Do you think most psychologists and therapists are batshit crazy?

[NewYearFitQueen]

I know about 4 in real life and trust me, they do not lead lives you would want to lead, plus at least two of the seem batshit crazy themselves

The clinical psychology doctorate.

Yes there is literally one single course to complete the ClinPsyD - hundreds of undergraduate psychology degrees and masters but only one way to qualify as a chartered and registered clinical psychologist. Only takes around 1000 people per year.

As a survivor of CSA with ongoing related issues lasting into middle age, it’s been the single most transformative thing I’ve done for myself.

I've only ever had dealings with one counsellor for myself, and she was very good indeed and helped me so much. Teen dc saw another and that one was absolutely fantastic.

I've seen a few different therapists and the private practitioners with a doctorate in clinical psychology were great.

I do know one therapist who is an absolute gem and doesn't have a doctorate, but is just naturally amazing.

I have known a few friends who changed careers to be some kind of listening therapist and in each case I think they definitely were underqualified for the job.

The worst I've seen unfortunately was the NHS one, who was really awful and creepy.

I know several people who work as CBT therapists in the NHS after having a vanishingly small amount of training, having actually qualified as dieticians or physios. One friend told me she only had a day and half of training to convert from dietician work to CBT. She thought it was bonkers too.

I have had excellent counsellors.

however my ex best friend of 20 years was a total narcissist and limped and lurched from one huge drama to another. Awful drama and 90% of them her own doings eg affairs with married men etc I reduced contact and had to end the friendship a number of years ago for my own sanity. She first set up and runs a well known ( in person ) dating agency very top end loads of VIP people etc - she herself, had 3 children by 3 different father, 3 marriages and 3 divorces and all 3 children are now adult and are no contact with her and all 3 fathers ended up with custody of their child. Always them never her and she ended up marrying husband 4 who was a VIP wealthy client and lives in the US.
She has now trained as a top therapist and is 5 years in and seemingly seems to be having an excellent career out of it. My life is much more peaceful without 2 am screaming phone calls as some man’s wife had just turned up and keyed her car or something else….. off to name change now

Unfortunately sincerely anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist, psychologist, counsellor, coach, therapist, CBT practitioner... Some of those will be drawn to that work for the wrong reasons... Some will not have the required natural attributes. Some will have done sweet f all training.

There are a limited number of protected psychologist titles that require strict training pathways and professional regulation. I trained in one of those professions and would say most of the people I studied with and have worked with are very stable in and reflective about their own wellbeing (and aware of their fitness to practice when life happens and they aren't feeling as physically/mentally well).

I work in the field.
it definitely attracts individuals who would be better suited to healing themselves than trying to do so for others.
it also attracts some of the cleverest and most compassionate people I’ve had the privilege of knowing.
i often wonder which camp I’m in?!

I’m sure that many of my patients, friends and colleague would have plenty of positive things to say about me. Whilst I’m sure that others wouldn’t. We are all human.

I’m also very different at work than I am in my personal life. I have no interest in being anyone’s therapist outside my clinic room and I think that offends a lot of people.

i’m not sure what you’re looking for with this thread @NewYearFitQueen - mad, bad and crazy people exist in all walks of life.

DH is FB friends with a CBT therapist who regularly posts on his private page about how awful he’s feeling, all the huge issues he has and how he needs a virtual hug. He has a little fan club who immediately jump on to say how lovely he is (he isn’t lovely at all. He’s a vicious, snobbish little misogynist) and once he’s had his ego boosted, he’s good to go again.

I don’t blame him for having issues, as so many of us do. I do wonder why he’s expecting anyone to pay to listen to his advice when he’s very clearly not doing any of it himself. It’s all a bit Physician, Heal Thyself.

I only know one and I absolutely agree with this statement

Well I do wonder whether anyone sane would affirm that it is possible to change sex

A lot of people on this thread don’t understand the purpose of a therapist. They’ve not there to ‘give advice’.

No - anyone can call themselves a psychologist as well!

This!!

