Counselors - Altamonte Springs, FL

"I cannot say I had a good experience with this therapist. I only met with her once for an intake appointment that was supposed to be fifty minutes. During the thirty minutes we actually met (via telehealth, when I was led to believe when making the appointment that she does in person services), she spent ten minutes interrogating me about why I hadn’t increased my medication dosage if I was still experiencing symptoms and was very dismissive when I explained that I was trying to get coping skills so I could minimize my use of medication. Then she was extremely patronizing when I told her that I was diagnosed by an old therapist with ADHD and DID. She insisted after our short conversation that the only thing I needed to work on was my “depression” (I do not have depression; I have depressive symptoms related to my other issues) and said that she would ONLY believe that I have ADHD and DID if I get her my medical records. Apparently, “You can’t just go to a doctor and say you want your kidney out” is equivalent to me trying to tell her my symptoms. Also even if I did bring her my medical records “we aren’t going to work on treating your DID, that’s in the past. Treating DID now would be like me going to a doctor and asking them to treat the cancer I had back in 2013.” I am almost certain after processing the conversation she had she was trying to push me into doing a CBT type therapy and that she was lying when I asked her if she has any experience working with dissociative disorders. I have done CBT therapy, and while I found some of the skills useful, I was going to her for trauma therapy. Overall, she was incredibly dismissive. When I described my relationship with my parents as “strained” she actually laughed. She showed no interest in me or asking questions about my symptoms or my past with treatment. If she had she’s have known I am a CSA survivor who has been hospitalized four times. In fact, I would guess that within five minutes of speaking she had written down a diagnosis of “depression” and assumed anything else I told her was me “self-diagnosing.” She interrupted me repeatedly and was telling me my emotions and symptoms weren’t real. I don’t know how good she is as a CBT practitioner, but do not go to her if you are trying to deal with something complex and severe. "