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Old Oct 30, 2019, 02:31 PM
depressedIRL21 depressedIRL21 is offline
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Hello all,

I kinda wanted to get your opinions about this. How do you feel about having a therapist or other professional who has bipolar or another mental health issue? I say this because I have bipolar and I am training to become a therapist.

My opinion is that having a therapist or other professional who can somewhat understand what you are going through is a great thing.
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  #2  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 02:37 PM
Joybydesign Joybydesign is offline
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I believe it would make you a very empathetic counselor or therapist. I became a life coach to help women because of my own personal journey with depression and anxiety. I feel it makes me a perfect candidate to help people. My 2 cents. Cheers
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  #3  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 03:04 PM
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Wild Coyote Wild Coyote is offline
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Hi!

I think it's just fine for any professional to have a mental health challenge. It's very important the condition does not interfere with responsibilities.

As for a pdoc and/or therapist experiencing mental health issues, I feel this is fine unless it somehow harms the client.

Thanks so much for this thread!
So glad to see you posting here!
Much love.
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  #4  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 03:27 PM
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Nammu Nammu is offline
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Wouldn't bother me a bit , as long as they were practicing good mental health care.
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  #5  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 05:01 PM
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I would actually probably prefer it.
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  #6  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 05:22 PM
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Pookyl Pookyl is offline
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It’s fine as long as it did not impact on your ability to do the job and any responsibilities. I would expect any professional to not disclose their own issues.
Personally, based on experience I would prefer to have a pdoc and T that wasn’t bipolar. I’ve been hospitalised with pdoc’s and T’s and it’s terrible being with a manic pdoc who’s lost the concept of patient/pdoc confidentiality and is blurting out all manner of confidential information.
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  #7  
Old Oct 30, 2019, 06:08 PM
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LilyMop LilyMop is offline
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I think it’s perfectly fine so long as you are managing it. Think of it this way. If you had diabetes would you be ok going to a doctor who also has diabetes? Or would you insist only on doctors who don’t have diabetes?
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  #8  
Old Nov 01, 2019, 12:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LilyMop View Post
I think itÂ’s perfectly fine so long as you are managing it. Think of it this way. If you had diabetes would you be ok going to a doctor who also has diabetes? Or would you insist only on doctors who donÂ’t have diabetes?
I'm sorry, am i misunderstanding?

While I understand this comparison on some level, a diabetic does not have some of the horrible episodes many people living wirh BP report experiencing. Such an episode(s) does make BP so very different from diabetes..

Diabetes does not cause impaired judgement and/or psychosis.,which is frequently present in BP "episodes." Hopefully the professional would be very stable. Yet, people living with BP report episodes occuring repeatedly.and, often, unexpectedly.

How is diabetes similar to BP illness?
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  #9  
Old Nov 01, 2019, 03:41 AM
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~Christina ~Christina is offline
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I’m certain my Pdoc has OCD issues. He has a huge problem making eye contact. My T warned me about him as far as eye contact goes ahead of time.

My Pdoc is brilliant and over the last 8 years he’s been able to maintain eye contact here and there but usually he’s either looking up or blinking his eyes rapidly and often closes them as we talk, it was odd at first but it’s just fine now.

My T and him have works together for over 25 years and he acts the same with co workers at monthly birthday parties etc

As for having a T with Bipolar ?? I think it would be helpful for them to “ help me” but I don’t think I would want to know if they had BP ... my Therapy is about ME and what I struggle with .. if I knew I’d honestly probably feel I couldn’t be 100% honest as I’d fear I might “ trigger “ him or her.
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  #10  
Old Nov 01, 2019, 06:36 AM
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My therapist implied that she takes psych meds, but she never said what kind and what for. I think she let it slip by mistake and didn't even recognize she said it, so I pretended I didn't hear it.

I basically said to her, "Sometimes I forget to take my psych meds and then I end up taking them a few hours later when I realize I missed them." Then she was like, "hmm... I do that with mine sometimes." (Unless she was just referring to taking regular meds, but I *think* she meant psych meds.)

So far, haven't had many problems with her, other than the fact she rats me out to my pdoc and she said to me, "You have flat affect and flat vocal tone. That is probably why you have no friends -- because they think you're not interested in them." Gee, thanks...

So I guess it wouldn't really matter to me, as long as they're able to stay stable or at least control their symptoms well. My therapist seems to control hers well (assuming she has a psych condition).
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  #11  
Old Nov 01, 2019, 06:56 AM
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LilyMop LilyMop is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wild Coyote View Post
I'm sorry, am i misunderstanding?


