It was our second marriage counselling session online. The counsellor’s Zoom doesn’t work properly and every time she speaks it gives this awful electronic buzzing feedback noise.
I tolerated it last week as I thought it was a one off and she said it didn’t always happen. She asked to call us so we could hear her down the phone instead, and we put the phone on speakerphone so she could hear us. We could see her on Zoom still but I felt uncomfortable with the whole setup.
We went to read our “Expectations Sheets” to each other which I felt a bit nervous about to begin with. As soon as I spoke, she said “I can’t hear you.”
I said that I couldn’t see how the session would work as her technology was faulty. I asked her if she had any headphones she could plug into her phone. She said no. When I complained that I didn’t think it was an ideal setup that an online counsellor has audio-video issues they haven’t tried to resolve she said she’d refer is back to our insurance company as I had a personal issue with her. She said she’d go back to them and mention that we didn’t seem to get on, but refused to take any responsibility for the fact that her equipment doesn’t work. She asked to speak with me alone and said things along the lines of “this ain’t just about the technology is it.” I told her I had no issue with her but that I expected an online counsellor’s tech to work and that the sound issue made an already difficult thing feel harder, but I felt she was trying to present me as being overly sensitive. I think I might try and find someone else, but the waiting list was long enough. We only get a few sessions covered through my private healthcare at my work and I don’t want to waste them. I don’t know whether to just put up and shut up, but in any case I feel it’s already caused her to take sides against me.
I’d just like to hear what others think about this. Am I being unreasonable with my expectations?