Bad therapy!! And if you're a minor, then she'll tell your parents (almost) everything you tell her.
My therapy with Dr.Stafford was awful. I would come in and just vent to her about all of my problems. I was a child and didn't know what productive therapy looked like. Eventually, talking shit and focusing on the negatives became a toxic habit that I carried out into my life outside the sessions.
I started seeing Dr.Stafford at age 12 for my debilitating PTSD, anxiety, and mild depression. The sessions didn't work, so I asked her to refer me to a psychiatrist. The medications helped greatly- until I was faced with larger problems in high school.
All of the sessions I can remember with Dr. Stafford were me venting, and her just listening- no guidance or tips for managing stress- nada! I spent the sessions hating my life.
I also told Stafford about going out with friends in high school: staying out late, going to parties, etc.
I told her these things because I thought I could trust her. Little did I know, she was telling my guardians EVERYTHING I was telling her.
The lady who took me in poured out to me- enraged over my behavior- and revealed her source was Dr. Stafford. She also told me that she knew for a long time, and just didn't say anything because she wanted me to "FEEL" like I could trust my therapist.
HA. What a joke.
Unfortunately, it gets funnier. There was something Dr.Stafford DIDN'T tell my guardians. I confided in Dr.Stafford about my guardian father grazing my nipples underneath my shirt while I was half asleep. She told me I was probably dreaming and dismissed it completely. At the time, I thought this was for the best, because I really wanted to live at the house I was in, and didn't want to cause problems. Now, looking back, that was a horrible way to have handled my issues- horrible of me, and horrible of A CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST.
My inability to cope with stress led to massive tantrums- especially after getting in trouble. The fear of losing my placement was overbearing.
I eventually got kicked out of their home anyways, and suffered in an orphanage until I was 18.
Years later when I saw Dr. Stafford I was cordial and asked how she was. She asked how I was and what I was doing for work. At the time, I told her I was dancing (stripping) and she scoffed and said she had a feeling I would do that.
If she had a feeling I was going to go down a bad path then why the hell didn't she try and stop me earlier? Why didn't she help me when my mind was perfectly malleable? That's why my guardians paid her. That's why I showed up there every god damn week- not for the free candy or to waste everyone's time!
A good therapist can help greatly. Now that I have one, I understand what good therapy looks like, and what freedom from past issues feels like.
Good therapists are out there- she just isn't one of them!
Don't take your children here- they will not be helped!! read more