Therapist Changes

My daughter has gone through this 3 times in her life so far. The first time was when she was about 8 years old and they had an amazing rapport. We had warning however (she was going back to school for her PHD). 2nd time we had no warning, zero! What a shock! We don’t know why she left (or let go?). And the third was more recently when her therapist she had been with for 5 years and adored, retired to take care of her husband who had cancer. It was a death of someone we loved every time. You literally go through a long period of grief. It’s the only relationship that you have that is extremely personal and supportive, that you’re not allowed to continue after that last appointment. You can’t be in contact with that person ever again. It’s like they died in a car accident. Even if you have warning and logically know why, it doesn’t lessen the sadness of knowing you’ll never see that person again. Several times I’ve had my psychiatrist leave unannounced, and we get the same kind of letter you’re mentioning. It feels like a slap in the face because it’s so sudden. My daughter’s 2nd therapist was similar. The prospect of starting over with another person is daunting sometimes. They usually match you with another provider in the practice but their approach and temperament is not the same. Sometimes it goes smoothly, sometimes the transition is rough. It’s stressful if the therapist doesn’t approach things in the same way or isn’t helpful like the other one was. For a psychiatrist the new one starts to reevaluate your meds and wants to change things even though it’s working. That causes a ton of stress! I’m sorry you are going through this! It’s hard to reconcile the no notice/surprise aspect of this situation. Don’t they know this is serious? That you can’t just trade one person for another? Those are feelings I have every time! It’s hard to find providers in this field, especially good ones! They are governed by state law and professional requirements that would be serious if not followed. But man, it’s hard to get through sometimes!

im so sorry ☹️ i understand how that must feel. that sucks. they should’ve given you a better heads up… the last minute notice is so frustrating

It’s really kind of disheartening when you realize that NOCD is a business. I understand that, but I don’t like to think of them that way. I learned that the hard way this week when I messaged my therapist that I was unexpectedly in the hospital and I and needed to change my appointment. I was threatened with a cancellation fee because it was less than 48 hours! I ended up rescheduling, but I was like are you serious? Have a little compassion! Overall, I like NOCD, but I don’t care for stuff like this, and this is not the first time I’ve heard of disappearing therapists with no warning. While we’re at it, I don’t care for censorship either. I mean, have you ever read a bad review about a NOCD therapist on here?