Hi all. Sorry my reply was brief last night, I'll reply again properly. I'm not sure if Psychologists can make diagnoseses myself, but as I mentioned, that's my personal knowledge.
Geoff, Mocha and Sleepy, I'm sorry you've all had bad experiences, I have too. I've been told to k**l myself, I'm faking it despite scoring 50 on a K-10 test when I answered it honestly, etc. I did see one good Psychologist in 2014/2015 but I was going through grief amongst other thing so I wasn't as focused on it as I wanted to be, but he was nice. He closed his practice down though and I have no way of contacting him now.
It's like meds, it's ok to try a few, everyone is different. It's ok to change Psychologists until you find one you feel works. Lots of Psychologists do CBT etc but they also have their own therapies and approaches, some work based on what the client needs, some just do their own style of therapy (DBT etc) from my personal experience.
That's unfortunate that your Psychologists were dodgy and said you shouldn't take meds of any kind Geoff, and that yours talked about her personal life Sleepy. I think in some circumstances it's ok if they talk about their lives to try and make you feel less alone (for example, they know someone who has mental illnesses whether it's a friend or family perhaps?), but not making it all about them. It's your time and your therapy, not theirs. I have experienced that stuff before too.
Best of luck Mocha, I hope you find one you feel comfortable with. It's ok to change if you don't like something about them, even after 1 session. You have every right to be treated with respect and see who you do and don't want to see, and that goes for anyone, in the MH field or not. I do hope you feel better and can find a therapy type you wish to try, same with you Sleepy and Geoff.
