QUOTE(Bebi @ Jan 16 2006, 02:33 AM) [snapback]1023815[/snapback]
Yes, she has seen one doctor who also happened to treat one of her possessing spirits. (apologies for all the quotes, I'm trying to make it as comprehensive as possible to save you finding it yourself

I've added the page numbers so you can find the originals if you wish)
Of the therapists with whom I attempted to deal, I only found two who were comfortable in their own skin, generally content, and willing to express emotions without shame. The first one tried to sell me a book regarding energy healing, and selling literature during therapy in this electronic age a pet peeve of mine. The gentleman she referred me to had a hang up with the significance of chakras, something I've always seen as figurative as opposed to literal. The location of chakras have been linked to the endocrine glands in some circles.
This therapist also had a moderate case of OCD in his frequent worry over whether or not the door was closed. His compensatory intellectualism was also problematic. I don't know if this has become a buzz word or not from my mention of it in the past, but I define compensatory intellectualism as the overly academic vocabulary and spouting of factoids to impress others in the absence of one's ability or willingness to express genuine concern for them. I had a touch of this myself throughout my education, but I'm not a therapist, am I?
Many therapists are abuse survivors with some degree of emotional pain, and it's not that I'm unsympathetic to their struggle; it's the motives for becoming therapists that I question. I think of it in terms of the drug abusers who reform and gain a foothold in the occupation of motivational speaking. Do these former addicts shoot up or snort during the speeches? Not from what I've seen. The emotional disorders in a therapist are as beneficial to the patients as that motivational speaker toking on a crack pipe during the lecture while preaching against the high life. So, are the therapists in this to feel well and elevate themselves, hoping for the worst case scenarios to render them "normal"?
When my asthma was misdiagnosed as panic disorder and remained undiagnosed for two years between '97 and '99, it led to panic disorder due to the fear of wondering what was really wrong and when I was going to die. Anyway, I'd been placed in group therapy. One of the LCSWs asked if anyone had ever experienced the out of body phenomenon. I admitted that I had, and she and I exchanged a pleasant smile. We both agreed that it can be a fun and thrilling experience. Keep in mind, this was a therapist at an accredited HMO. This happened to be a team effort, and her co-worker's demeanor soured upon hearing and seeing this exchange. But the fun didn't stop there. The woman who soured, Lynn, quickly remarked on a hypothetical individual who exactly matched my personality as I'd described in my recent one-on-one with her. She described the man as a poor sap without any friends, rather cynically. Entirely unprovoked, and I'd never spoken against Lynn in any way. I'm not judging her orientation, but let's just say that the one I communed with was quite comely, and that Lynn had a certain look about her and fit all the stereotypes in the way that she carried and presented herself. What do I think? Lynn had an attraction to her co-worker and felt threatened by the intimacy. Nothing wrong with that, totally normal, but once again, therapy may not be her best field if she's suffering to an extent that she's belittling patients out of jealousy.
I attended an ASCA group (Adult Survivors of Child Abuse) back in 2001. The therapist, Darlene, was a trainee, and she never had any supervision by superiors to chart her progress or verify her professionalism. Darlene constantly reminded us that she'd been through it all: emotional, physical, and sexual. She restated it all the time, and we were all good listeners, so it got annoying after the first 10 mentions. When I demonstrated my healing ability for a couple of the group members and talked of my battles with spirits, the therapist felt threatened by the idea of someone else having a fourth form of suffering that she did not: spiritual. It wasn't new information for her, and she was fairly open minded. Pride of conquering everything was her deal.
One of the women had had encounters similar to my own, but had been persistently misinformed by therapists over the years and developed social phobia. Speaking of women, there was a larger issue at work: breaking up the group. Darlene had offended two of the group members during one session that I did not attend. The man never returned, and Darlene made no effort to bring him back. However, she told us it was her job to do her best to bring back the woman who had been offended. At one point, any time a man in the group tried to speak, we'd be cut off after 30 seconds, and this is after being allowed to speak. New female members would come and go, and every time Darlene would ask us, the men, how we felt about the women feeling threatened by masculinity. That wasn't the problem of the men that any women weren't ready to seek healing in front of them. One of my buddies summed it up fairly well: "That's their sh--, not mine." My buddy was told that he was no longer safe, and was ejected from the group without just cause. He testified to feeling "emotionally raped". I felt quite similar during that very difficult time in my life.
So what was the final result. My buddy and I filed informal complaints regarding the anti-therapy that was occurring, the center lost its ASCA affiliation, and the therapist continues to work in, lo and behold, a women's group. They basically admitted that she needed healing, but rather than deal with it effectively, they decided that taking men out of her equation was a cheaper solution. Darlene also possessed many of the same stereotypical attributes of Lynn. No problem, just stay out of the therapy business if your issues get in the way of healing patients.
This was not blunt, merely frank. Please accept my apologies. However, consider strongly what you may be recommending when you blindly advise someone to seek therapy.
Brian