# Therapists mocking people with serious mental health issues in their spare time



## SorryForMyEnglish (Oct 9, 2014)

People who go to therapists or have been in therapy, I wanted to ask you some questions:

1) Have you been mocked a lot in your life and it was painful to you (in family, at school etc)?
2) Have you ever got to know about/caught your therapists mocking people with mental health issues similar to yours?
3) Do you think it's ok for them to mock such people in their spare time/on social media? 
4) If they were mocking people with similar issues or looking like you or very similar to you on social media, how would you feel? What would you do about your therapy sessions?
5) Is it ok if a therapist mocks Greta Thunberg on their social media, paying excessive attention to her mental health issues, childhood traumas and therefore deeming what she says about ecology not valuable like what randomers and shallow people on the internet do to prove their ''political position''? 
6)Is it ok if they mock ''freaks'' (in their own words) from the internet?
7) If you knew that if you weren't their client, they would despise you if they got to know you somehow/randomly met, how would you feel? Would you continue the session cause they say they can't despise you because you've been in therapy with them for a long time, but otherwise they could?


Sorry for this questionaire. You don't have to answer the questions exactly.


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## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

1. I've been mocked plenty. Pretty sure people like me are the most hated people on the planet.
2. My therapist has never mocked anyone during a session, but I don't follow her on social media.
3. I don't think it's okay for anyone to mock anyone else, but it's not like I've never done it. I mock people who hate people like me, though I try to remind myself they do so out of ignorance. I'm not sure what motivates a person who looks down in people with mental illness to get a job helping people with mental illness, but I know there are people like that. They could probably use a good therapist.
4. If I caught my therapist mocking people like me on social media, I'd lose respect for them, I wouldn't be able to trust them anymore, and I'd probably get a new therapist.
5. No.
6. No.
7. I wouldn't be surprised if they despised me, because I assume most people do. I don't think a person can, with integrity, simultaneously despise a class of people and respect me as a member of that class at the same time. I wouldn't trust anything they say.


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## Persephone The Dread (Aug 28, 2010)

Uh so many people bring up Greta's autism just because they don't like what she has to say. It holds exactly no relevance to the validity of the argument besides the fact that it helps her stay dedicated where most would never have that degree of passion. I find it really annoying.

Anyway yeah I've been mocked before, and no it's not OK for your therapist to mock mentally ill people. I would stop seeing them if I caught them doing that. I don't trust people that much as it is.


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## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Well, therapists are people like everyone else - so you've got to be selective. That doesn't mean they can go around mocking people though - especially clients.

I haven't had one that straight out mocked me I don't think - that last weird little guy a few months ago sort of did, he sort of made fun of the fact that I'd lowered the dose of my medication myself. Then when I was leaving he said he didn't think I knew how I felt - as in my moods. This was after he'd spoken to me for 45 minutes on our first meeting. I don't have time to waste on dickheads like that. 

That's what I hate about some shrinks - they can be incredibly arrogant.

I had another guy that made a joke about people with an eating disorder - that was very strange, and very unprofessional. I'd been seeing him for quite a long time and he probably thought he could be a bit chummy.

You really need to be selective when it comes to these people. They're like anyone else - some of them are hopeless. It can be very tiring finding a decent one - especially if you're not feeling well. Then when you find one that seems okay they only want to fill you with pills anyway. That wouldn't be so bad but some of the pills make you sick. It's very difficult.


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## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

Sounds like they're terminal @$$holes, it's quite common among ****-sapiens, unfortunately there's no cure, it can be suppressed with education & conditioning, but a flare up is inevitable, we should pray for them.


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## Cool Ice Dude55 (Jan 7, 2014)

My therapist hasnt mocked me/others.


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## CNikki (Aug 9, 2013)

harrison said:


> You really need to be selective when it comes to these people. They're like anyone else - some of them are hopeless. It can be very tiring finding a decent one - especially if you're not feeling well. Then when you find one that seems okay they only want to fill you with pills anyway.


This pretty much sums up (most) of my responses. I've even had multiple confrontations with one I 'had' to see. Passive-aggressiveness is one of the worst things that can set me off, all I'll say...


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## Raies (Nov 3, 2016)

1)
Different types of mocking, I'm quite thick skinned in this (I tend to criticize myself enough to not give a crap about what others say).

2)
I don't go to a therapist, but I recall our psychology teacher (a doctor in cognitive field), talking about some weird stuff with some people, it was less mocking and more about "what the ****".

3)
I don't think anyone who understand mental illnesses is going to mock them. That being said, I too sometimes laugh at things when they get weird, and I don't think this is wrong.
An example is when we were reading up on schizophrenia, and then we looked up interviews with schizophrenics, to see the symptoms we were reading about. I don't think anyone in that class thinks less of people with the illness or underestimate the severity, but EVERYONE laughed at the absurdity. 

I use sarcasm a lot, in humour and talk in general, and I do use it a lot when talking about sa in example, and I guess this could be considered mocking. I don't think patting people on the backs goes a long way, if they are thinking the wrong way or doing the wrong things.

Is it okay? I guess it depends on things, and what one considers mocking. Context is important.

4)
idk. Context would matter.

5)
What is mocking now? What is 'excessive attention'. How and based on what evidence it is judged that it would not be valuable? randomers and shallow people? What?
I can't judge something such as this without knowing what has actually been said - this is clearly your interpretation of what a person has said, and I can't attempt to judge something when it is in the first place given from an opinionated point of view.

6)
Context? How do they mock them, why?
I can't say it is generally a good thing to mock anyone or anything, but I can't say it's absolutely wrong either.

7)
If someone despises me without knowing me, they're generally just ****ty people, and I don't care what ****ty people think.


