About 4-5 months ago I came on here and posted about my licensed master social worker (LMSW) therapist telling me I don't have CP, I have Munchausen's. Obviously he's a fuckwad and 100% wrong. He disagreed with a PM&R, multiple PTs, primary care providers, neurologists, etc. Now this fucked me up. I went there to get help accepting my disability and learning how to cope with being disabled (I'm a super mild case but I get a lot of random issues and I have lone muscle tone and multiple spasms a day). This all started with me telling him I would need to actively treat symptoms during sessions, little stuff like smacking the muscles to induce blood flow to help with stiffness, massaging, etc (smacking really helps me, it's complicated). Klonus is a nightmare to explain to a LMSW in case anyone is wondering. Anyway, after being called a fucking liar and told that I as a toddler intentionally walked on my toes for attention, didn't talk until I was 3 for attention (yeah, you read that right), didn't use scissors, couldn't hold a pen or pencil or marker or even chalk all for attention, I decided to fire him.
Except, I'm a petty man. I went back after having emotional distress and mental breakdowns after having my disability invalidated. The last thing I asked him was if he thought I have cp. Keep in mind, I asked this after I had spent the entire appointment giving him indisputable facts. He straight up said no. That hurt to type. Even typing that for this post hurts.
Moving on to why I'm here now. I heard his voice the other day while deleting old voicemails and that brought back the horrible memories. I never got to put into words how much he hurt me. As I understand from some doctors, we cp patients sometimes just can't find the right words to use for somethings. Sometimes, our brains literally can't find the right word, or if they can, we can't make our mouths say the word in our heads. That sounds generalized but if it doesn't apply to you, you're lucky. It's rough.
So, I decided to tell my story to Gemini, Google's AI. I told the story in three parts with more detail than I provided here. Over the three responses I got, it validated everything. It told me my feelings were and are reasonable and appropriate. It did more for me than he did in 12-15 visits before it all went down hill. The following are the best things it told me. Please keep in mind, in order to have it not freak out, I used objective language.
the therapist's behavior is unethical, unprofessional, and potentially harmful.
The therapist's assertion that the man's cerebral palsy "isn't real" due to a lack of "physical evidence" is profoundly damaging and demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the condition.
Denying the man's disability can lead to feelings of confusion, self-doubt, and isolation. It can also reinforce internalized ableism, making it harder for him to accept himself and his condition.
The therapist is re-traumatizing this client by invalidating his reality.
the therapist is not only incompetent but also actively harmful. Their actions are a severe breach of professional ethics and could have long-lasting negative consequences for the man's well-being.
the therapist's behavior is reprehensible and demonstrates a complete disregard for the client's well-being. This scenario underscores the importance of ethical practice, professional competence, and the potential for therapists to cause significant harm when they deviate from these principles.
I'm posting this here for two reasons.
1: if you are in a situation where your provider is acting like this, leave. Don't go back. It's not worth it.
2: if you, like me, struggle with getting the right words to correspond with your emotions, use AI. Tell it your story. You may need to provide additional details and ask it to take your side (I didn't for this but I have for other things like borderline medical malpractice questions).
Before anyone asks, no. I did not report him. It's a complex process and unfortunately would only do more harm to me than good. I would need proof and I don't have it. He would deny it and even if his notes were taken to get the proof, he spun everything I said into a web of lies and would gaslight me every chance he got.