While I understand this comparison on some level, a diabetic does not have some of the horrible episodes many people living wirh BP report experiencing. Such an episode(s) does make BP so very different from diabetes..


Diabetes does not cause impaired judgement and/or psychosis.,which is frequently present in BP "episodes." Hopefully the professional would be very stable. Yet, people living with BP report episodes occuring repeatedly.and, often, unexpectedly.


How is diabetes similar to BP illness?


Uncontrolled diabetes can certainly lead to some personality changes. I’ve seen even the sweetest people behave horribly when blood sugar is out of control. I’ve seen marital problems and problems on the job all due to problems caused by uncontrolled blood sugar. There are also many other issues with diabetes and it takes a lot of work to manage it. Diabetes can lead to blindness, loss of limbs and loss of kidney function just to make a few things. Uncontrolled diabetes is a nightmare. So yes, if you find a doctor who has had diabetes for many years and he or she is healthy and active, then you’ve found a doctor who practices what they preach so to speak. There are many illnesses that require a complete lifestyle change to manage in addition to medications. Often there is a stigma associated with mental illness but why should it be that way? Physical illness is no different than mental illness. My point was simply to offer encouragement that if you manage your illness, whatever that illness may be, you can live a full and productive life. We all have limitations but why not strive to be the best we can be.

Last edited by LilyMop; Nov 01, 2019 at 07:21 AM.
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  #12  
Old Nov 01, 2019, 07:00 AM
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randal randal is offline
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My first therapist is bipolar, and it was comforting to know he knew intimately how I was feeling. At our first session he immediately went into what bipolar was going to be like and the problems we (Mary has always come to sessions with me) were going to run into and was the only tdoc to try to answer my most important questions: "Ok, I'm bipolar. What happens next? Where do I go from here?"

We left him because I was being transferred around to different programs, pdocs, and tdocs. We'll always be grateful for the care he showed us.
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  #13  
Old Nov 01, 2019, 10:20 AM
fern46 fern46 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LilyMop View Post
Uncontrolled diabetes can certainly lead to some personality changes. I’ve seen even the sweetest people behave horribly when blood sugar is out of control. I’ve seen marital problems and problems on the job all due to problems caused by uncontrolled blood sugar. There are also many other issues with diabetes and it takes a lot of work to manage it. Diabetes can lead to blindness, loss of limbs and loss of kidney function just to make a few things. Uncontrolled diabetes is a nightmare. So yes, if you find a doctor who has had diabetes for many years and he or she is healthy and active, then you’ve found a doctor who practices what they preach so to speak. There are many illnesses that require a complete lifestyle change to manage in addition to medications. Often there is a stigma associated with mental illness but why should it be that way? Physical illness is no different than mental illness. My point was simply to offer encouragement that if you manage your illness, whatever that illness may be, you can live a full and productive life. We all have limitations but why not strive to be the best we can be.
I can see both sides here. I think there are many with BP who experience cycling that regularly impairs their judgment despite doing all they can to manage it. In this case I would hope that this person might recognize that their continual cycling might adversely affect their ability to effectively offer the care that their patients need. They aren't doing anything wrong, but they might not be a best fit for this job.

There also seem to be people on the BP spectrum that remain relatively stable and rarely experience cycles that cannot be controlled with minimal intervention. These individuals change their meds up or deploy other strategies when illness arrives and they are able to remain functional throughout. These individuals might be ideal candidates to treat those with BP because they are intimately familiar with the effects of BP and have experience deploying strategies to manage it.
  #14  
Old Nov 02, 2019, 10:03 AM
TheSadGirl TheSadGirl is offline
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I actually think a lot of people who get into psychiatry do so because they or a loved one has mental health concerns.

My therapist has boughts of anxiety and depression. She shares some of her own experiences and I find it comforting to not feel alone. I also think in some ways she relates more to me. She isn't just listening, but understands.

I don't think a mental health issue should prohibit one from being a professional, provided your symptoms are managed and won't compromise patient care. Beyond that I consider it an asset overall.
Thanks for this!
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  #15  
Old Nov 03, 2019, 05:32 AM
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~Christina ~Christina is offline
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As i have thought about this. When the event happened in Florida and the ptsd was a constant 24/7

Once I got back home I was mistakenly told my old T Retired so I went to the other county mental clinic run by same company

I get assigned to “Brian” right off the bat I say “ listen I honestly don’t know how to do therapy with anyone other than Richard so ......”

