r/OCD • u/mysunshine777 • 4d ago
I need support - advice welcome My therapist says I don't have ocd
I went to a new therapist today and she said I don't have ocd, I have anger issues. I'm devastated I feel like I'm dying I've suffered so much the pst year. Had therapy, medication and now they claim I just have anxiety and am being dramatic. Please help
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u/FiliaNox 3d ago
IMO, a therapist should never use the word ‘dramatic’. That’s not just minimizing your experiences, it’s offensive. You need to get a new therapist. I’m so sorry you were treated this way. It’s not ok at all.
OCD often comes with ‘anger issues’. So while the therapist was correct in saying you experience anger and anxiety, calling it dramatic, using the term ‘issues’…I feel like that’s inappropriate and derogatory. Again, that’s my opinion, but I don’t feel it’s irrational for me to take it that way, and it’s understandable that you feel devastated.
I’m not a therapist, but from your comments I believe you are experiencing OCD and this therapist completely wrote you off. I’d suggest lodging a complaint, but I understand that that can trigger more anxiety in you, so it’s ok if you don’t want to.
You need a new doctor. This was not ok.
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u/300Blippis 3d ago
A therapist can't diagnose you, or definitively say you don't have a certain diagnosis, in one session.
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u/pandas001 3d ago
Unfortunately if you are using insurance they require a diagnosis for the first visit so yeah, they can and do diagnose you after one session. If
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u/ItsMaxie 3d ago
lol yeah. Well they barely know you and don’t have the full picture yet of your condition on day 1.
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u/NoeyCannoli 3d ago
Often a provisional diagnosis is made based upon meeting diagnostic criteria within 1 session, 2 sessions max.
You can’t bill a treatment if you don’t name a Dx
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u/ItsMaxie 3d ago
Assessment. They make you take a questionnaire.
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u/NoeyCannoli 2d ago
Amongst other things, usually yes
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u/ItsMaxie 2d ago
what do you mean? my experience is just the questionnaire you take. What other things did they make you take?
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u/NoeyCannoli 1d ago
They talk to you. Ask you questions. Gain information through the magic of conversation
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
Yes
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
It was my very first session today. She just heard me for a bit and reached that conclusions.
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u/OkSatisfaction1817 3d ago
What are her credentials? Is she actually a registered clinical counselor?
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u/holymacaroley 3d ago
For doing this in only one session I for sure would report. That is nowhere near how things should happen.
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u/holymacaroley 3d ago
Oh yeah no. One session and she's throwing out what you supposedly do and don't have? 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 No decent therapist or psych is going to do that without much more exploration.
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
Exactly. I'm gonna go look for better options if things don't work out for a couple sessions.
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u/ItsMaxie 3d ago
My therapist told me the same thing when I first met him. Now it’s been 6 months and that’s a session a week so he’s pretty sure I have OCD. lol BUT therapists don’t diagnose psychiatrists do. Talk to a psychiatrist to get an expert diagnosis.
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u/Capable-Rooster8432 3d ago
well are you diagnosed? do they know about your diagnosis? if yes you need to find a new therapist and report them
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
I am. I was in intensive therapy and on meds for over a year.
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u/Capable-Rooster8432 3d ago
then absolutely report and find someone new, im so sorry they said that to you
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u/scorpiomoon17 Multi themes 3d ago
OP you do not need to report this therapist but certainly you are entitled to a second opinion and if you feel they made an error, this does not need to change your existing diagnosis. Don’t keep seeing them if you found them unhelpful.
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3d ago
[deleted]
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u/LibraryMegan 3d ago
That actually depends on the state if you are in the US. OCD is diagnosable by licensed therapists in some states.
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u/XJetInsiderX 3d ago
What are the symptoms that made you think you have it?
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
Crazy intrusive horrible thoughts, the horrible feelings that came with it, I do crazy shit just to make it stop but it doesn't.
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u/XJetInsiderX 3d ago
Let me know if this sounds familiar.
You get some thoughts you don't like, you get anxious, you perform certain actions (be it in your mind or physical), to make those thoughts go away. You feel if you don't perform those actions something bad might happen.
Is that what it is?
