I would like to preface this review by saying that I saw Eric Miller several years ago (circa 2012) at the Stanford student counseling center. I hope that his skills have evolved since.
I think our encounters merit 1 star because Dr Miller failed to meet me where I was at, in a way that left me re-traumatized, put me in physical danger and made it that much more difficult for me to reach out to someone else for help again.
Mistake #1: He grilled me about my family of origin. After the first indication of major childhood trauma, he should have backed off. That's a can of worms that ought to stay closed when someone is already struggling.
Mistake #2: After he realized that I was completely overwhelmed talking about my childhood (I was frozen in place, unable to speak or move my eyes), he suggested a series of "grounding exercises" that only further increased my anxiety. Asking me to close my eyes? Having me focus on sensations in my body? I needed help shifting my attention outwards, not further into my own mind and body.
Mistake #3: He tried to refer me out to a long-term therapist in the community, in a way that I was unable to follow up on. My crippling anxiety prevented me from making phone calls at that time. He seemed confused why I was hesitant about the community referral. Instead of asking me why, he kept re-iterating that Stanford was not providing the services I needed, as if I hadn't heard him the first 3 times. I was too overwhelmed and ashamed to volunteer my phone anxiety at that point.
Mistake #4: He let me leave his office in a dissociated state. Apparently I wandered into traffic while in a haze. A police officer approached me in the middle of the road and said that multiple vehicles had swerved to avoid me, and gave me a ride home. (That had never happened before, or since.)
I struggled with nightmares and hypervigilance for several weeks after meeting with Dr Miller. It took me another year to find the courage to approach another mental health provider. read more