To address the concerns raised in this thread regarding my request:

1. If a person specifically asks for a diagnosis advice from members, you're welcomed to add your two cents. If they do not ask for it, and you feel the person has been wildly misdiagnosed (as a concern of their psychotherapy), you're also welcomed to gently suggest a second opinion (but probably not offer your own diagnosis, since they didn't ask for one). In any other case, you should probably stay away from trying to offer a diagnosis.

2. We won't allow threads to be posted without replies. There are so many places you can go online to rant (like starting your own blog) if you want to do that. This is a discussion and support forum, so it doesn't really fit within our purpose.

3. Posters are always responsible for asking for exactly what it is they are expecting or wanting from posting their thread or question. If they want specific advice, they should say so (and that would be fine by me). If they just want to be validated for their feelings, then it would be helpful to say something like, "I was angry and now I feel guilty for being angry. Is it okay to feel anger?"

There's often two sides to a response -- the emotional one and the rationale one. If you don't help us understand which one you're looking for, you're likely always to get a mix of the two. Which, in most cases, is okay. It's just that sometimes it crosses over into, "You did this wrong," which is not a supportive or helpful response (even if technically true).

4. If you're unsure if the OP wants a specific opinion or not, you can always start with an emotionally-validating reply ("Wow, that truly stinks. I would've felt the exact same way in that situation..."), but then also query if you have more to say on the issue but don't want to be too pushy ("I also have some advice-like thoughts on this, but not sure if you want to hear them or not...?").

5. I think that as long as you don't do so in a judgmental manner (suggesting your way is right and their way is wrong), you're welcomed to share how you might've handled a situation differently. We're all different people, and sometimes that can be helpful to hear a different scenario, and sometimes it might not help at all. But if done in a thoughtful, caring manner, I'm okay with it.

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I only post generally of this nature to the forum because it's a (a) recurring issue for this forum in particular and (b) there are too many posters who sometimes fall into one of these areas to contact individually.

You would get a warning first (and often 2 or 3 warnings) before any actual action is taken. So if you are one of our members who's inclination is to judge others' behavior here or what not, we'd give you a PM heads-up about the issue to give you an opportunity to change your behavior. (That's what we always do, for any issue in the community.)

Consider this a clean slate. We just want to keep this forum a positive and safe place for people to be able to come and discuss their issues, concerns, wins, and questions about psychotherapy or their therapist. This is best done in a supportive, non-judgmental environment.

Thanks,
DocJohn