[Soccer mom]

Have any of you experienced emotional abuse by your therapist? After 8 months with new T and reaching out to the TELL group, I am coming to terms with defining my experience as emotional abuse. I now see the signs: major anxiety at my sessions, scared of her reaction to my feelings, feeling lots of shame when she would blame me, not wanting to tell my full story on here for fear that people would suggest I leave, etc. I don't think ex-t purposely did it but her reactions to be and inconsistency have given me the feelings I've been abused.

I was hoping to find some books to read on the subject that others have found helpful.

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My experience with T1 was very similar to yours. I have found there isn't much literature on the subject and I have found this site the best place for information and support (along with current T). In fact, I'm not sure I would have known enough to leave without the support and experiences of other people on this site. It helped me realise what was happening was not normal.

[ruh roh]

I had one who was verbally assaultive--making derisive proclamations about me without really much information. Fortunately (I guess), it happened pretty much from the second session. It was so early that I wasn't invested, and by the third appt., I couldn't take it and quit.

I have always felt the guilt and shame of it, knowing there was someone in the world that, upon just seeing me, could act so hateful. I've wondered if some of it may have been that I was referred by a couple of her clients whom I later found out did not like me, so it could have been partly that she was going off of their impressions, but it felt like just being ground into the pavement.

Funny this is, the two people who referred me to her had been cheating me out of work I really needed (I had unwittingly brought them into the field and opened doors). The loss of work, and blow to my self esteem, caused me to lose my home and live on the edge for several years. The whole scene with the therapist and these other people was toxic, but as I was in the dark with what was happening with the two so colleagues, I had no idea what I was stepping into. I really tanked after that.

So, while it's not the same duration or intensity of what you went through, I can understand the feeling of being shamed by a therapist.

I have sought help from all over. TELL was NO help to me!!! What a disappoint they turned out to be.

MY T made up stories and illegally obtained phone number of people in my personal life. He TURNED THEM AGAINST ME TOO!!!

The people on the Board in my town TURNED AGAINST ME BECAUSE THEY WERE JUST AS ILLOGICAL AS MY T!!! GO FIGURE.

Well NOW I AM AGAINST THEM!!! IT WORKS BOTH WAYS. AND V IIOLATING ME IS NOT GOING TO LOOK FOR ANY OF THOSE INVOLVED !! AND WE KNOW HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR THEM TO "LOOK GOOD".

I'm talking about some really ROTTEN TO THE CORE PEOPLE HERE.

[Ididitmyway]

Yes, I've experienced emotional abuse in my first and my third therapies. The first experience was the worst. This, in fact, is the whole reason I created my website (the address is in the signature section of my profile).

The best book for those who've been emotionally abused by a therapist is "Falling for Therapy" by Anna Sands. There are some other books but they have more to do with emotional and sexual seduction by a therapist.

When I talked to TELL I realized that they were more knowledgeable about the dynamics of sexual abuse in therapy since most their volunteers are the survivors of such abuse. When it comes to purely emotional abuse, I didn't feel they understood its dynamics really well.

You are welcome to PM me if you want to talk more. I am sorry you've been through this. Unfortunately, it's the experience of many people.

There is not a lot of information out there that i could find. TELL wasn't very helpful to me about what I went through. There are people here who helped me a lot. People who speak out about how damaging therapists can be are lifesavers to me. Once you lose your therapist who are you supposed to trust? For me it was other people who had been through therapist abuse. It sounds like you have a good therapist now. Having someone who validates your experience is very important.

[growlycat]

Early on in my teens I had a therapist inpatient that had a prior working relationship with one of my family members (She hated him) They should have split us up because her bad attitude colored my therapy. She should not have been my therapist but being inpatient makes you pretty helpless to defend yourself. Sorry you had a bad therapist!!