<\/p>\n
\nComment by <\/span>Carlton, Jefferson City <\/span>on 07 Aug 2009 at 9:30 pm<\/span><\/p>\n
Hi Karen!<\/span><\/p>\n
I picked up the book today. On the way home on the train I read the prologue and have to say I am looking forward to finishing the book tonight. \u00a0I don\u2019t think I can put it down. But before I begin I wanted to let you know that I think you are brave for daring to reveal want happened to you. \u00a0I also believe Richard Baer was brave to treat you. \u00a0I know I won\u2019t pre-judge the book before finishing it but want to know why you let your doctor write some not so nice comments coming from his thoughts about you early in treatment. Did he realize he would hurt your feelings? \u00a0How did you react reading that he didn\u2019t think much of you? \u00a0I just read a few pages into the first chapter and his selfishness has me annoyed. \u00a0I respect his work but how does anyone who work with patients who thinks more of himself than his patient. \u00a0I know I didn\u2019t finish reading yet. \u00a0Mere thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Dear Carlton,<\/span><\/p>\n
Thank you for sharing your compliments, concerns, and thoughts before finishing reading our story. \u00a0I can understand your concern over why is was necessary for Dr. Baer to share his thoughts during the early days of our therapeutic relationship. \u00a0I believe, like all of us, we tend to develop feelings that need to be understood and worked through.\u00a0Whether a therapist or patient, each person in the relationship has feelings and thoughts that are generated as the relationship develops.<\/span><\/p>\n
I believe it’s normal for some\u00a0therapists to become initially agitated or annoyed with a difficult patient, especially as with me,\u00a0a patient who\u00a0couldn’t share much because\u00a0my inner pain\u00a0was out of my awareness. \u00a0The therapist can’t help process all that a patient needs to share unless the patient actually talks and reveals herself. \u00a0Doctors aren’t mind readers. \u00a0And I believe my initial lack of sharing caused frustration for both of us. \u00a0It was also very overwhelming for me to talk with him. \u00a0Remember, I didn’t like\u00a0Dr. Baer\u00a0very much when I first met him, either. \u00a0I thought he was arrogant. \u00a0We both tolerated each other until we built rapport and trust. \u00a0As I look back now, despite his initial feelings, I realize he was trying to do his best. <\/span><\/p>\n
Dr. Baer never\u00a0shared his thoughts and feelings about me during therapy. \u00a0I didn’t know how he felt until the writing of the book. \u00a0By that time I understood more about myself and where he was coming from. \u00a0Of course, the first time I read\u00a0his thoughts\u00a0I felt a bit hurt, but that thought quickly left and I wound up laughing at all that I put him through. \u00a0I was definitely not the easiest patient to treat! \u00a0I’m not sure if I could tolerate someone like me. \u00a0I was horribly depressed, pessimistic, and had a never ending ton of woes. \u00a0I felt\u00a0blessed\u00a0when he agreed to\u00a0treat me and gave\u00a0me a next appointment. \u00a0Dr. Baer never once gave up on me.<\/span><\/p>\n
Dr. Baer and I felt it was best\u00a0to truthfully share the ups and downs of treating me, a patient with an incomprehensible illness–multiple personality disorder. \u00a0If we had not shared the truth, how would our story have helped those doctors who had similar feelings for their patients and for the patients who felt their doctor didn’t care? \u00a0The therapeutic relationship builds on trust, and takes a great deal of time and patience for both the doctor and patient to accomplish this. \u00a0Many years of give and take. \u00a0Treating me was hard work, often frustrating, but what a true miracle to overcome so many obstacles and be healed.<\/span><\/p>\n
Please come back and share your thoughts after reading Switching Time. Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n
Karen <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Comment by Carlton, Jefferson City on 07 Aug 2009 at 9:30 pm Hi Karen! I picked up the book today. On the way home on the train I read the prologue and have to say I am looking forward to finishing the book tonight. \u00a0I don\u2019t think I can put it down. But before I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-karens-answers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1239,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions\/1239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.switchingtime.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}