Hey Everyone Before I start, I would like to address I am not name and
shame. By sharing my story, I wish to start a conversation on how mental
health professionals could be more empathetic. Everyone is welcome to
share their similar experiences. PLE...
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Hey Everyone Before I start, I would like to address I am not name and
shame. By sharing my story, I wish to start a conversation on how mental
health professionals could be more empathetic. Everyone is welcome to
share their similar experiences. PLEASE still be respectful and DO NOT
mention any information that could lead someone to be identified here.
It starts with my relapse into depression in September. As a result, I
missed some university work, so I was advised by my course coordinator
to apply for special consideration. I have my psychologist, who was an
excellent counselor at the clinic of my university and has been nothing
but empathetic towards my situation. However, she was fully booked until
mid-December. So, I decided to book for a quick triage session at the
same clinic, to seek some general advice and counseling instead of
sitting idly home. It has never been my intention to have to obtain a
support letter through a new psychologist who only happens to work for
triage that day. However, once I finished telling him what happened to
me, it seemed that he immediately assumed that I was only there to
'force' him to give me a medical certificate. Under that assumption, he
just behaved in such a way as if every question from me was an argument
directed against him for not giving me the document. In the end, he only
said something along the line of "I am sorry, but I have to be that guy.
" Although I looked calm, my anxieties have been through the roof for a
while now, and I have no one but mental health professionals to share my
feeling with cause I live alone in a city far from my hometown.
Throughout the session, he never even asked once, "how are you feeling
now?". In the end, I wasn't even assisted by him to be booked in with my
psychologist, which is precisely the purpose of the triage service. I
understand time could be tight in a short session. Still, I would feel
much better if he had taken 2 seconds to ask me about my feeling instead
of giving me an apology that I never asked for. I wish more mental
health professionals to be more aware that your assumptions on clients
significantly impact how you interact with them. Your personal
frustration would easily drive your clients away. In my case, I would
definitely avoid this particular psychologist in the future.