Hoffic experience with autistic therapist! Trigger warning, very disstressing!

Potential trigger warning!!!!! 

i am autistic. i found an autisitc “specialist”, who was very kind to me at first, but once i trusted them, started telling me everyone is autistic, you have to fit in otherwise you won’t be hapy, stop stiming, even went as far as to say he knew someone who became “more” autisitic and has been locked up for three years ( i hope this isnt true but am not sure!). he said i could either have written on my gravestone i flapped my hands, or i lived a hapy and fuffiling life. he said he’s concerned i might find other autistic people to socialise with (despite it not existing apparently) and leave the wonders of “society” and “normality”. your only going after autism as an identity, its an identity crisis. “we all have to mold to society” he says. “if i would live in a different country, i would be a different human! autism is learned! you can’t say your autistic because you’ve only have your experiences to go on, so how can you tell you are different! your manic and need a phychaitrist! he even suggestde lithium. you are bi polar! it’s all your imagination! “you are gullible and belive anything you read stop reading about autism, your fixating on it”. my past “therapist” was also horrible ,was clueless at first, but decided to make me “normal” through cbt, i got really really ill emotionally after that (that was two years ago). i’m so trusting i believed him as well for a day. unsuprisingly i felt deeply oppressed, suppressed, depressed and a bit suicidal. and started masking again after that, but it seems to be passing. its been almost a week now since i last saw him. i’ve masked my whole life up until a few weeks ago, and feel like i need to have a meltdown or shutdonw, but haven’t had one for so long and am not in a safe enviroment so can’t do it (my family are telling me to move out cause i’m getting too noisy  im 21). i said i use molehill miontain, and still have no idea how im feeling, he said thats your imagination course you know - and i dont!!! honestly!!!! even my gp, who said im autistic, said “dont go into autism too much” cause autistic people get “obssesed over things”. i wish i could say this never happened, but it did, and i’ll never forget it. i’ve been doing a lot of stimmy things (tho consouly stimming after this is very hard, i feel i might get locked up for it, tho rationally that’s not going to happen ever,) and crying to process it and thats helping. any love would be wonderful at the moment, i know it’s only a comments section so can’t expect much though! i just feel utterly devalidated and worthless!!!!!!!!!  i think the best way to proces all this is by a lot of nice stimi things and reading more about autism and reaching out for help in autistic communites. he is against all autistic communities. he is jewish and ultra orthodox, even spoke of the dangers of the internet! i live in the UK, can’t believe someone could be qaulified and behave like that. the worst is that if i make a complaint they might not beleive me cause im “autistic”. i only get labelled autistic when it suits everyone around me!

and i've found a therapist who does actually help autistic people, but they haven't got back to me, i don't know if they are devalidating me as well! or they might not be free. i live in manchester, if anyone has any advice to get some real face to face validation and support i need that, any helpline for autistic people, or autisitc services...... which wont de humanise me.... my parents seem to be accepting me and showing love which is helping a bit!!!!

please please please dont comment if you don't believe me or dont have anything nice to say.....all i need is to be believed and validated. even something like, "that sounds terrrible, i'm sending support virually!" would make such a difference..... every thing i wrote earlier is almost true word for word, i have a photographic memory, im not lieing, honestly!!!! im telling myself he and my old therapist and my gp are wrong in every sense, utterly incorrect but it isn't helping much the fact is that i've been fully invalidated by real humans and he said sorry but it doesnt help...

Parents
  • First of all I'm very sorry to hear about your experience, I've had some bad therapists too so I can relate, but nothing on this level. Personally I hope you report him to the relevant medical authorities because he sounds like an opinionated d*** spouting utter crap.

    Since your GP sounds more understanding, I'd recommend speaking to them about the possibility of being assigned a link worker. Mine made me aware of a number of services available to me as an autistic person, from art therapy to autism advocacy (something else to look up, see if it's available in your area) so if your GP is able to arrange something like that for you I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend speaking to them about what has happened with your therapist, they might take things further on your behalf, I don't know. 

    I'm new to the autism thing tbh but hopefully this is of some help. I'm sure other more learned posters will be able to offer you some advice too though, just remember you're not alone :)

Reply
  • First of all I'm very sorry to hear about your experience, I've had some bad therapists too so I can relate, but nothing on this level. Personally I hope you report him to the relevant medical authorities because he sounds like an opinionated d*** spouting utter crap.

    Since your GP sounds more understanding, I'd recommend speaking to them about the possibility of being assigned a link worker. Mine made me aware of a number of services available to me as an autistic person, from art therapy to autism advocacy (something else to look up, see if it's available in your area) so if your GP is able to arrange something like that for you I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend speaking to them about what has happened with your therapist, they might take things further on your behalf, I don't know. 

    I'm new to the autism thing tbh but hopefully this is of some help. I'm sure other more learned posters will be able to offer you some advice too though, just remember you're not alone :)

Children
  • hello thanks very much for such kind words and I definitely consider chatting to my GP about it. indeed d**k doesn't cover it. I Saw him about four times and each time his approach was completely different once even suggesting I had severe ADHD and proceeding to complete a diagnosis with me and and my parents despite not being qualified or allowed to do so.. i may well have some adhd but honestly! Another time he suggested that the medication id been prescribed for anxiety from my GP was somehow exacerbating things despite it helping immensely. he also said he thinks I might have bipolar which firstly is untrue and secondly as a counsellor is well overstepping his bounds. he even got in touch with a psychiatrist he knows In London booked me an appointment and broke grounds of confidentiality by having a conversation with him about me without my knowledge or permission. to be fair my parents did give him the green light but he should've asked me as I was confused and bemuddled. 

    he imitated my flapping and said I can't go around doing that. he called me manic and instructed my parents to take me to A&E I saw a specialist who said she knew little about autism wwho completely validated me and said I'm not even remotely manic. once I told him this he disagreed on and said aa&e  he got it wrong.  he called me gullible and said I bet if I told you to jump off the roof you would listen then he said do it and then said see you're struggling!!!!???? Essentially his approach varied between diagnosing with mania and bipolar diagnosing me with ADHD telling me at all in my head threatening me and getting locked up, telling me my medication was incorrect, sending me to a&e, completely disagreeing with me and devalidating me, booking me psychiatry appointments, calling my old therapist without permission, Direct me telling me to avoid tthe other therapist id found, Warning me about autistic people becoming autistic tthrough socialising with other  autistics. and he calls himself a specialist in nuerodevelopmental "disorders".

    my dad  my dad believes I've got enough to get him thrown off the register but he's not sure if he wants to do it or not.