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Old Apr 10, 2016, 09:08 AM
ruh roh's Avatar
ruh roh ruh roh is offline
Run of the Mill Snowflake
 
Member Since: May 2015
Location: here and there
Posts: 4,468
Quote:
Originally Posted by notwithhaste View Post
I am completely confused and heartbroken. This woman is like a mother to me, and she thinks I deserved to be left because I'm abusive? Am I abusive? I don't understand. Last week, she said that abandoning me would never be justified - now it's suddenly completely justified because I'm an abuser!

I'm supposed to see her again Monday. I don't know if I can handle going. I can't believe that's what she thinks of me. Maybe it's true?

Has your therapist ever called you abusive?

Thank you for reading...and thank you for any support you can offer, I really appreciate it.
My therapist has never called me abusive, but when I look back on my younger self (around your age) and in therapy with my first therapist, I can see that I lashed out a lot, called her incompetent. She was, in fact, incompetent and/or inexperienced (I don't know which because she gave up her practice--so I think she sort of figured it out on her own). This was well before trauma was considered as a cause of symptoms, and that therapist was new and utterly lost. Regardless, I was a mess and she was not going to be the person to help me right my ship.

I share that because, from reading your account, your therapist doesn't sound able to help you. The problem is, she also seems to be as enmeshed as you are in the relationship.

Yes, a client should be able to be angry and go through a range of emotions and not have the therapist react or retaliate, but the reality is that not all of them are skilled enough to navigate a client through that without getting (as you say) caught up. So, there is the ideal (which some people are able to find--good for them), and there is the reality, which leaves clients with therapists who have a lot of limitations.

I'm really sorry for the pain you're in. Is there anyway you can get back to issues that took you to therapy? Things outside your relationship? Because if you're not able to leave (which would probably be the healthiest option), that's one way to untangle this.
Thanks for this!
awkwardlyyours, Bipolar Warrior, LonesomeTonight, Out There