I went to a new therapist, hoping that it would be beneficial for me. But when I confessed to this therapist that I have intrusive/violent thoughts, she said to me, “That’s not normal!” practically laughing. This made me feel so bad. It says on my intake evaluation that I have schizophrenia. What did she expect? She is either very ignorant, and/or very hateful. Needless to say, I am not going back to her, after having thought about it quite a bit. She sat in cruel judgment of me rather than being empathic. She also insisted on getting my contact info for the clinic where I see a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Was this something that she just has no experience with? Did she want my psychiatrist to up my dose? Well, whatever her problem was, I’m not going to be seeing her anymore.
thats a shame @CarolineC i know how you feel i think,
i have had to deal with a few arseholes at my p/docs, the day nurse person was a complete ■■■■■■■ and only made me feel worse a few times telling us just to ‘deal with it’ i felt like hitting him tbh.
last time i spoke to him he was just belittling what i was saying and trying to hurry me out of the door and he was laughing at me as well,
i mean this is serious stuff we have to deal with its not something to laugh about,
now i usually know whats appropriate and whats not, i am usually a good judge at knowing when it is appropriate to laugh and when not but i admit i do sometimes make an error in judgement
but these people are paid to listen not to laugh, she should have been showing genuine concern i mean who do they think they are? they are supposed to be trained in this sort of thing.
I guess I would have had to be there. But to me that comment doesn’t seem bad enough to warrant writing her off completely and never seeing her again.Sure there are bad workers in every field; from Presidents to dishwashers and all professions in between, but her intention was probably not meant to be mean or belittling. The comment could have been made to lighten the situation or as just some kind of harmless small talk. It might have been said just to break the ice or relieve tension. She might be the greatest therapist around but you took one comment and judged her as a bad therapist which might not be the case. Sure, your feelings are important but are you being too sensitive? You won’t find a perfect therapist. Maybe close, but not perfect. But I realize she may be a bad therapist, there is that possibility.
she has been rude but dont be bothered, probably she wanted to give you insight that such thoughts are not common among people and that sth must be done for it, many of people are not so affectionnate to see the results of their words.
i wouldn’t go back to her either. it’s rude of her to say! It seems judgemental. Maybe you can find someone that deals with the illness?? I found one around here but they are too far away so i’m still looking myself.
I think you need to be choosy with who you talk too. 
I don’t blame you for not wanting to go back. What kind of attitude is that? I really think you need to see someone who has experience with dealing with patients with psychosis.
I’m sorry you had this happen with a therapist. I’d say hold on to this incident in some way. Write it down and use it to remind yourself WHY you are in school and why you want to go into your field of work and when you feel like giving up you can refer back to this and tell yourself… “I’m going to be better then that.”
My pdoc and my therapist contact each other just to be on the same page. I see my doc 20 to 30 minutes a month or so. I see my therapist all the time. So sometimes something comes up in my docs interview that I forgot to mention to my therapist and vice versa. That part wouldn’t upset me as much.
It’s hard to find a therapist that really cares i think!! I haven’t liked the ones i’ve seen so far.
When i first saw my therapist, I had a lot of doubts about her, it took months before I realized that she knew what she was talking about. With SZ there is a lot of mistrust of others involved, its the nature of the illness.
Maybe you could give this therapist some more time? I don’t know - If you are looking for real and honest empathy, you might not find it, but it is possible to absorb some good advice and counseling from certain therapists.
You have to find the right fit. Good luck.
Well here’s what ive found- some people have to laugh to cover up their true feelings. It is likely that she just reacts to unsavory news with a laugh, just like some men will react with a “man up” sort of reply. She probably felt awkward and wanted to try to play it down like it was something to laugh about, probably with the intent of trying to make you feel better, I know that sounds weird but I’ve seen all sorts of reactions reports of schizophrenic symptoms. I usually give people some slack for not really having anything to say about hearing about psychosis.
Maybe remember that some people say that you have to laugh to keep from crying. I doubt a therapist actually thinks that it’s funny, I used to laugh on the outside about my illness with my friends, but then my smile quickly faded and I would drink another gulp of whiskey. So did my friends.
She knows it’s not a laughing matter. I’ve had people give “knee jerk reactions” like blurt out “what do you want, a medal?” when I told them I had paranoid schizophrenia. People just don’t enjoy hearing about it, that’s the reality…it’s better she tried to belittle it than insult you.
I know my head is cross wired. Sometimes something hit me so deep I want to cry. It feels like I’m going to do it. The sadness, the hit to the heart, the tears climbing up the back of the throat. But then this weird disconnected laugh comes out and I just can’t stop it.
People who know me know this laugh and know it’s not like my real one. They know this is not a good sign. Oddly enough sometime my eyes will water if something strikes me as sweet or happy.
My head is cross wired.
Thank you all for your kind and thoughtful comments. It helps.
I have experienced many intrusive violent thoughts before. When I explained this the counselor rolled her eyes around saying “so you have sociopathic traits, you are not going to hurt me are you”?
How incredibly rude and hurtful! Don’t therapists know how to deal with schizophrenia? I guess no matter how much education someone receives, it still takes a kind and caring individual to be a good therapist, rather than to just make you feel bad.
“That’s not normal”
What bugs me is that the world is so messed up that “Normal” is almost meaningless. And then you can look at the opposite end of things,…for instance if the majority of folk hopped and skipped their way down the sidewalk whenever on a sidewalk, this would be considered to be normal due to it being practiced by the majority.
These crazy days, normal is defined as that which is practiced by the majority. Whether it is right or wrong, sane or insane, does not seem to be included under the title of normal.
To be normal these days means “To be ONE OF US.”.
If you do not go with the flow and do as do others, then you are cast aside and demoted.
If i ever get a dog or cat im going to name him/her “normal”, thank you for the inspiration.
What a good name for a pet.
I remember the day I had to tell a doctor about my violent thoughts. They seemed to take it very well. They put me in the Homicidal unit at Truman Medical Center in Missouri. I’m very thankful that my head started to calm down and I’m less of a threat now. I work now to avoid the homicidal thoughts however the suicidal thoughts come back every now and again.