Update: I reached out to the practice owner/supervisor about my concerns. She responded that she…read morehad reviewed the clinical documentation and circumstances of my care and determined that the care provided was consistent with applicable ethical and professional standards. She also provided referral resources for outside care.
I appreciate that the matter was reviewed and that referral resources were provided. However, from my perspective, the response did not provide much plain-language explanation of what happened or why the therapeutic relationship and group therapy ended the way they did. It also did not feel especially personal or trauma-informed given how painful and destabilizing the ending felt to me.
I am still hoping for a clearer and more human explanation, and I will update this review if there is meaningful follow-up.
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I had a difficult and painful experience with Georgia. She was helpful early on, especially in her understanding of gifted and neurodivergent trauma, and some moments felt validating.
However, I did not feel supported where I most needed help. I came to therapy for CPTSD related to multiple past assaults, and during our work together I experienced another assault. I was extremely vulnerable and destabilized, and my reactions did not seem to be understood through a trauma-informed lens.
My main concern is that my trauma responses were interpreted too narrowly as possible mania. In one group session, I arrived late, visibly distressed, and had just come from a PET scan while coping with a recent assault. My behavior was framed as mania rather than a trauma response, shifting the focus away from repeated trauma and acute stress.
I understand clinicians must consider diagnoses, but the focus on mania felt fixed despite the context of assault, fear, hypervigilance, overwhelm, medical stress, and neurodivergence. Other practitioners I have consulted have generally agreed that my presentation fits trauma-related distress and neurodivergent communication patterns more than mania, which made Georgia's interpretation more confusing.
When I tried to explain that my reactions were trauma-related, there did not seem to be openness to that perspective. Instead, I felt pressured to accept a diagnosis that did not fit my experience, and when I could not do that, I was told treatment could not continue.
When I tried to express how this affected me, there was no meaningful acknowledgment or repair. Being told we could not move forward felt abrupt and rejecting at a time when I was already struggling.
At the time of the interaction described in Georgia's office, I believe my functioning was appropriate given the circumstances. I was able to provide a coherent account of my medical history, track the sequence of events leading to the appointment, and respond directly to questions without loss of coherence. I was distressed, but I was not operating with impaired judgment. I do not believe Georgia should have treated acute distress in response to those circumstances as evidence of mania.
My communication style is rapid, detailed, and associative, reflecting neurodivergence, high cognitive processing capacity, and integrative thinking. I often link related concepts, provide context, and anticipate follow-up questions, which can result in layered responses. While this may appear intense under stress, it does not indicate loss of reality testing or compromised decision-making. I remain oriented, self-aware, and able to modify my communication when prompted.
My sleep patterns have changed, but they do not fit the classic manic pattern of decreased need for sleep. The issue is not whether my sleep schedule differs from the norm, but whether reduced sleep is accompanied by increased energy, impaired judgment, grandiosity, risk-taking, or sustained mood elevation. In my case, reduced sleep leads to fatigue, cognitive slowing, and physical depletion, not increased energy or productivity. Later sleep episodes are often prolonged, sometimes 12 to 16 hours, and restorative. This suggests exhaustion and recovery, not decreased need for sleep.
Trauma-informed care requires sensitivity, flexibility, and attention to context, especially during recent trauma. Intense distress and dysregulation in that setting are not inherently signs of mania. While clinicians should consider diagnostic possibilities, I do not believe Georgia should have attributed mania based on isolated distress, one unusually stressful event, rapid communication, or nonstandard sleep patterns. Accurate assessment requires attention to context, baseline functioning, trauma history, neurodivergence, medical stressors, observed judgment, longitudinal patterns, and the perspectives of other practitioners involved in a client's care.
This approach may work for some, but it was not right for me. I left feeling hurt, misinterpreted, and unsupported.
