Discussion Do your therapists/psychiatrists get emotional?

[m1v]

Hello, I recently started seeing a psychiatrist again, and she's different from the one I used to see. Sometimes when I talk about more sensitive topics and start getting teary, she also gets teary.

I was wondering, does your psychiatrist ever cry with you? This is a first for me, and I'm not really sure how to feel about it. I don't mind it at all, it just caught me off guard. (and made me sad even more!) Usually when I see professionals they stay very composed and never cry.

I can't tell if she's trying to comfort me by sharing the emotion, or if she genuinely feels deeply affected by what I'm saying. Maybe it's both. I'm just not sure how to interpret it. Would love to hear you guys' experiences.

 

[LaetumCat]

I haven't been to many therapists/psychiatrists, but none of them ever cried or expressed negative emotion. Usually little to no emotion, and if soke emotion then it was usually surprise.

 

[Thia]

My old therapist cried once when I talked about my suicide ideation.

 

[doomedbynarrative]

Yep. A few sessions ago I told my therapist that I felt like my existence could be categorized as "cosmic trash" and I saw her facial expression just twist with pain for a second. She did really well as reeling it back in. I'm sure she had to take five after my appointment...

 

[NormallyNeurotic]

My therapist's face once very visibly twisted when I described some things related to my childhood, abuse, and suicidal ideation. So yeah.

 

[meiherasoru_]

Yes, they were always happy about my progress

 

[woodlandcreature]

no. they don't even listen.

 

[bobsacamano]

In my case looks of deep empathy and concern but never tears.

 

[ConfusedClouds]

Never tears from her. But a few times she looked solemn and made comments along the lines of 'this has been heavy' (which I was seemingly oblivious to). Kinda made me awkward and unsure - just like you - should I be appreciative of the acknowledgement/gesture, or unsure if it draws attention to my distinct lack of understanding/feeling.

 

[noname223]

I had a psychiatrist where I thought I could blow off my head in front of her and all she cares for was cleaning up the mess.

 

[derpyderpins]

My shrink looks at me with sad eyes for sure. I do most of the psychological analysis. She listens, takes notes, and gives meds that let me be a slightly-productive zombie. But, she definitely gets sad about some of the stuff I reveal/say.

 

[LittleSunshine]

I've seen several psychiatrists and psychologists over the years, so I've experienced this a few times.

The first time was with a psychiatrist. When I finished, I saw tears in her eyes and she seemed at a loss for words. So I started to brush it off to ease the tension and make her feel better. In hindsight, it felt a bit cringe. It should be the other way around.

The second time was with a clinical psychologist during a diagnostic assessment, she cried several times during! Again, I found myself reassuring her. Afterward, she told me she could never have endured what I went through and how I dealt with that in life. That's not what I actually wanted to hear, no matter how well-intentioned it was.

And I have experienced it with few other types of caregivers.
I always felt sad for them but not for myself.

In their defense, a few tried to break through my defense mechanism of minimizing things, and for a while, they partially succeeded. Then I got a new psychiatrist and psychologist who were a little less empathetic. So when I finally reached a breaking point, and said things were very bad and made it clear that I needed urgent help, they dismissed it, didn't take me seriously and didn't respect my boundaries. In the end, it felt absurd.

Oh well, at least they made a lot of money off me throughout the years, bunch of jokers.

Hopefully it works for you!