Protect yourself against "Crazy Therapies"

blackwhitered · Feb 22, 2014, 05:43 PM

[excerpted from this book review]

Quote:

There are very few sure things in life, but the following guide to recognizing an incompetent, immoral or quack therapist is about 99.9% guaranteed.

You should not trust your therapist, regardless of his or her reputation, fame, diplomas, certificates, etc., if

1. He or she tries to have sex with you or claims that having sex with one's therapist is "good therapy." Intimate sexual behavior, including erotic kissing, fondling or lovemaking, between therapist and patient is always inappropriate. (The Sexual Predator)

2. He or she tries to have you move in and do chores, keep the books, work the farm, have sex, etc. (The Exploiter)

3. He or she spends a lot of time during your sessions talking about his or her own personal problems, such as her husband's illness, his wife's frigidity, another patient's hang-ups, his sexual needs. (The Neurotic)

4. He or she requires as a condition for therapy that you cut off all relations with your spouse, children, parents and other loved ones. (The Cult Guru)

5. He or she claims to know what your problem is and how to fix it, even though no thorough history of you has been taken. (The Savant Idiot)

6. He or she claims that you must be hypnotized in order to discover either hidden memories or hiding entities which are causing your problems. (The Exorcist)

7. He or she specializes not in treating people for specific problems such as depression or anxiety, but rather in treating people as if all problems have an identical cause. (The Johnny-One-Note)

8. He or she claims to have a technique which works miracles or works like magic, curing those who had heretofore been considered hopeless. (The Miracle Worker)

9. He or she has a checklist which is claimed to be an excellent way to find out if you suffer from whatever the therapist specializes in, and you have enough checks to qualify. (The Scientist)

10. He or she requires as a condition for therapy that you accept certain religious, metaphysical or pseudoscientific notions. To have good therapy you should not be required to believe in God, reincarnation, alien abductions, possession by entities, inner children, Primal Pains, channeling, miracles, or any of the many pseudoscientific theories popular among therapists. (The New Age Pseudoscientist)

Depletion · Feb 23, 2014, 04:37 AM

Waring Rant Below: no judgement if you like this stuff, it just bothers me a bit, so I wanted to say something.

What is up with the new age thing for real. Some hints of this seem to linger in most therapy offices I've been to. I get that they want the space to be calming but some nice soft piano music in the waiting room would be just as good as the newagy stuff.

Also what is up with the meditating thing. They claim that its non-religious, but it has serious religious overtones to me. It really does seem like a spiritual practice that belongs to a certain group of people. Thank Goodness my last therapist suggested that I sketch instead of meditate. Much more helpful for me too.

*End Rant*

blackwhitered · Feb 24, 2014, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Depletion

Waring Rant Below: no judgement if you like this stuff, it just bothers me a bit, so I wanted to say something.

What is up with the new age thing for real. Some hints of this seem to linger in most therapy offices I've been to. I get that they want the space to be calming but some nice soft piano music in the waiting room would be just as good as the newagy stuff.

Also what is up with the meditating thing. They claim that its non-religious, but it has serious religious overtones to me. It really does seem like a spiritual practice that belongs to a certain group of people. Thank Goodness my last therapist suggested that I sketch instead of meditate. Much more helpful for me too.

*End Rant*

Also, be skeptical of someone who describes him/herself as a "psychotherapist", "psychoanalyst", or "counselor", as those are not officially registered, certified, or licensed titles in the US. Anyone can identify as these regardless of qualifications.

Quote:

Licensed professionals who practice psychotherapy include the following:
Psychiatrists
Registered psychiatric nurses
Clinical social workers
Licensed counselors
Marriage therapists
Family therapists
Clinical psychologists

Also beware of hypnotists (another unregulated title) and hypnosis, as it can cause false memories. It is well-documented that hypnosis doesn't really help recover memories-- but it gives the patient more confidence in them, whether they were real or false.

UnderRugSwept · Feb 24, 2014, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackwhitered

Also, be skeptical of someone who describes him/herself as a "psychotherapist", "psychoanalyst", or "counselor", as those are not officially registered, certified, or licensed titles in the US. Anyone can identify as these regardless of qualifications.

The part about a "counselor" above is just untrue/misleading...I am looking at the web site for the Board of Licensed Professional Counselors for my state. To be a Licensed Professional Counselor you have to have a certain level of education, take exams, take continuing education classes, etc. There are also titles of Licensed Professional Counselor Associate and Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor that require the same.

stopdog · Feb 24, 2014, 09:15 PM

I meditate every day and do qi gong breathing exercises. I find them useful. I am one of the least religious people ever. I would not say I was spiritual either.

blackwhitered · Feb 25, 2014, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elsewhere

The part about a "counselor" above is just untrue/misleading...I am looking at the web site for the Board of Licensed Professional Counselors for my state. To be a Licensed Professional Counselor you have to have a certain level of education, take exams, take continuing education classes, etc. There are also titles of Licensed Professional Counselor Associate and Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor that require the same.

Yes, but those are "licensed counselors", not just "counselors". "Licensed counselors" are on the list of licensed professionals.

However there are no licenses for "psychoanalysts" or "psychotherapists" as far as I can tell.

growlycat · Feb 25, 2014, 11:51 PM

My main T is into mindfulness, and his work has been openly influenced by Buddhist philosophy. I think the fictional tv racist/bigot Archie Bunker once used the term "atheistic jew" , in an odd way, actually describes my T, or at least an agnostic Jewish person, if there is such a thing (love my T to pieces btw!!!)

So it has always made me confused and wary too. In the end I've taken up meditation and a bit of mindfulness myself. I'm an atheist. I guess I got over my misgivings over mixing religious influence and therapy.

RTerroni · Feb 25, 2014, 11:53 PM

I agree most of these things are bad for a Therapist to try to engage in, some are even criminally bad.

Feb 26, 2014, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackwhitered

However there are no licenses for "psychoanalysts" or "psychotherapists" as far as I can tell.

I believe somebody once posted something about it being different in different U.S. states. I can't remember the details, but as far as I can recall, in some states, "psychotherapist" is actually a protected job title. Which is also the case in my country - you cannot call yourself a psychotherapist here unless you have a licence from the government board of health and welfare.

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