it could not be refrained even if we tried. I felt like she will be the shoulder soon i could cry on because i was finally getting close to it but now i will need a shoulder to cry on because of how it all ends with her and i have NO ONE to really talk about this, i have no chance to suddenly find a new therapist here and i feel like i will never have this connection with any therapist ever. I feel like i have to delete her from my life like i had to do with so many people i trusted and gave my heart and it always got broken. And i dont even know what to do after this final closure session, to delete her from social media? Or not?? Because either way feels terribly painful, its like erasing everything i had, but if i dont do so then it will feel weird to get this attention from here there when we are no longer working with each other.. Ah god i missed some details about other boundaries but certainly feel like something got off track on her part. She has a husband and 2 kids, she works for over 20 yrs as a therapist, why did this happen??? :((( i feel like my life is over, i just miss her hug and dying to lose this

Hi, I've been pretty mentally ill for most of my life. I struggle with homework, getting up, getting a job, still haven't gotten my permit test yet, and I feel very behind compared to my peers. I know I'm only 20 but it doesn't feel good :( I do see a psychriastic and she's hesitant to prescribed ADHD medication because she rather have me try wellbutrin since it helps with adhd and depression but it hasn't been working. I've been on meds for I think around 6 years and none of them have made me functional. I have been trying hard to break out of my habit. I'm trying to get a therapist but it's been hard since I still depend on my parents and they're busy.

I've been in IOP before and hospitals but they've only helped a little bit. I think the only change is that I can shower and brush my teeth regularly now. Both times therapists were too busy to talk one on one with me to get any help. So, I'm a bit afraid that a regular therapist might not be able to help. Should I get into occupational therapy since I struggle a lot with literally getting anything done? Would it help my emotional problems too? Or should I stick to a regular therapist? They do often specialize or have knowledge to treat Adhd.

I went to a therapist when I was 18 i had practical life issues. And after a lot of therapy months/years on and off I discovered that she was a psychoanalyst. In her visit card you can only see clinical therapist. She never mentioned that s she was a psychoanalyst. I feel betrayed. Why she did not mention it ? I was against this type of therapy since high school

Requesting advice. Deciding to career pivot and become a consoler / therapist.

I’m an engineer now. It’s ok, but I don’t think it’s for me. I want autonomy to control my own schedule. I want to be a private practice consoler. What is the most direct route to practicing?

Do I do a masters in consoling? In psychology? Do I start studying for the GRE? (I know this depends on what program. My goal is to land in a top 20 program. My fiancé will be doing law school start in fall 2026, so my goal would be to start when she does). Do I need to take more undergraduate psych classes? (I took an intro to psych and a statistics class in college while completing my engineering degree, but I understand I probably need to take more. Though I would be very relieved and happy to hear that I don’t).

Thank you very much for reading this and offering insight. Peace!

Introduction: i am a 17yo boy who live with his father (i can't give more infos but ig that's all u need to know to answer the question) btw all the things in this question and story are real, i am nit a kid who thinks killing animals are good, or cool, i'm not proud or ashamed of what i did. And i hope for the moderators to not refuse this question, the answer might help a guy who needs some psychological help and doesn't have enough money ti go to a psychologist

