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Old 03-29-2011, 09:01 PM
  # 23 (permalink)  
Babyblue
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Originally Posted by emp919 View Post
Regrettably, mental health professionals and practitioners – marital and couple therapists, counselors – are conditioned, by years of indoctrinating and dogmatic education, to respond favorably to specific verbal cues.

The paradigm is that abuse is rarely one sided – in other words, that it is invariably "triggered" either by the victim or by the mental health problems of the abuser. Another common lie is that all mental health problems can be successfully treated one way (talk therapy) or another (medication).

Refusal to do so – in other words, refusal to risk further abuse – is harshly judged by the therapist. The victim is labeled uncooperative, resistant, or even abusive!

The key is, therefore, feigned acquiescence and collaboration with the therapist's scheme, acceptance of his/her interpretation of the events, and the use of key phrases such as: "I wish to communicate/work with (the abuser)", "trauma", "relationship", "healing process", "inner child", "the good of the children", "the importance of fathering", "significant other" and other psycho-babble. Learn the jargon, use it intelligently and you are bound to win the therapist's sympathy.

Above all – do not be assertive, or aggressive and do not overtly criticize the therapist or disagree with him/her.

I make the therapist sound like yet another potential abuser – because in many cases, he/she becomes one as they inadvertently collude with the abuser, invalidate the abuse experiences, and pathologize the victim."
Sorry but I will vociferiously defend therapists since I work directly in the mental health field. There are so many different types of methods that therapists practice, that to put it all in such a context is grossly inaccurate. There is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychoanalytic, Biofeedback, Family practices, etc etc. Each one is unique and applies different bodies of thoughts behind the method.

There is no scheme or subversive motive behind a therapist to outwit or manipulate a client. That would actually be misconduct and they would lose their license! Clients are not viewed as 'prey' or 'less than' because all your assumptions are counter to how therapy actually works. Therapists don't have agendas because the whole point of it is understanding each client and providing them with tools to cope with a variety of issues.

Sounds like you had a bad experience with therapy which is sad because someone did you a misservice if what you took away was that a therapist is just another type of abuser. Very sad actually.
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