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## TheHeathPractice (May 11, 2020)

Any therapist seen to be mocking a client in anyway is not worthy of the title therapist. I am a Clinical Hypnotherapist and have based my career around providing a discreet, non-judgmental service. It is paramount to a clients success that they feel safe and able to discuss freely their thoughts, feelings and actions. Without this respect I cannot imagine how anyone would progress in their therapy. 
If you feel this has happened to you, and if you are still seeing the therapist I would bring it up in your next session. If your therapist is worth their salt they would much prefer you discuss these feelings with them, if they respond negatively then you have a clear indication this is not the person that is going to help you move forward. 

I found question 7 difficult to answer from a therapist viewpoint as in my work I ensure there are clear boundaries. However much I would like to become friends with so many of the wonderful people I have met through my work, it would be inappropriate and could damage the client / therapist relationship and potentially undo the work achieved. Therefor I never really consider how I would react to a person if I met them randomly, it is not a thought that has occurred to me if you see what I mean. There are enough people we meet randomly to consider without introducing clients in the mix. I would hope this is true of most therapist and I hope it may put your mind at rest a little. 

There are some therapist out there that genuinely want you to feel better without judgement and without prejudice. 
There are many different of therapy available, perhaps it is time to explore other options x


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## DukeDuck (Jul 27, 2016)

SorryForMyEnglish said:


> People who go to therapists or have been in therapy, I wanted to ask you some questions:
> 
> 1) Have you been mocked a lot in your life and it was painful to you (in family, at school etc)?
> 2) Have you ever got to know about/caught your therapists mocking people with mental health issues similar to yours?
> ...


1) I used to get mocked for my stutter throughout school. But in high school, most people were scared of me so they didn't dare try anything like that lol.

2) No I have never witnessed any therapists mock people with mental health issues. It sounds strange to me because therapists are the last people on Earth to do that. Why would they be therapists if that's what their attitude to mental health is?

3) No its not okay to mock other people.

4) If I did witness my therapist mocking another person for their mental health issues, I don't think I'd want to go to that therapist anymore.

5) I know a lot of people have a lot to say about Greta. I don't think they should take her mental health issues into account, because that's not appropriate. Focus on her views and messages and say what you have to about that, without making any unwarranted comments.

6) Not sure what you mean by freaks. Can you explain?

7) This is actually a nice question. I have sometimes asked myself this question about one particular therapist - Do they like me as a person, or as a client?
No I don't think they would despite you either way. If someone were to despise you, it would happen no matter what way you met them.


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## rabidfoxes (Apr 17, 2016)

1) Not a lot, but I had my share. It wasn't great.
2) No.
3) Definitely not.
4) I would dump them and report them to their membership/regulatory body. It could make me reluctant to look for another therapist.
5) If it's actual mockery, no. I haven't heard of this incident (I assume there was one?).
6) Again, I don't know of a particular incident so I don't know what is meant by 'freaks'. People can have opinions. It's just not ok for a mental health professional to be ridiculing people with ill mental health.
7) If they actually said such a thing? I'd dump them and report them.


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## CNikki (Aug 9, 2013)

1) Yes 
2) Yes 
3) No. What they know about their clients is confidential between them and other professionals (if it's urgent). They can get fired if caught doing anything like that on social media. 
4) Confront them straight up. I have done that once before but not because of social media. 
5) No. 
6) No. But we cannot control what someone does in their spare time and likely not doing so at the clinic they work for. 
7) Find another therapist ASAP. If you were their client during the process then report first before leaving.

I'll actually provide a link that lists indicators of a bad therapist. Wish I knew more about it and the fact of what I felt was in fact valid, and by the time on doing so I had already left.

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/warning-signs-of-bad-therapy/

Overall, if a therapist is repeatedly making their clients uncomfortable and might even become vindictive, they shouldn't be in the profession to begin with.


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## Rains (Jan 20, 2016)

> 1) Have you been mocked a lot in your life and it was painful to you (in family, at school etc)?


I have been mocked to my face but probably not a huge amount. I don't know if it's more or less than average.



> 2) Have you ever got to know about/caught your therapists mocking people with mental health issues similar to yours?


I don't have a therapist atm, but of the ones I have had, no can't recall that happening.



> 3) Do you think it's ok for them to mock such people in their spare time/on social media?


No not on social media. In private, sure, if it's a more letting off steam thing and using humour to deal with stress. If it's more indicative of them just not respecting their clients then no it's not a good sign.



> 4) If they were mocking people with similar issues or looking like you or very similar to you on social media, how would you feel? What would you do about your therapy sessions?


Uncomfortable. I'd question whether this is somehow connected to me.



> 5) Is it ok if a therapist mocks Greta Thunberg on their social media, paying excessive attention to her mental health issues, childhood traumas and therefore deeming what she says about ecology not valuable like what randomers and shallow people on the internet do to prove their ''political position''?


I'd see this as pretty unprofessional and also it'd tell me this person mocking her (if this is really what they're doing) is a bad judge of how to conduct themselves, a bad judge of how to evaluate other people's character and behaviour, bad at empathy, and also naturally untalented at logic since none of Greta Thunberg's dispositions or circumstances have any bearing on the messages of her activism.



> 6)Is it ok if they mock ''freaks'' (in their own words) from the internet?


No. It goes against the values and professionalism of the discipline of counselling and therapy. I'm kind of curious how someone like this even has a job as a therapist at this point.



> 7) If you knew that if you weren't their client, they would despise you if they got to know you somehow/randomly met, how would you feel? Would you continue the session cause they say they can't despise you because you've been in therapy with them for a long time, but otherwise they could?


Extremely mixed feelings. I think overall if I was feeling conflicted about it then it's a good sign I need to leave therapy and go to someone who has less cognitive dissonance and hostility in general, because the last thing I'd want is to need therapy for having bad therapy.


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