6:55AM laying on my bed writing this question, 3hs ago i went to get a cigarette and a snack idk it was lik 3:30AM ig, i sitted in a garden in the middle of the night bc i like when streets are empty, and i am afraid if sm1 that knows me sees me smoking, my dad traveled to another city for some divorce things he need to do so he and my mom can complete the divorce they're in the middle of, (my mom lives in another city) i was smoking and cat was kinda scared or smtg, she wasn't aggressive and i played with her a lil, after i completed my cig saving the other to smoke in my room, i got up and walked to my home, the cat followed me and it was friendly with me but it was kind of stressed always looking to her back she followed me to the door of my home and she entered, it wasn't too dirty, 80% its owner abandoned it a few days ago, it entred my home and i was surprised scratched her hair and it started walking around the house discovering it maybe it tried to put her smell in the house to get confy in it idk, after i changed my clothes and rested on my bed the cat needed some time to get tired, i gave her some cheese, not the scware one we put in burgers but the triangle one we put on bread, she ate it some events (playing spreading her smell in the house and following me whereever i go) and i went to bed, it just jumped into it and relaxed, played with her again a lil and she slept. After sometime of enjoying it really got a place in my heart i liked the cat and i tought i would do anything to keep her even uf my dad wouldn't want to when he comes back, all of the sudden i ... tbh idk what i was thinking exactly, i woke her up, gave her another piece of cheese and started preparing, filled a big bucket with water wore some old gloves and i took an old T-shirt, a smale but wide metal bucket we use for cooking, and to big cutton bags that was laying around not used, i entered the toilet and closed the door and how i said she was following me all the time i wore a jacket to not get scratched, and carefully puted her in that T-shirt like a burrito she wasn't forced tho, i huged her scratched her head she git too comfy, almost 20 mins of trying to get the guts ti do it, sitting on a chair holding the cat, i don't how i found my self drowning her in that bucket while she's resisting so hard that my hunds hurts bc of the extreme force i was pushing her to match her pushing power trying ti get out of the bucket, one hand grabing around the neck, the other pressing onnthe body, in the middle if the operation, i realized , cats prbbly have strong lungs, and i wanted it be quick, i started to press around the neck so hard so the blood can't reach the brain, and she dies as quick as possible, indeed she did, realizing she's dead and while listening to chaupin this whole time, i started laughing a lil i really don't know why for like 4 or 5 seconds, then i started the cleaning process trying to get everything in place i got it out of the bucket straight up the toilet whole so the whater in her fur drops, I notices that she shitted her self and pendant her self d'urine the process, I was disgusted from her dead face and smell i was able to look at her, she was heaven i hardly putted her in the Cotton big bang and puting that bag in the second bag to make sure no water drops, got out with the bags to some big garbege cans i putted her there, and I bought tow malrboros and I smoked them, I after clean everything, and i'm writing this with no feelings nit s'adresse or regret, or guilt i'm not even happy or proud of what i did, i wondred what does that mean, do i have any mental illness, a disorder? Or what??

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post this question, but I feel it’s the most suitable place to ask. I recently met someone who is a friend of a friend. We had a great conversation, and he seemed to pick up on my calm demeanor—as if he felt he could rely on me. He opened up about his situation, and I was shocked. He is borderline crashing: he has a few legal cases against him, a drug addiction, and is mentally checked out. He told me he doesn’t know what to do.

I was honest with him about his situation and told him that most of it was self-inflicted. He respected that I was willing to tell him the truth, as he said not a single person in his circle would even be honest with him. We started hanging out more often, and I invited him over so we could talk about how he could make changes. Before we met, he had a very aggressive nature. Since getting to know me, he’s calmed down and has started learning how to process his emotions. I’ve always felt that people who get in trouble with the law often lack rational thinking and have unresolved inner-child issues. I admit he has changed—he now takes care of his hygiene, has improved his appearance, and is carrying himself better overall.

Today, though, we were at a pizza shop, and he had an altercation. He snapped when he ran into someone who had stolen his phone, and he started cursing loudly and abruptly. It was as if he’d lost his mind. I had to shake him out of it, and later he realized what he was doing wasn’t even worth it.

The whole thing shook me. I wasn’t used to what I saw. I want to help him, but after today, I feel like I might be overdoing it. I will admit that my presence is helping him improve, but I’m starting to question my limits. He was supposed to finish school and comes from a well-established family; he just got off track and ran into some trouble.

I feel a bigger calling to this situation since we grew up in the same neighborhood, but now live two very different realities. I’ve always wanted to help youth see a different way of living, one where they don’t feel like they’re meant to be in the streets. I want to be a testament to that.

How would you handle this situation? Am I doing too much? Where would you draw the line?

so there was like something going on between me and my therapist and he manipulated me & took advantage of me, so many things it’s been a while since we stopped talking to each other because i couldn’t take it anymore.

