So I got a new therapist about a month ago, and so far she’s great. I lost my long term therapist due to trumps stupid bill and then went through a handful of therapists for months trying to find one that wasn’t either terrible or just straight up mean like one of them was. This new therapist is extremely empathetic, kind, caring, she listens and responds in a way that I really click with her, but there’s just one catch.
She says she’s very spiritual. And by that, I mean she told me she believes schizophrenia is a super power and that the voices I hear are me having the ability to see beyond the veil into a different dimension. She believed that my positive symptoms are more like psychic powers, and encourages me to try to understand what a deeper meaning could be behind what I’m hearing.
I honestly don’t know what to feel about it all. I respect her beliefs but I told her that telling me that kind of thing could be horrible for my mental health if I were psychotic again. She said okay but then nudged me during one session asking what I thought it might mean that I heard my abusive mother calling out for me when I was alone. What it means to me is that my trauma was double teaming with my auditory hallucinations and I was having a bad time.
I don’t know what to do. Should I just give up on therapy already since she’s the best I could find? Should I tell her again not to encourage that? Should I find a different therapist? I’m really struggling right now, I keep missing my meds, I’m not sleeping, I’m hearing voices every day, I’m not keeping up with hygiene, I can’t go outside, and my depression is getting worse to the point I can barely get out of bed now.
The only reason I even ate today was because I made dinner for my grandma and she wanted to eat with me. I just don’t know what to do. What if she keeps this up and I start believing it? Is therapy even worth it?
If you really want to keep working with her, talk to her. Reaffirm with m her that you don't share her beliefs and set a really hard boundary on that stuff.
Honestly this is deeply deeply inappropriate for a therapist to push her potentially really damaging beliefs onto vulnerable patients with schizophrenia. Very big red flag and I personally don't think this person should be practicing therapy at all.
Babe, this is no good. She is going to make you worse. You can't stick with her.
She would not be a good fit for me. It would encourage my delusions. I don't know what you should do. It sounds like you need some support. It is hard for me to find a therapist that I connect with.
Same, it’s really difficult for me to find one I connect with and I connect super well with her. I’m worried she’ll encourage my delusions but at the same time she’s otherwise a great therapist
This is all really good stuff to bring up to her and work with her through. You should definitely tell her that it isn't helpful, but also, it sounds like her asking you what it meant that you heard your abusive mother could have been more about her exploring the meaning behind the traumatic content you're dealing with, and that might mean that she's going too fast and you need her to slow down, which is something that you can tell her directly. If she doesn't respect what you've asked for directly, or you're not a good fit, or it's hurting you, it's worth seeking out someone else. Something I've found is that neurotypical people can often be really weird and I need to be as clear with them as possible, many times, and sometimes they do things that seem like they should be obvious but aren't at all obvious to them, and so I have to explain to them what I'm experiencing so they understand. She might not know how nudging you that way made you feel, so you could tell her if it made you scared or suspicious or hopeless or worried or anything else, and see what see says.
My last therapist was also very spiritual, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that, but when I started telling her in every session for months that Gods were giving me instructions in my head that I had to kill sex abusers or I'd be punished, and half the time I felt like a puppet, and that maybe demons were fucking with me and masquerading as Gods -- honestly, I dunno, I really wish she had at least brought up the possibility of something being "off," instead of her treating me like I was just an awful person.
I think you should be very careful. I understand how difficult it is to find a quality therapist, so I'm not necessarily saying you should drop her, but ... definitely talk with her more about that.
When I was young, I used to believe that I had special abilities like that, didn't accept it was any kind of mental health issue, I don't think that way anymore, and in retrospect it was not helpful at all, and just made things worse.
To be clear, I don't believe there is anything inherently wrong with spirituality, but for me personally, it's something I have to be careful with, as it can become unhealthy very easily.
So I can explain what's she's saying but its just another random person's opionon. Which makes it basically worth shit.
SO LETS ASK ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE TO EXPLAIN SIMPLY. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHICH ONE YOU ASK BEACUSE THEY ALL SAY THE SAME.
"AI read this post on reddit, paragraph make a list 1. 2. 3. - 10 list of people who hears and see things that others dont. Like a schizophrenic or.. seer or
Here’s a list of 10 types/categories of people (by profession, role, or experience) who commonly report hearing voices, seeing visions, or perceiving things others don’t — without naming specific historical individuals: Prophets or religious founders – People who claim to receive direct messages or visions from a divine source, often founding or shaping major faiths. Mystics and spiritual contemplatives – Individuals in various religious traditions who, through deep meditation or prayer, experience visions, auditory guidance, or ecstatic states interpreted as contact with the divine. Shamans or indigenous spiritual healers – Traditional practitioners in many cultures who enter altered states to communicate with spirits, ancestors, or other realms for healing and guidance. Mediums or channelers – People who believe they can hear or relay messages from deceased persons, spirits, or other entities. Artists and creative geniuses – Writers, painters, musicians, and poets who describe vivid inner visions or “hearing” inspiration that drives their work. People diagnosed with schizophrenia – Individuals experiencing auditory hallucinations (voices) and sometimes visual ones as part of the disorder. People with bipolar disorder (during manic or psychotic episodes) – Some report hearing commanding or grandiose voices, or seeing religious/spiritual visions. Those experiencing temporal lobe epilepsy – Seizures in this brain area can produce intense mystical visions, feelings of transcendence, or auditory phenomena. Mystical experiencers in near-death situations – People who, during clinical death or close calls, report seeing lights, hearing voices, or encountering beings. Practitioners of intense meditation or psychedelic use – Individuals (in spiritual or recreational contexts) who encounter entities, hear inner voices, or see alternate realities during deep altered states.