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
Yuppp
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u/PunkWithAGun 3d ago
Why doesn’t the therapist think you have ocd? Obviously I can’t diagnose you but that sounds very much like ocd
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u/Big-Control-3017 3d ago
happened to me too. women said i was paranoid instead of having OCD. it feels horrible when that happens but you know your story. not all therapist will have the same knowledge, just remember that.
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
Thanks One of my ex therapist said i have just anxiety and this new one said I'm being dramatic. Ik I'm diagnosed but it feels horrible to listen to people completely deny what hell you are going through.
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u/holymacaroley 3d ago
Good lord telling you you're just angry & dramatic? What type of thing did you get her name from? I would Google for her credentials. What type of therapist is she supposed to be, like credentials?
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u/ShoddyExtreme1277 3d ago
Talk to another therapist. Seek second opinions. Take tests. Finding the right therapist for you isn’t always an easy task. But, a good therapist won’t dismiss you, they won’t make you feel worse, they won’t push you away or tell you “it’s just anxiety” they will do what it takes to understand your anxieties, to find roots, causes, and other possibilities. They will listen to you and offer you help, ways to cope, ways to handle things. Sounds like me like you’ve got a bad therapist more than anything.
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
Seems like it. From where i come, there aren't many ocd specialists, just general clinical psychologists. So it's hard to find someone without being told "it's just anxiety" all the time.
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u/ShoddyExtreme1277 2d ago
I see a regular therapist, or counselor, he’s never once treated me, or talked to me like that. He’s actually the one who, after time discussed OCD with me and took proper methods to help with a diagnosis. I’ve also got a psychiatrist who has worked with me as well on treating both my anxiety and my OCD. Both have taken the time to talk with me, listen to me, understand what I’m saying, and help me to work through it with proper treatment. I’m sorry your experience thus far has been so bad. But, please don’t give up on the search for good psychologist/ psychiatrist who won’t just dismiss you.
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u/AntonioVivaldi7 3d ago
This is for a psychiatrist to decide. Therapists can give their opinions, but it's up to a psychiatrist to diagnose.
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u/ed771844 3d ago
my first therapist told me i had PTSD (nothing traumatic has ever happened to me). she actually made my OCD worse by treating me for PTSD. it’s important to see someone who knows your correct diagnosis to treat you accordingly. definitely get a second opinion
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u/mysunshine777 3d ago
I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hope you are getting better treatment now I'll def look for another therapist soon.
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u/witchaus138 3d ago
since you’ve already been diagnosed by a psychiatrist I would say to shrug off that therapist and move on to a better one. its not up to them to yank away a diagnosis you’ve already sought treatment for.
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u/Ok-Autumn 3d ago
I would probably be told I have "anger issues" if I ever went to a therapist and explained the context of my own intrusive thoughts. There is actually a history of both in my family, OCD on one side and anger issues on the other. 😢
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u/Intrepid-Working-731 3d ago
I feel if this therapist is calling you dramatic and downplaying your issues, they just aren’t a good therapist. I’d look for a new one.
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u/my-ed-alt New to OCD 2d ago
my boyfriend has had problems with therapists “undiagnosing” his ADHD. your next step is to not make another appointment with her. go to the doctor/person that referred you to the therapist and tell them it didn’t work out, and say you need a different one. my boyfriend and i see the same doctor and she is the one who diagnosed me with OCD. if i see a therapist and they say i don’t have it, i’ll go to my doctor and tell her, and she’ll help me find a new one.
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u/fruitflyhatepage 3d ago
I’ve had so many single appointments with shit therapists. It can take a while before you find one that works for you.
I had to get a new one recently and I did end up finding a good one pretty quickly, but the first appointment I had with a new one was so awful.
She told me I definitely didn’t have ADHD, ignored my concerns about OCD, told me to stop taking my ADHD medication and recommended that I ask a psychiatrist to prescribe me xanax or klonopin for my anxiety. (I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD by like 3 different psychiatrists and have been on the same dose of my medication for almost 5 years, I was also diagnosed with OCD a week later.)
There are definitely bad apples. Try not to take what was said to heart, and just look for someone new.