My daughter’s counselor is telling her she has had severe trauma in her childhood (she didn’t) and now my daughter is starting to believe it. Should she continue to see this therapist? Is this type of therapy healthy?
There are many wonderful therapists. This goes without saying. Some of my favourite people are dedicated loving therapists.
And there are some terrible therapists.
There are some that have the best intentions but are incompetent, not capable of the nuanced thought and understanding required to move gently around someone else’s mind.
And then to be honest, I’ve met a couple who seemed downright malicious in their dealings with vulnerable people.
If you really think, after you’ve been as honest as you can be with yourself, checking for your own justification and rationalisation, that this therapist is steering your daughter wrong, then of course you should look for someone else.
If your daughter goes to someone else and the result is the same – the therapist and your daughter talk about the trauma of her childhood, you need to open your mind to the possibility that you and your daughter see her childhood in a very different light. Things that you may think were okay may have affected her in ways you don’t understand.
