Choosing a Counselor/Psychiatrist

Any consideration of the ultracomplex tapestry of the material world is bound to do a llittle wandering, and equally bound to self-complexify a bit, ramifying and meandering. The tangled, confusing web of real life is very rarely organized!

Re psychiatrists: It is almost a cliche, since it is so widely known, and believed, that many are attracted to this profession precisely because they feel "messed up," and are trying to understand themselves, or to find a therapy that can cure them. As a whole, these rumors are partly fiction, and partly true. But, partly because of this, one must use assiduous, meticulous caution when choosing a mental-health
professional.

Make sure that you know his/her background. Has she/he abused drugs? Look for incidents of illicitly taking sexual advantage of patients. Ask around about the psychiatrists; see what her/his reputation is like. Do not ask just one or two people. Talk to the doc, or the nurse, about getting a list of phone-numbers of former patients. After all, you are putting nothing less than your future-- your sanity-- into his/her hands!

Some "professionals" might not be usually the best advisors, since they are often in the same "hole" from which you are seeking escape! Also, many have seriously flawed motives. Any who is in it for money, or much worse, to take sexual advantage, is a predator, a hypocrite, a fool, and an uneducated, dark, and evil force. That is antitherapeutic!

And they need to be told what the score is, by courageous people such as yourself.

A selfrighteous, smug counselor needs often to be put in his/her proper place. She/he is an advisor, not a commander or parent! A psychiatrist is not qualified to take over your life, and to play God! We do not need, and have no use for, people who think that a smattering of education makes them superior! They often act just like the fundies, among Christians or Moslems, who so loathe themselves that they are always trying to be "better" than others!

Besides a high standard of sexual honor, a quality that you want to seek in a psychiatrist is realistic humility. For without this, your relationship will likely degrade into power-struggles and dominance-disagreements.