Yes, I know that. He does CBT. I meant in terms of what CBT they should be doing to help themselves.

I know one PhD level qualified psychologist. And maybe 2 people who are therapists. All very reasonable and well balanced people.

@TortoiseEnthusiast. Really? I’m surprised about that. To become a CBT therapist in the NHS I had to have a relevant core profession and then do a post graduate qualification (MSc) with closed supervised clinical placement. After a few years as an NHS High Intensity Therapist I’m now in private practice and have annual BABCP reaccreditation training and supervision criteria to fulfil and can be subject to practice audit at any time.

Of course, nothing is a cast iron guarantee and no therapist is perfect or even if well trained, necessarily the right therapist but many of us do our absolute best to make sure we are a safe pair of hands, working ethically to the best of our ability. But “therapist” is not a protected title so anyone can claim to be a therapist. I think the job is a privilege but also a responsibility, often dealing with very vulnerable people - how are they supposed to know who is a safe pair of hands? A quick glance at social media is pretty scary - coaches and therapists of no obvious training offering testimonials as proof of ability and cast iron guarantees of successful treatment of complex difficulties. They will say they are highly trained, they will say they are accredited by some organisation or other. They won’t have any of the risk training and understanding of their own limits. I wish it was a lot harder to call yourself a therapist.

As for flawed therapists. I think it does attract people for the wrong reasons but if they have a decent long training that does go some way towards sorting out the dodgy ones. For my part, I have been on the planet pushing 59 years now and I have made plenty of mistakes and have plenty of flaws, I’ve brought up two children in difficult circumstances and done an imperfect job there too. Like a therapist mentioned above, I had severe PND at one point in my life. Life experience positive and negative is important but being a therapist isn’t about exorcising your own demons, it’s about putting a client first and treating them with respect within your own competencies. It’s also about reflecting constantly on your work and your own fitness to practice. It is really frustrating that there are sweeping judgements that we are all charlatans :( and I do try to confine my batshittery to evenings and weekends!

I’ve worked in the field for coming up 20 years and done 2 accredited postgrad training courses. I’d say on the first course a third of the cohort were excellent and I wouldn’t hesitate to refer friends and family to them and in fact have done, another third seemed fine pretty unremarkable and one third I didn’t particularly rate at all.

It was a very demanding academic level 7 Masters course to be fair and not everyone completed it. It’s possible to do a level 5 college course in counselling and I know this sounds bad but these tend to be where you get more of the weirder types that haven’t really worked on their own stuff properly.

in the NHS it’s possible for a mental health nurse or mental health social worker to train as a CBT therapist on a one year intensive course but not a dietitian after one and a half days sorry that’s bullshit.

Psychiatrists included

Yes. I’ve never met one that isn’t. The two fully qualified therapists I know are the most unhinged people I’ve known. Brilliantly funny and great communicators but can’t have a healthy relationship to save their life!

The counsellor woman in my dd’s secondary school is definitely batshit. I also had an acquaintance who studied psychology and was neurotic.

‘I’m also very different at work than I am in my personal life. I have no interest in being anyone’s therapist outside my clinic room and I think that offends a lot of people.’

i am exactly the same, I couldn’t be less interested in having work type conversations in my personal life. My SiL asked me about what to say to her 7 year old who was asking questions about why we live etc, I told her to get her reading Sartre 🙈

I have known 2 clinical psychologists. One was barking mad and the other would have left me needing to see a psychologist!!!

I think there are very many who are ‘off the wall’ . To be fair I think you have to be a little on the odd side in order to analyse some people you see.

Most of the therapists I know here all qualified via the same demanding degree course at the local university — the cohort is cut dramatically every year of the four as people either don’t get good enough grades to continue or are advised to take time out to work on their own issues in therapy. Of my sister’s original cohort, only two graduated ‘on time’.

I’ve only been too one therapist. I attended her for a year and got very lucky with her. She has been invaluable to me. I’ve a lot of past trauma and she has helped me deal with it, full of compassion and empathy. I’m not sure where id be if I hadn’t met her.