Therapy update!

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I just received an email back from my chosen therapist (I wrote him a very long description of my problems and what my goals are in treatment) and he sounds very understanding and empathic. He thanked me for giving him a lot of information to work with ahead of time and said 2x a week for deep insight therapy isn’t out of the question, but finances might limit me to just one session a week for now. He offered me some open slots to choose from, so I have my first appointment (which will run into 75 minutes or so) in 2 days! Why do I feel like I’m going on a date or something? (No I do not find him attractive lol!)

I’m kind of surprised my telling him I have a BPD diagnosis didn’t scare him off due to the stigma. I remember one therapist who I felt I connected with on our intake session calling me a few days later after looking over my psychiatric records and saying, “sorry, I don’t work with borderlines.” I don’t act out anymore though, so I don’t think there should be any problems.

16 thoughts on “Therapy update!”

  1. Glad you’re so excited about meeting with your new therapist. I’m sure things will go great for you. Just noticed the link to my blog on your sidebar. Thank you so much! Love the blog! Keep up the good work! ❤

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  2. My new therapy center *specifically* works with people with BPD. What an unprofessional counselor (who would turn away “borderlines!) Gagh! But I’m so glad for you that you will be meeting with someone who is trained and empathetic.

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    • I bet therapists turn away people with borderline all the time and just don’t say that’s the reason. I had a therapist call me back after I made an initial call to her, leaving a message and being specific that I was dx’d borderline. She called me back to tell me she couldn’t help me.

      I was really upset but just said, “OK thanks.” And hung up.

      In such a case, it would’ve been better for me if she hadn’t called me back at all. It was bad timing and I was in need of therapy pretty badly at that point.

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      • I think the stigma is very sad. If we come to therapy, we want to be helped, not invalidated because of our dx. It’s true that some Borderlines do act out and give their therapists a hard time, but I don’t think most of us do!

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      • Oh no! I heard about this, but I didn’t know this was a thing that therapists do. I guess there are specific needs that BPD clients have that aren’t treated well in “regular” therapy? Regardless, that is so rude! It’s one thing to say, “I haven’t been trained in treating clients with BPD” it’s a whole other thing to say, “I can’t help you.” Shouldn’t she have referred you to another counselor? This pisses me off (on your behalf). I’m so sorry. Did you ever find a therapist?

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        • Thanks Quixie. It pisses me off too. Like I said, I’d rather she had not called me back at all.

          I have been struggling to find one. I was in therapy for a bit and then she bailed on the job. Lol. She actually told me ONE WEEK before she was leaving and in telling me she was leaving she actually called it “this job”. Truth is we weren’t getting anywhere anyway. I tried another in the same facility but she hadn’t been through therapy herself so I stopped seeing her.

          I have a list from the insurance company (public assistance) and have called a few from it with no success at connecting. I played a short game of phone tag with one, and two others never returned my call.

          I agree there are probably special needs for BPDers. But although I was dx’d with BPD I was also dx’d with PTSD.

          Recently I haven’t been actively looking but the intention and plan is to go back to the list and actually call a few male therapists and see if I can get some progress going with one of them.

          Thanks for the comment. And yeah, it would be nice if they referred but she would have to know my insurance, etc. so I could see why they wouldn’t refer. I don’t know if it’s “a thing” therapists do or not, pertaining to my previous comment. But I wouldn’t be surprised. Also, I’ve had a lot of not so great experiences in the last few years with therapists that just don’t know how to help and instead of just saying that, they try and end up doing more damage. So it’s probably obvious as to why I have been dilly dallying on find a therapist.

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          • I know this wasn’t addressed to me but what an infuriating and frustrating situation that is. No wonder you’ve been taking your time finding a therapist. I hope you have better luck with the male therapists and this ordeal ends soon. Best of luck!

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            • Thanks Otter. If I’m going to continue writing I’m probably going to need one. Thing is I need a right one. Or rather a ‘good enough’ one. They don’t seem to be available in these here parts. At least I don’t seem to have access to one or any. lol

              Thanks for the validation. It is infuriating and that’s the reason I take the breaks in my search. It sucks to be angry at something I can’t do much about.

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  3. It is a good sign that you are looking forward to and vested in therapy. Best wishes and I hope there are positive results day#1.

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