I’m really sorry Justbreathe.

What happened to you was awful. Before spending time and money in a lawsuit, you may want to file an ethics report. For some people, having a board weigh in on what happened would help. I know a few others here have pursued similar avenues. Unfortunately, you could get stuck reliving the whole nightmare in front of investigators and there is a risk of feeling further violated and invalidated. Others here who have filed reports could probably provide the pros and cons.

Sometimes I fantasize about reporting my old therapist just so I can finally have the avenue to prove that I was “right”, but I still love her too much to do that. I also look at my own role in what happened and know that my ‘stuff’ contributed to my therapy failure. Personally, the risk of getting retraumatized and invalidated yet again is too high should things not go my way.

For me, it has been a process of accepting that things don’t work out sometimes, life isn’t fair, and I may never get closure. It is hard sitting with awful feelings and not being able to take action or get resolution with the one that helped cause it.

Best of luck in your healing.