I never really moved on because i liked him but damn i was feeling better till i started watching this show where this girl was being manipulated and gaslighted by her therapist, it immediately reminded me of what happened to me she also has the same disorder as me. She also wanted to get revenge because of what happened to her but then she accepted her feelings for him, they ended up together even though it was super toxic they were also extremely romantic and i can’t describe how perfect that show was, the final scene was perfect & made me super jealous

unfortunately this show triggered me a lot, it brought my trauma back, made me miss my former therapist and create unrealistic things and i was already suicidal but now it’s extremely concerning and i’m afraid i might do something bad to myself :(( any advice?? this feeling is not going away it’s been a while

I have really been struggling since starting therapy and I have felt that I made a lot of improvement since and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without my therapist. I feel really connected and safe with her and now I have this urge to tell people about her. What I mean by that is occasionally dropping a revelation I made in therapy, or repeat the same joke she told me, or simply express how nice my therapist is to friends but I don’t know if that comes off as weird? Do people talk about their therapist with other people or do they just keep it to themselves?

I had a really rough session today. I’ve been feeling really lost in therapy the past few weeks and feeling frustrated (mostly with myself but also with my therapeutic journey and sometimes some of that translates to me being frustrated with my therapist). Today I came into it with some anger and hurt.

I had messaged the other week about some things I had been thinking about that we could talk about in session and so today’s session started off by us discussing the first thing. Basically I said it could be helpful if we checked in about my meds every now and then because i get in these moods where i want to stop taking them. I was very proud of myself for bringing it up and instead of getting a positive response back, my therapist told me that that was something I can bring up on my own when I feel necessary. I already have a really hard time bringing things up and I was reaching for help here. But instead was met with pushback.

So that started a spiral of a session where she ended up saying she genuinely doesn’t know how to help me right now. Then she suggested she send me some names of other therapists I could work with. And WOW I am SO SAD about it. I feel really abandoned and lost and uncared for. 8 months and I feel like it’s ending abruptly.

Idk what I’m looking for here. Maybe just advice if you’ve been through something similar. Will I ever find the right fit therapist? :(

I’m mostly venting right now so I’m sorry if this post is a little rambly. I’ve been seeing my therapist on and off for about 7 years. I saw him initially for OCD exposure therapy for about a year or two, then about 1 & 1/2 ago I started seeing him again for avoidance and anxiety issues related to career and life mental blocks. It’s been helpful to some extent..I pushed myself to move apartments after thinking about it for the past few years and I’ve made tiny baby steps towards restarting an art practice that I put on hold after completing my MFA for it…but I feel like mentally I’m still in the same place and I feel like his approach of “change behavior first and the feelings will change later” isn’t working to improve negative thought patterns. I have a decent amount of trauma that hasn’t been addressed in a long time and it was just a little strange to hear him say a few months ago, “YKW, I actually don’t know much about your childhood or early adulthood traumas.” I just am getting to a point where I feel like I’m failing because this whole pull yourself up by your bootstraps approach to issues isn’t making me any less psychologically rigid. I’ve thought about stopping therapy for months now but the thought of going through the process of finding a better fit sucks. I respect him as a person and professional, but I’m also just getting annoyed often in sessions now with his responses and I leave most appointments just feeling misunderstood. He was extremely effective with my OCD but now that I’m dealing with vaguer issues that overlap with depression and trauma it feels like he’s phoning it in sometimes and it makes me feel worse about myself that I still haven’t made much improvement. I’m not sure what to do…I’m thinking about asking for a break from therapy at my next appointment tomorrow but I just don’t want to go through the exhausting process of trying to find a new therapist..

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had any tips for this.

I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I don’t feel anything. I’m indifferent to it. We been together for a long time and i’ve finally come to realization that I just don’t feel anything. I’m able to be empathetic like if i see someone crying i also want to cry but i don’t feel anything, i know that may sound stupid but it’s just how I feel. Another example is my Family overall, my parents divorced when I was 11 and I stopped seeing my mom shortly after. The reason I stopped seeing her is not the fact i hate her or anything like that but instead i found it was too annoying to transport my shit back and forth so I just stopped seeing her and talking to her and I feel indifferent to that. My brother recently left for college (we’re twins) Ive spoken to him like 2 times in the past 4 months and I feel indifferent. I know my mom misses me and I would like to care but i just don’t. I’m 18 by the way i’m wondering if anyone else feels this way about literally everything. Also, I know what I should be feeling so I usually act that way to pass as “normal” but i still don’t feel anything.

