Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To force DS back into counselling?

61 replies

FluffyT · 21/07/2021 13:09

I’m sorry, this is quite long. My DS (Nearly 16) has been through some significant trauma in his life, most of which has occurred over the last 4 years. The issue is that he is completely unable to accept what has happened to him and has a very skewed view of his experience, as in he doesn’t believe or acknowledge he has suffered trauma. He insists/pretends that he is fine, but I really think he is far more affected than he let’s on. Whenever I bring it up or ask him to talk about things he shuts it down immediately. He did attend counselling previously for the same issue but refused to engage at all and would sit there in silence and eventually the counsellor said it was counter productive.

Our home life is not great and we tiptoe around DH the majority of the time, though this isn’t the main cause of my DS’ trauma. It is definitely a contributory factor and I am working hard on a plan to get us away from the situation. Its complicated and quite difficult but please know I’m trying to fix it.

It’s the other issue which I am convinced he needs to confront and deal with to be able to move forward in certain aspects of life. It has come to a head recently and his behaviour has changed in that he is more withdrawn and clearly has it on his mind.

So, I suppose my AIBU is whether it’s unreasonable to make him go back to counselling even if he doesn’t want to in the hope that this time he might be able to start dealing with what happened to him?

I was debating whether to be specific or vague about this but I think I will get asked straight away so without going into too much detail he became involved in an abusive situation with a much older woman who manipulated him and has completely messed with his head. Police became involved and he is no longer in contact with her etc. But he has been left with the aftermath which he refuses or is unable to acknowledge. Is making him go back to counselling going to make it worse or better?

I worry about him a lot and feel terrible and so very guilty that I have been unable to protect him like I should, not just from this situation but our ongoing home situation. I suppose I am quite fragile and what many would call a pathetic mother.

OP posts:
TrueRefuge · 21/07/2021 20:04

I felt compelled to write as your son's experience is quite similar to mine and I thought it might help you to have some insight.

I was a little older than your DS but I was a vulnerable individual at the time, and looking back, was groomed by somebody in a position of authority. At the time, I felt completely in love, and broken-hearted, and as if I had acted with agency. I was too young and naive to realise how I had been played, and preyed upon. It's taken me many years to realise that, so it might be better, for now, to treat your son as broken-hearted rather than traumatised, per se, because it might resonate with him more....

As others have said, you can't force him into therapy, but you can just be there for him, not judge him, not make him feel worse than he already does. Be a safe space and a support.

The other parallel is my father was also horrible to be around; it's one of a number of factors that made me vulnerable to male attention, and it made my whole life pretty miserable. I wanted nothing more than my father to be out of my life, but there was nothing I could do. Unfortunately, my mum, although kind and loving, also buried her head in the sand (perhaps influenced by my father being the dominant one) and neither of them really explored why I was drinking alone, spending so much time in my room (self-harming), and when they found out about this "relationship" punished me for it and never spoke to me about it again.

Back then, I couldn't have told you why I was in so much pain, because nobody really validated my feelings and everything was just too much (on top of the standard teenage hormones!) It's only now, 15 years later, that I can look back on events in my life and understand why I made decisions I made, why I treated myself the way I did, why I got into the relationships I did. I don't think therapy would have helped me then. I just needed to feel safe, and having a bully in the home and a lack of any real attention was not safe for me to explore what was going on psychologically.

So, my advice to you would be not to pry or push, but just to support. Develop a relationship with him that, when he's older and maybe has hit rock bottom and is ready to face his demons because he knows he needs to do it for him, not for you, that he knows he can come to you and you won't judge him or shame him or punish him. Let him know you'll accept him no matter what, and that you love him. If you can get him away from his father, I'm sure that would be hugely helpful as well.

I say all this as a female, and I can't pretend to understand the inner workings of a male teen (!) but I hope this has been useful. It sounds like an awful situation for the family, for you, but you sound like you want to do the right thing, so you should be proud of that.

