A couple of days ago, I met with my Psychiatrist for the second time. It’s my first time seeing one.
She had put me on some medications on the first visit. During the second visit, she said things like, “I cannot believe I did that.” and, “Sorry, I’m dealing with some family issues if I seem aloof.”
How am I supposed to react to this? Is this typical?
This is not typical, and even her apology has some red flags. If you feel comfortable, I would consider giving her direct feedback. If she’s having a crisis at home that is bleeding into her work, she needs to take some time off and handle her issues. And if she has made an error, there are much more professional ways to handle it other than seeking your forgiveness with an excuse. Hopefully acknowledging the elephant in the room would be enough to make her take a hard look at how she handled this and understand that something needs to change immediately.
Whether or not you address it directly, I would definitely advise looking for another therapist. Boundaries are essential to any therapy relationship, and she already crossed them with you.
Your second point is what frustrated me the most. She seemed to have crossed a boundary. I didn’t know how to describe it until you worded it that way.
I do have a friend that is a Psychiatrist. I thought about asking her advice; however, I didn’t want to put her in an awkward spot if she knew the one I was going to.
You don’t have to reveal her name to your friend—just say you were seeing someone new and had some questions.
Regardless, I think your discomfort about it is your answer. Time to find a new doc.