Furthermore, I don’t really feel like i’m living. I feel like i’m in a movie and everything that’s happening is happening to someone else i feel disconnected from myself if that makes sense. I don’t feel real, nothing feels real. Its almost as if i’m just going through the motions.

Any advice and or tips for fixing this would be helpful and I would appreciate it. Thanks.

(edit: typo in title lol)

i’m generally a pretty good speaker but i swear i sound incoherent in therapy and it makes me feel so embarrassed. i stumble over my words, speak my disjointed thoughts, go on unnecessary tangents, don’t complete my sentences, etc. it’s probably because i’m uncomfortable with verbally expressing my feelings and i want to be perfectly understood, but i hate it anyway and i’m scared my therapist thinks i’m stupid.

i guess i should probably bring this up to my therapist, lol

i don’t know if anyone will even see this but I have to try I guess. I messed up bad.. like really bad. I lost all the trust from my parents from just stupid stupid shit I did.

Last year (junior year) I got suspended from school from graffiti because I wrote a bad word on the wall with my friends thinking it was funny, then this year (my senior year) I fucked up even worse because I got suspended AGAIN because I was accused of having sex after school when that never happened and there’s even the cameras on campus that showed that it didn’t happen.

but either way my parents didn’t care, after my junior year I was grounded all summer and then immediately I’m grounded again this year (my senior year) because of this. Im so tired and I feel so stupid, it’s been about 2 or 3 months and they still have no trust in me at all, they don’t even trust me to be home alone.

id be doing good and doing things to slowly gain back trust and then out of nowhere I’d slip up again by forgetting to do the lawn or not doing something right as I was asked because I got distracted or just straight up making a plain mistake. It always resets the meter and right now I feel as if it’s in the negatives too.

today I broke the baluster on the stairs because I swung around it, not really thinking of what would happen but of course because I wasn’t thinking I ended up fucking up again. I called my stepdad (the call of shame) and told him what happened and they don’t trust me anymore again. My mom said for their honeymoon they gotta have my grandma come up to watch me because they don’t even trust me to be home alone.

I swear I’m trying but I also don’t know if I am anymore and I feel so useless. Im 17 yet I feel like I’m 7 and like I’m not gonna amount to anything in the world and I just hate it so much. I really just need some help, I’m trying as hard as I can but I don’t even think I worthy of any of their trust anymore. I just wanna give up.

I'm a bit taken aback by some recent political posts on this thread. There are therapists that are being unethical and far too outspoken about their feelings for certain political supporters. Do you treat those clients differently? Because your posts speak volumes about your inability to remain unbiased. Let's take a moment to review the code of ethics and let's think about the impact of saying "im a therapist, here, and I'm disgusted about ___, and those people could never be good therapists!"- How is this going to make those clients feel? How does this look to your colleagues and peers who think differently from you? Is saying this to strangers online benefitting them? Many "therapists" are talking about "the other side" not being capable of compassion, empathy, etc, when this is CLEARLY not true in the slightest bit. Are YOU incapable of showing these qualities to your clients of the 'other side?' If so, let me know so we can get in touch with your board. Most people wouldn't know the alignment of their GOOD therapist, unless they were to ask. If it's apparent before they ask, you probably need supervision or training.

If you want, I can list the code numbers you need to review.

Hi! :) I don’t know if this is the right subreddit to be posting on but i'm (16F) and l've been having paranoid thoughts for years now, but they started to get worse when I was 14. It's an up and down kinda thing some weeks I'm more paranoid and others l'm mostly fine. My parents don't know about these thoughts. I know I'm just being paranoid and that my thoughts are very irrational, so I've never brought it up because it's kinda embarrassing for me. However, they still scare me a lot because a part of me is still like "What if?" You know? I pray a good amount when I'm scared and in general and that does help, but it's still very difficult to deal with and still very scary. Anyways, I was just wondering how to go about asking my parents if I could go to therapy or something. Should I tell them the reason or would it be ok to be vague and just say it's because of anxiety?