He didn’t explain his practice, call between visits , email, Text etc didn’t so much as breathe the word boundaries. These were all things Richard has started out first visit with 7 years prior.

Anyway “” Brian “” asked me what was going on , I told him about the event in Florida and the resulting ptsd, he asked maybe 4-5 questions then there was just silence. He didn’t say anything , I sure didn’t know what to say. Eventually he asked me how often I would like to be seen I said every 2 weeks ? Okay see you on X date

Second visit he asked how I was ... I rambled ptsd nightmares, my anxiety off the charts , no sleep for 4-5 days at a time. Etc etc.

He sat back just staring at me... very uncomfortable , I asked him why he didn’t have a clock I could see ? Richard always had 3-4 clocks around , I could glance at it and keep track and make sure I could get out what I needed to say before time up

He shrugged. Ummmmmm okay. Well then he starts talking about his horses , i mentioned i use to have 4 then Fibromyalgia hit so I eventually found them all new homes. He said horses and lexapro is how he treats his depression. Ahhhh do I say congratulations? I mean ok , I mumbled something about animals being so helpful

Next visit he calls me back and his boots are filthy as in I just mucked dirty stalls , so mentally he’s not Brian he’s now plowboy in my head.

He immediately starts talking about his son dropping off his dog and Plowboy having to take care of it and how it hates baths I sat there dumbfounded , he went on to tell me his wife has breast cancer and that struggle. I legit turn around and look at the clock and say well it looks like our time is up , can we please focus on MY problems next time ? I think you need to see a therapist and not unload on your client and walked out

Next and final appt. he said well we can do EMDR, but the administrator is the only on who does that here , not sure he would want too. He ( plowboy) thought ECT would fix me..I said if it did then no one would suffer ptsd. I was done, all the fight was out of me , I wanted to exit life early but I went ip . Anyway thats a whole other story. My GP called and said I had to be seen following a hospital stay. I go and Pat walked into the room and i break down balling my eyes out. Explain my useless plowboy , I said Richard had retire. She grabs out her phone and makes a call No he wasn’t , people were given out wrong into, she left Regina a message to grab him as soon as he came out of session to see if he could see me , apparently he yelled yes , I had an appt 8 am the next county over the next day !!! Saw him and just cried.

I explained Plowboy “ therapy”
Richards reply was I have meet him many times and he is a waste of a Therapist and needs his license yanked and burned to ashes. He said I will email Him that I am taken over your care. Well a few days later I get a text reminder about an appt with plowboy, I can the office and explain to front office no I have gone back to my old T. Plowboy calls me asking why I left ??? I considered ignoring him, but hey? You asked me I’ll tell you. “ hi plowboy , the reason I will not waste another second in your office not once did you offer me any help other than ECT ! Which is not treatment for ptsd, I never cared about your depression , horses and certainly not about you son dropping off his dog .. YOU need a therapist your not fit to see anyone.

I see my T a few days later,, Richard had sent a email explaining I was going to be switching back since we had years together. Plowboy sent him a very nasty email about poaching his clients !!! I was like omg !!! I explained what I said he said ok I need a minute.

He composed the email with what my sessions with him were like. then my final call with him plowboy and he cc to his administrator.

Few weeks later Richard let me know that Plowboy has been let go LOL

So if I have a T that has depression or bipolar or anything please do not tell me your troubles you need to see a T Yourself. I am here because I need help. Period.
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  #16  
Old Nov 03, 2019, 01:04 PM
depressedIRL21 depressedIRL21 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ~Christina View Post
As i have thought about this. When the event happened in Florida and the ptsd was a constant 24/7

Once I got back home I was mistakenly told my old T Retired so I went to the other county mental clinic run by same company

I get assigned to “Brian” right off the bat I say “ listen I honestly don’t know how to do therapy with anyone other than Richard so ......”

He didn’t explain his practice, call between visits , email, Text etc didn’t so much as breathe the word boundaries. These were all things Richard has started out first visit with 7 years prior.

Anyway “” Brian “” asked me what was going on , I told him about the event in Florida and the resulting ptsd, he asked maybe 4-5 questions then there was just silence. He didn’t say anything , I sure didn’t know what to say. Eventually he asked me how often I would like to be seen I said every 2 weeks ? Okay see you on X date

Second visit he asked how I was ... I rambled ptsd nightmares, my anxiety off the charts , no sleep for 4-5 days at a time. Etc etc.

