This is the limitaiton of this written message system. None of the proper emphasis can be conveyed here.
I have for 7 [seven] years called and seen every therapist, counselor, or practioner who I could in an effort to find somebody who would address the issue of MALE rape. It took 2 years with a social worker/ therapist before it was even allowed to be discovered.
I was referred to the Rape and Sexual Abuse Center in Nash, and went religiously for 1 year, only to be told they had no further resources available for me. But what about the females? They had self defense classes and socail skills not to mention support groups as well as group therapy. Only since the first of the year have I been blessed enough to actually have a therapist willing to listen long enough and take the time to see for herself the problem of MALE DISCRIMINATION I describe. I don't know how long I will be able to keep going to see her, but I spent 7 years before I could find her and be allowed to see her. That's 7 [SEVEN] years until I could tell the truth and be safetly recieved and listened to without rejection or fear of being dropped. And that does not take into consideration the 30 odd I spent in total silence after my first attempt with a pseudo-therapist.
Finally; there is no such thing as a county mental health agency in Tn. Only private pay clinics, or rare stand alone providers, mainly social workers unliscensed within the mental health board of registry, who have extemely limited knowledge of medical diagnoses like PTSD. And the vast majority who are actually liscensed are unwilling to even submit compliance documentation to be within networks and bill for insurance.
And I know first hand from which I speak. I have had to deal with it. It's sad but true, and I hope I am not being to harsh for you, but this sad system of mental health providers is nothing less than pitiful, not to even mention the gender bias that first caused me to write. I suppose if I ever am involved in a support group, it will have to be one of my own. No one else is willing to be receptive.
I don't intend to put you on the defensive, but unless you are a male facing this issue, let alone one from Tn, I don't believe there is any way 'you' can understand. Everyones judgemental attitudes and unwillingness to sympathize puts me on more than a defensive stance. I have yet to have anyone to agree with me, let alone be willing to ask what I have actually seen with my own two eyes. And don't even bother to mention how they make me feel.
No one is willing to address the real issue of gender bias here, and never mind the complete break down within the theraputic profession.
Good Day;
Tom S.