I saw my counselor for 3 years. It's hard to explain how colossally fucked I was on every level when I first started seeing them, but they were always, always, really kind to me. In that time, they changed a lot about my life, and I started wanting to actually tell people vulnerable things for the first time (mostly tell the therapist first, and then it spread to other people after that). I talked to them about some majorly traumatic incidents from childhood and adulthood for the first time. I believe they are a very major reason that I’m with my current partner, who is wonderful, who is incredibly emotionally intelligent and kind and caring and has room for all of my mood swings and grief over the past, who is also an abuse survivor. And who weirdly has a lot in common with them, though I didn’t initially know that.

They will always loom so large in my life, they will always be someone who brought about a huge amount of change, they will always be the first person I spoke about rape with and the first person I felt safe with. And I’m nothing to them. I don’t matter to them. It’s really hard to cope with that. I don’t know what to do with that feeling. We’ve talked about it but there’s nowhere to go with feeling like I don’t matter except to go, yep, I’m a client and I don’t matter to you the same way, which they (obviously) agree with.

I also honestly feel embarassed that my therapist feels like the parent I literally never had, and I know I do not feel anything close to the child they never had, you know? I am not their pseudo family member, I'm just that client who has shown up for 3 years without missing an appointment ever like some kind of weird attachment goblin. I know it's transference, but it feels real, and on a level, is real. Meeting them and getting to know them, letting them get to know me, was a pivotal, life changing experience, and I will never be the same. I will not forget them, and within a few years, they might not even remember my name. They are the closest thing to a loving, safe parent I will ever have, and they just don't give a damn about me. That hurts more than I can say.

I’m wondering if anyone else feels the same, and how you found healing from it.

I (25M) just wanted to share how I’ve been feeling after my last therapy session. For most of my life, I’ve struggled with feeling emotionally indifferent and withdrawn. although there is a stigma in my friends and family, still they try to help and support when I’m down, but their words—“everything will be okay, I'm here for you” “don’t worry” etc.—often just make me feel more distant and apathetic.

I’ve been in therapy for a few months now, and it is really helping me. but it wasn’t until my last session that something really clicked. We talked a lot about emotions, values, and what makes me feel fulfilled. My she explained how emotions are the body's way of sending us messages. We dove deep into what truly matters to me, what I value, and why I often feel lost or apathetic.

For the first time in my life, I felt what it’s like when someone truly empathizes with your emotions. I’ve always had people around me who care and gives empathy, but this felt different. It wasn’t just about offering me advice or reassurance—it was about understanding. In that moment, I realized that for the first time, someone was really meeting me where I was, without trying to “fix” me or make me feel like I should be different.

in my overwhelmingly empty and hopeless life where I wish people would simply forget I exist, I felt a small spark of hope, like a light breaking through the darkness. I felt seen and supported.

I’m writing this because, reflecting back on that session, I’m feeling a kind of emotional warmth that I didn’t even realize I was missing. Thank you so much to her and other therapist out there helping their clients.

For context, im 17F, and I've been seeing this psychologist since around March. I don't really want to disclose much of the session, but it was pretty rough as I spoke in length about my hopelessness. I feel really, really bad at first I didn’t even notice she was crying till I heard her voice cracking/choked up. She said she didn't cry because of something I said towards her (like i wasn't being belligerent or rude), I kinda froze up after that. I understand therapists are human, have emotions and I don’t think they should suppress that or it’s “unprofessional” per se, but it kinda felt like it came out of nowhere because she has never, ever cried from what l've expressed about my desires to die and today was similar to some "darker" sessions l've had in the past. I've struggled with mental illness almost my entire life, been in and out of offices and when I started seeing her in march it was finally like I was able to click with someone, and up until now this is the longest I’ve consistently, willingly seen someone.

After she stopped crying she said "I don't usually do that."

Which made me feel especially embarrassed and really bad for her. How can I fix this I feel like I just ruin people and she's a well established psychologist in the area and somehow I said something enough to make her cry. (And I’m pretty sure she’s heard worse and dealt with much higher risk cases than me, so I feel bad that somehow I tipped the boat)

How can I make it up to her? Is there anything else I should be doing?

