In my brief time having Erika Baum as my therapist (about a month with only a handful of sessions), I found her conduct to be condescending, minimizing, and unprofessional. In our last two sessions, Erika implied that I was wasting her time and the time of the IOP staff in the program I am attending. She also suggested that my dissociation was a result of boredom, rather than trauma, and minimized my struggles with activities of daily living (ADLs), such as showering, saying it was easy to do and that I should "just do it." Her response was if I couldn't even do simple tasks, how could I do more complex work, like trauma processing?
When I raised concerns via email to discuss later, seeking clarification and expressing discomfort with her assumptions, Erika responded in a way that confirmed my concerns by reinforcing her tone and attitude during our last session. She confirmed that she was frustrated and implied that I wasn't truly motivated to get better, which was offensive and hurtful. Her disregard for a boundary I set early on about needing a more supportive approach, rather than "tough love," was upsetting. Despite sharing a past negative experience with a similar approach, she ignored this and repeated it not once, but twice.
Erika also told me that she does not practice motivational interviewing or treat Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), despite it being listed on her LinkedIn profile and listed as one of her specialties on her website and profile. She also expressed in her own words that I was "too mentally ill and impaired" to work with her and that she was not equipped to support me, which came across as rude, condescending, and lacking in empathy. However, I do agree that she's not equipped for this line of work.
When discussing struggles with ADLs, Erika said she had never encountered a client with such difficulties or ever heard of it. This statement, combined with her dismissive attitude, felt invalidating. I don't know if she was feigning ignorance about obvious symptoms of mental illness, but it shows she clearly doesn't understand the challenges posed by mental illness. This is a serious red flag for me in her ability to provide the support anyone needs from a therapist. Especially if she is unaware of how depression affects people, yet it's listed as one of her specialties/certifications, along with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), PTSD/trauma, shame, and suicidality. If she could be so cold and shame me for my struggles, I can't imagine what else she'd shame someone for. The blurb about her approach being non-judgmental and compassionate is troubling, as that obviously wasn't the case and couldn't be further from the truth in our time working together.
After processing these events with peers and therapists in the IOP program, as well as with my new therapist, it was recommended that I report Erika. Her supervisor agreed that her behavior was inappropriate and lacked empathy, and that her blunt approach could be her military background. However, her supervisor, having been in the military as well as my new therapist, both agreed that this wasn't an excuse for a belittling attitude that lacks empathy and compassion. Her lack of empathy and respect, as well as her insensitive and invalidating responses, have made it impossible for me to trust or continue working with her.
I am thoroughly appalled by her behavior. I trusted Erika with my struggles, only for her to use them against me in a critical and judgmental manner. Her behavior mirrors the same abusive patterns I am working to heal from, which only deepened my sense of betrayal. Given these interactions and the significant harm caused, I would not recommend Erika as her approach is not conducive to healing for others seeking therapy. My experience with Erika has been both deeply retraumatizing and damaging. The fact that she's trying to hide and bury my truth with duplicate pages of her business and false reviews from friends and colleagues (a conflict of interest) who aren't her patients speaks volumes about her character.
I'm considering reporting her to DORA like I was told to. She replied insincerely in an email before repeating the behavior and then in a comment to my review to only cover herself. I didn't buy into the fakeness either time and anyone else should be able to see right through it too. I'd look at psychologytoday.com and use those filters to find someone else who uses the same modalities. Someone with more than a year or less under their belt that knows what they're doing and will be kind and supportive as a therapist. She projected her mother issues onto me and only had terrible things to say about her late mother with BPD. All of her profiles (including PsychologyToday) are filled with lies. Read between the lines and make an informed decision for yourself. Someone who would tell someone with suicidal ideation they're a waste of time and is that negligent has zero compassion and no business being a therapist. read more
