"Not every therapist-client match is a shidduch. But every therapist-client interaction should be positive and growth oriented"
Thank you for the wisdom and bravery you display by publishing the article by Elisheva Appel, “Can You Help Me?” about how to make sure that your therapist is competent and qualified.
In her narrative, Malka Jacobs so poignantly captures the unrelenting confusion that comes along with bad therapy and the pain caused by her therapist “Rachel.” She illustrates how a thinking person can fall so hard when she is just trying to do the right thing and work on herself.
Some would say that this kind of literature is alarmist, that we’ve come so far in embracing mental health treatment, and that we shouldn’t scare people off because of the few bad apples. To this I say, think of all the awareness and education our community has provided in recent years about children’s safety. Are we concerned about children being wary of every human in sight? Not really; the danger of abuse and molestation is so severe that this is clearly a risk worth taking. Similarly, the danger of bad therapy is so great that it’s worth risking people being exceptionally cautious when starting out in therapy (if that’s even a risk at all).
We say that clients should “trust their gut.” This is true. In every situation, we should trust — or at least listen to — our gut. But what of the myriad people who are entering therapy precisely because they don’t know how to trust their gut? They are ready to start healing from a life of suppressing their inner voice — and then they meet a “Rachel” who only makes them doubt themselves more.
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