Im m20 I'm a a pretty regular person externally I've held stable jobs/girlfriends/large friend groups with no issues if you were to able to watch me exclusively in environments where there is punishment for abnormal behavior(school work gym gatherings etc) over my entire life you wouldn't be able to guess I had anything. I've read a pretty decent amount of philosophy(heavily inspired by Nietzsche, deluze, hegel, Spinoza,schopenhour neoplatonism and non dualism) and Eastern religions (Buddhism first but mainly toaism) so no matter what state my emotions are in it doesn't usually bleed into "real life". I'm going to college for psychology now a year and a half in.

I feel like I could get a diagnosis for autism, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, and maybe even schizo effective disorder depending on what parts of my personality I tell the psychologists about. I was diagnosed with depression and was on anti depressants for a couple months at 15 but they didn't do much.

I currently have a diagnosis for ADHD as of a year ago (on 20 mg Adderall daily) and it has been by far the most stable of my life. it's the first year I've been able to do school without it feeling like pulling my hair out 24/7 so I'm now terrified of going to therapy and getting it taken away, I don't think I would be able to continue college without it.

That fear is bolstered by the fact that about 3 months into starting the Adderall, I attended one appointment with a psychologist and they tried to diagnose me with bipolar disorder and requested my doctor to revoke my Adderall prescription, so I have not been back since.

I'm not saying I don't have bipolar disorder but in one appointment? With no clarifying questions or quizzes? No one in my personal life/family would believe that diagnosis if I told them, (not that that means much really but still it can't be THAT clear) and when I told her I was not interested in medication but was interested in anything she could give me psychological advise oriented she just doubled down on the medication. I'm fully open to the possibility I have bipolar disorder but she didn't help me understand at all why it's DEFINITELY bipolar disorder she just told me I had it and that meds were the only way to fix it, thats worthless to me. Plus If it is bipolar I had the least mania and depression of my life the last year on Adderall so that makes me question the validity anyways.

I don't know what exactly I'm asking you guys but I feel lost and getting help seems like more trouble than it's worth.

Tldr I wish I could keep my Adderall and also get a diagnosis/therapy. I don't have issues functioning I'm just not happy while I do it.

I just had a bad experience in a video session on there and seriously wondering if the person I met with is an actual therapist. There was no discussion about the issue I'd requested therapy for ... it felt like the "therapist" was giving me tips they'd read off Google. They were asking personal questions about my spouse that felt irrelevant and almost felt like they were going to try and look my spouse up online or something. I feel even more depressed about my issue now after having gone through all the hoops to get this therapy set up. I matched with a couple different therapists initially who weren't very responsive, then another who wasn't helpful either, and finally this person who seemed OK in messaging but was not great at all when we met. Any better experiences?

I was talking with my therapist recently about some relationship issues involving OF, how they look for specific girls, etc. and she goes on to tell me that “every guy looks at it and it’s the way the male brain is wired.” Which okay, I understand I guess. I proceed to tell her that it’s causing intimacy issues and that I’m not very happy. She started criticizing me? “Why would you be worried if he’s still with you? Are you insecure?” And I just stopped talking and started crying. She made me question myself and made me feel like the bad guy. That it’s normal for guys to subscribe to OF girls.

Anyways, just ranting. I’m switching therapists soon. The way this was approached made me feel like shit and was unprofessional in my opinion. She didn’t go into further detail or anything.

Today our therapist kinda gave us an ultimatum. She is leaving the current practice and opening her own. We told her that we wanted to follow her. She said she had given it some thought and would allow that but with one condition...we start seeing a different therapist for EMDR therapy along with seeing her for talk therapy. We have been very conflicted since she mentioned this condition/ ultimatum. We feel safe enough with her, but we don't feel ready to try EMDR again. She stated she knows it can take some time to find an EMDR therapist who is experienced with DID and that she would look as well. It doesn't help that she is leaving her current practice in like 2 weeks, so there is not enough time to even try and find a different therapist that is willing to take us and for us to establish some trust in a new therapist. We want to stay with her but don't like that she basically gave the ultimatum to get EMDR therapy.

Hi,

Three years ago someone I knew, but not that well, died of cancer in their early thirties. I never knew they were sick, so it really surprised me. I've thought about what happened to them, everyday for the past three years. It's not as weird/obsessive as it sounds, just quick, automatic daily reminders.

