Therapist laughed at me

[RightMoaningHilda]

I feel like shit now. I’m a joke. Don’t want to see her again.

raise it with her when you next see her

as it might be relevant as to why you’re in therapy?

You are not a joke OP! Do you want to share the context? No worries if not of course

Could they have laughed in solidarity? Or to try and diffuse?

Either way agree it doesn't sound good or progressional and not something I have ever encountered!

how long have you been seeing her?

Can you give some context?
Dd is autistic and often misinterprets things said to her and needs them to be explained.
On the face of it this sounds unprofessional, but having been through similar with dd I wonder if there’s a little more to this?

What did she laugh at? What reaction would you have liked her to have?

laughing isn’t necessarily at you, it can be a response to an extraordinary situation, especially if it’s one that places you in a situation that someone else has orchestrated and the listener can spot a pattern emerging. Laughing at the predictability of someone elses behaviour wouldn’t be at you, but in recognition of the ridiculous situations others have put you iyswim.

I was explaining a complicated legal/financial issue that I have been trying to resolve and which has really brought my mood low because I can’t fix it.

i’d wager she did not laugh at you OP (aside from anything else… it doesn’t sound remotely funny!)

Op are you sure she laughed at you and not at the context of what your were saying, why would she laugh at you on a complex matter?

You were telling her about your finances and she suddenly broke out laughing...?

It definitely wasn’t a commiserating laugh acknowledging that she could see exactly why it was such a tangled situation for you. More of a ‘blimey, that’s a bit of a head fuck’ kind of laugh when there’s nothing of value you can offer because the situation is so complex?

I’d be inclined to email/write to them and tell them how you felt because of their reaction. Either they’ll see your point and want to reassure you and/or they will want to explore why you’ve reacted to their reaction. It may just be that they aren’t a good fit for you, hopefully they would be able to recognise this and advise you if that’s the case.

none of that means you or your problems are ‘jokes’ but just leaving it doesn’t help you or resolve anything. It just leaves you filling in the blanks which clearly isn’t the best thing for you given how you’ve immediately turned to minimising your problems and considering just shutting down the relationship so you don’t have to address it.

Email her and tell her. You can find another therapist. But maybe give her a chance to explain?

Could it be that your automatic assumption she was laughing at you is part of the reason you’re i. therapy Op?

yes, I am a joke

Are you sure it wasn't a "haha oh my god that sounds awful" type of laugh? I'm sure she wasn't laughing at you.

At what point exactly did she laugh? More context please! Talk it through.

Therapy relies on trust in the counsellor. You are entirely justified in changing counsellors to find somebody you can work with. However the laugh was meant, it has undermined your confidence in this therapist and unless they can make a very good job of apologizing and reassuring you at the next session you will be much more likely to succeed with someone new. Better than wasting your money and her time.

ok - it’s becoming clear.

OP you are very very hyper sensitive

do you live anyone OP that you could chat this through with them and get their view

Having trained as a counsellor this is disgusting behaviour
Raise it with her or her manager and find. A new therapist
Do not let her mistake put u off someone knew or make u feel crap
There are some therapists out there who would actually do there job properly in a non judgmental environment
Hope you are ok OP

No, unfortunately not. I’m a sad loser posting on an anonymous internet forum

Thanks

OP, it sounds like you are in a very low place.

Please give the Samaritans a call. They will talk through the whole thing with you confidentially, they are really brilliant.

The number is 116 123 and it's free.

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

I'm not going to say I don't believe you about being laughed at, because I wasn't there. But I will say that, even if someone did laugh at you, it doesn't mean you're a joke. Other people can be clumsy or insensitive - it's not a reflection on you.

Thank you @CeilingGranny