He sat back just staring at me... very uncomfortable , I asked him why he didn’t have a clock I could see ? Richard always had 3-4 clocks around , I could glance at it and keep track and make sure I could get out what I needed to say before time up

He shrugged. Ummmmmm okay. Well then he starts talking about his horses , i mentioned i use to have 4 then Fibromyalgia hit so I eventually found them all new homes. He said horses and lexapro is how he treats his depression. Ahhhh do I say congratulations? I mean ok , I mumbled something about animals being so helpful

Next visit he calls me back and his boots are filthy as in I just mucked dirty stalls , so mentally he’s not Brian he’s now plowboy in my head.

He immediately starts talking about his son dropping off his dog and Plowboy having to take care of it and how it hates baths I sat there dumbfounded , he went on to tell me his wife has breast cancer and that struggle. I legit turn around and look at the clock and say well it looks like our time is up , can we please focus on MY problems next time ? I think you need to see a therapist and not unload on your client and walked out

Next and final appt. he said well we can do EMDR, but the administrator is the only on who does that here , not sure he would want too. He ( plowboy) thought ECT would fix me..I said if it did then no one would suffer ptsd. I was done, all the fight was out of me , I wanted to exit life early but I went ip . Anyway thats a whole other story. My GP called and said I had to be seen following a hospital stay. I go and Pat walked into the room and i break down balling my eyes out. Explain my useless plowboy , I said Richard had retire. She grabs out her phone and makes a call No he wasn’t , people were given out wrong into, she left Regina a message to grab him as soon as he came out of session to see if he could see me , apparently he yelled yes , I had an appt 8 am the next county over the next day !!! Saw him and just cried.

I explained Plowboy “ therapy”
Richards reply was I have meet him many times and he is a waste of a Therapist and needs his license yanked and burned to ashes. He said I will email Him that I am taken over your care. Well a few days later I get a text reminder about an appt with plowboy, I can the office and explain to front office no I have gone back to my old T. Plowboy calls me asking why I left ??? I considered ignoring him, but hey? You asked me I’ll tell you. “ hi plowboy , the reason I will not waste another second in your office not once did you offer me any help other than ECT ! Which is not treatment for ptsd, I never cared about your depression , horses and certainly not about you son dropping off his dog .. YOU need a therapist your not fit to see anyone.

I see my T a few days later,, Richard had sent a email explaining I was going to be switching back since we had years together. Plowboy sent him a very nasty email about poaching his clients !!! I was like omg !!! I explained what I said he said ok I need a minute.

He composed the email with what my sessions with him were like. then my final call with him plowboy and he cc to his administrator.

Few weeks later Richard let me know that Plowboy has been let go LOL

So if I have a T that has depression or bipolar or anything please do not tell me your troubles you need to see a T Yourself. I am here because I need help. Period.
Woah! That Tdoc is definitely in need of his own therapy. I would never unpack anything I am going through with a client. The time in the room is for them not for me. I could see myself using a potential example but that depends on my level of trust with the client and if I want to disclose my dx. To me, I see therapy as being action-oriented where we don't spend 45 minutes talking about thoughts and behaviors but also spend time developing skills and discussing resources that could help the client in their time of need.
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  #17  
Old Nov 03, 2019, 08:46 PM
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HALLIEBETH87 HALLIEBETH87 is offline
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Ugh I remember plowboy. So glad you’re back with Richard!!!
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  #18  
Old Nov 03, 2019, 10:15 PM
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Pookyl Pookyl is offline
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Plowboy and my experience with manic pdocs/T’s is why if I had a choice I’d prefer a non-bipolar professional.
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————————————————————————————
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Psych meds: Saphris, Seroquel XR, regular Seroquel.
PRN Diazepam and Zopiclone
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  #19  
Old Nov 03, 2019, 10:41 PM
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~Christina ~Christina is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by depressedIRL21 View Post
Woah! That Tdoc is definitely in need of his own therapy. I would never unpack anything I am going through with a client. The time in the room is for them not for me. I could see myself using a potential example but that depends on my level of trust with the client and if I want to disclose my dx. To me, I see therapy as being action-oriented where we don't spend 45 minutes talking about thoughts and behaviors but also spend time developing skills and discussing resources that could help the client in their time of need.


He was pathetic. Thank god I was able to get back in with my old T. Finding out plowboy was fired truly did make me happy and much relief for any unfortunate clients.

My T is throw out what problems I have usually within 5-15 mins at most the rest is formulating a game plan to resolve issues. I’m grateful I have a brilliant T.
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