I've been thinking about speaking to a professional about it. I've spoken to very few people in my life about it, so even if nothing else comes of the sessions, the idea of talking about it sounds good. Additionally, since the sessions are free (offered through my college), there's no cost to consider.

But I'd feel stupid going to a councillor over such a minor problem, it just seems dramatic and a bit embarrassing honestly. This whole situation is so stupid and self-inflicted.

But councilling could be the only way to get rid of these thoughts. I'm just not sure.

But then again, I'm currently doing a busy internship until the end of the year. Would it be foolish to open up that can of worms while this job is going on? However it would be great to leave these thoughts in 2024.

What do you think? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Had my first session today and it didn’t go well. I don’t want to keep seeing this therapist, but couldn’t tell them that in the session because I got too scared. How do you word an email terminating with someone? Do I tell them I don’t think we had a good fit? I’m worried that it’s rude to say that. What else would I say, though?

Hi im 17, so only a year off 18 now.

Does anyone have recommendations for good Online therapy sites for Under 17's that's available in the Uk?

So far i've only found better help but not only did it not let me sign up apparently its rated bad. 🥲

hey guys, so i struggle with self harm (cutting) and i’ve struggled with it since i was 12 and im now 19. i don’t really talk to anyone about it because my parents reactions were so negative and hurtful that im scared to tell my therapist bc what if he doesn’t want to work with me anymore or wants to commit me? i’m not suicidal and don’t have any intent it just calms me down.. if i tell my therapist this will he send me to a hospital??

So I had this huge emotional meltdown a few weeks ago and it ended with me sending my T a crap ton of text messages of me just feeling like I can't live anymore. She got a little bit freaked out at our next session and said that I should really consider joining an IOP. I told her I was referred to do an intake from my psychiatrist, but I didn't go because I didn't want to do it. I dislike group therapy. I have bigger fish to fry, such as thinking I might be on the autism spectrum, so doing an IOP feels like I have to once again put on a mask in front of others, which I'm already doing daily. I'm seriously at a crossroads, I don't know what to do with my therapy journey anymore. I'm feeling much better now that I've got my meds right, I'm ready for therapy, but it seems like I've scared my T and I don't know what to do now.

So for starters I’m 21M and she’s 29F.

I appreciate her a lot, I was seeing another therapist since I was 12-19 and didn’t go to therapy for about a good two years until I found her. I love her in the sense that she isn’t always challenging my anxiety unlike my previous therapist, there was no room to just sort of talk about day-to-day feelings and thoughts where as my new therapist kind of feels like she feels like the passenger and I’m the driver.

This is the issue though, I feel like I might be starting to experience some sort of transference. At first our sessions would never go past 5 minutes, now she self discloses a lot about herself.. we even relate to a same struggle of losing a parent at a young age.

Yes I know I fully don’t know her, but the mind is very powerful and containing certain romantic thoughts doesn’t help when she always almost laughs uncontrollably when I make a joke, self disclosing personal things about her life, randomly texting me if I’m feeling okay after certain breakthrough sessions and now almost always turning a 1 hour appointment into almost 2 hours.

I feel lost, she really does help me when it comes to introspection and navigating whatever I feel. She’s brought up that she has a boyfriend once or twice when we were on the topic of support systems and just relationships in general. I can tell she really does care, I think she’s pretty but sometimes I leave sessions feeling uncertain.. I have told her in the beginning I was afraid of any sort of transference in a parental figure, I never thought about it leading to any feelings for her. I’m just honestly lost and it doesn’t help that we relate to SO many things and just some stuff she does in general.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hey, so my primary care doctor referred me to therapy for some anxiety issues so I reached out and made an appointment for later this week. But I’m feeling pretty iffy about their cancellation policy. You have to cancel within 48 hours of the appointment or you will be charged $100.

I’ll be using insurance for my visits and I’m in a spot financially where I can’t afford 100 dollars. That is literally my entire budget for a week. I already feel a little defensive towards them because of this and don’t even want to establish care there.

I completely understand having a cancellation policy, but this one just seems harsh. What are policies like where you go for therapy?