Flowers
LindyLou2020 · 21/07/2021 20:05

@FluffyT..........
I don't have any inspiring advice to give you atm, but your post suggests you are anything but a "pathetic mother". Please try and believe that Flowers

BuffySummersReportingforSanity · 21/07/2021 20:15

Seriously, you've got to go, and as soon as possible. The important thing is not to leave "right", but to leave soon.

It is impossible to unpack and process trauma while you're still in an unsafe space. You can only begin that once you're actually safe.

Theworldisfullofgs · 21/07/2021 20:15

Therapy works best when you are ready and you feel safe enough in your life to engage with it. Its a bit of a circle.
I think if you sorted out the home situation he might be able to deal with it. Its probably taking all of his emotional energy just to manage being a teenager, school/exams and home. We can only cope with what we have capacity for and therapy is about being vulnerable.
You can't make him and he might not be ready for years - speaking from experience...

Theworldisfullofgs · 21/07/2021 20:18

Your definitely not pathetic. You just sound like you need help. Women's refuge? Or anyone else/other orgs/ charities, that could help?

FluffyT · 21/07/2021 21:36

Thankyou for the kind posts. They are appreciated.
I’ve looked into women’s refuges but they either don’t have any space or won’t accept teen boys and I’m not leaving him behind. I am looking into other options but we don’t seem to fall into any of the right categories to get enough help to actually leave. I feel like it’s a huge hill to climb which I am trying to do whilst also trying to keep things with DH on an even keel, keep DS away as far as possible from the toxicity of the situation and support him with his own trauma. It would be easier to just give up but I know that would be worse for DS. Another option is to try and find him somewhere else to stay but then I worry he would think I didn’t want him anymore.

OP posts:
Theworldisfullofgs · 21/07/2021 21:41

Why not use this thread as a place to start.
If you were prepared to talk to them, could school help or the nhs? Children's services are 0-19 and your child is vulnerable. Social services?
Would it help talking to your ds and acknowledging the impact of the situation on him and that everything you are trying to do is with him in mind?

Craftycorvid · 21/07/2021 22:13

Therapy can’t work with a coerced client. He may well feel angry that he’s been parted from a woman with whom he had a reciprocal relationship (as he may see it). He may feel he needs to protect her.

Agree with pp it seems imperative to get you and your son to a safer and more stable living arrangement.

DGFB · 21/07/2021 22:20

You poor thing. But for the record you are not a pathetic mother.
Don’t try and force him to go to counselling, he may be dealing with it better then you think. And there is the option of him going to counselling as an adult.. if he chooses to.
Just support him, let him know you are there for him if he wants to talk.
But I agree with the others, it’s more important that you find a safe place to go with your son and to leave your DH. You deserve better than this

SomeCleverPun · 21/07/2021 23:21

@FluffyT
Therapist here. I've frequently had people contact me explaining their DC/DH or whoever needs therapy, and often it is apparent that the person doing the encouraging is the one who really needs to be having the therapy. I would encourage you to consider you probably have a lot more to gain from seeing a counsellor than your DS at this moment. It may be time/energy/money well spent on yourself if it helps you to manage your whole situation, inc supporting your DS.

The other thing I'll say re trauma is that processing timelines can be different for each person - it can sometimes be harmful and retraumatising for a person to have to relive experiences that they are just not ready to do. Much as it would alleviate some of your distress in seeing your DS less distressed, the 'I need him to be okay so I can feel okay' misdirects the attention towards him when it sounds like you could do with the space, time, kindness and attention in counselling for yourself, too.

Lastly, withdrawing, silence, avoiding, emotionally retreating or any other way of coping your DS is choosing to use right now is probably keeping him protected from any trauma/pain, and might be the very thing that is keeping him going right now. I would be reticent to yank away that away from him if that is what he needs to do for now to get through through this tricky time. We all have ways in which we cope through hard times, they're not always sustainable or healthy ways, but we do them anyway because those are the ways we see available to us at that time.

I'd give him space and time OP, and get thee to counselling yourself when you're ready.

SwanShaped · 22/07/2021 07:42

Refuge is hard to find with teenage boys. But lots of DV services do outreach work too and may be able to help you move without it being into a refuge. It’ll most likely take longer but would be a step towards not having to tiptoe round your husband.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread