Social Anxiety Support

annasbananas · 11-05-2009, 07:24 PM

So I started seeing a therapist again through my school's counseling center, and a few weeks ago we talked about making an appointment with the psychiatrist to talk about medication. I made an appointment, but shortly afterwards I realized I wasn't going to be able to make it because I had to wait for a delivery at home. So of course instead of calling right away to cancel, I waited until the last minute (the day before) to call them because I'm terrified of making phone calls.

Well, I finally made another appointment after holding it off because the receptionist at the counseling center kind of scares me, and right after I made the appiontment my old psychologist who I used to see came up to me and told me off for cancelling so many appointments in front of a full waiting room of people. I was so mortified about that, she made me feel like a child and I felt like I shouldn't be making an appointment with the psychiatrist because no one at the center wanted me to. My therapist had mentioned it during our therapy session too so I knew that the whole team of psychologists had brought it up in their meetings.

Well, the only appointment the receptionist had available was a half hour before one of my classes, and I agreed to it because 1) I was so nervous i wasn't thinking and 2) I just figured I would be a half hour late for class. But today I just found out that I have a test in that class that day so can't be late and...have to cancel. I have no idea what to do because I know they won't believe me when I tell them I can't go, and I'm so scared of getting yelled at again by the therapists.

TATA · 11-05-2009, 07:45 PM

Just tell them how you feel about them yelling at you, that's the whole point of therapy is to talk about your feelings. And do tell them that you have a test on that day and that's why you can't make it.
I can't picture my therapist to be yelling at me.... i don't think they should do that...

lde22 · 11-09-2009, 12:15 AM

Man that sucks. They should understand that if you have social anxiety its hard for you to call them. If you can try to contact your teacher and ask if you can take the test another day. Usually if you contact them before hand they will let you. Just tell your teacher you have a really urgent doctors appointment or something.

Your scared of getting yelled at by your therapist? That's a really bad therapist then. Mabey you should try to find a different therapist.

00Athena00 · 11-09-2009, 07:05 AM

That was incredibly inappropriate for the doctor to confront you like that in the waiting room. I can understand how they would be concerned if you had a pattern of canceling appointments at the last minute. But, they needed to be more sensitive and speak to you privately.

If you need to reschedule the appointment, do it. Your tuition pays for this service, they need to accommodate you. The other option is to try to contact the teacher and schedule a makeup test. If you say it's because of a health related issue, they aren't allowed to ask for details.

Next time you see your therapist, you should bring up the incident and tell them how it made you feel. They are professionals, your feelings should be respected.

11-05-2009, 07:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
annasbananas Status: SAS Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1	Don't know what to do So I started seeing a therapist again through my school's counseling center, and a few weeks ago we talked about making an appointment with the psychiatrist to talk about medication. I made an appointment, but shortly afterwards I realized I wasn't going to be able to make it because I had to wait for a delivery at home. So of course instead of calling right away to cancel, I waited until the last minute (the day before) to call them because I'm terrified of making phone calls. Well, I finally made another appointment after holding it off because the receptionist at the counseling center kind of scares me, and right after I made the appiontment my old psychologist who I used to see came up to me and told me off for cancelling so many appointments in front of a full waiting room of people. I was so mortified about that, she made me feel like a child and I felt like I shouldn't be making an appointment with the psychiatrist because no one at the center wanted me to. My therapist had mentioned it during our therapy session too so I knew that the whole team of psychologists had brought it up in their meetings. Well, the only appointment the receptionist had available was a half hour before one of my classes, and I agreed to it because 1) I was so nervous i wasn't thinking and 2) I just figured I would be a half hour late for class. But today I just found out that I have a test in that class that day so can't be late and...have to cancel. I have no idea what to do because I know they won't believe me when I tell them I can't go, and I'm so scared of getting yelled at again by the therapists.

11-05-2009, 07:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
TATA Status: SAS Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: New York City Gender: Female Age: 26 Posts: 242	Just tell them how you feel about them yelling at you, that's the whole point of therapy is to talk about your feelings. And do tell them that you have a test on that day and that's why you can't make it. I can't picture my therapist to be yelling at me.... i don't think they should do that... __________________ Scientists have found the gene for shyness. They would have found it years ago, but it was hiding behind a couple of other genes. Jonathan Katz

11-09-2009, 12:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
lde22 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Southern California Gender: Male Posts: 66	Man that sucks. They should understand that if you have social anxiety its hard for you to call them. If you can try to contact your teacher and ask if you can take the test another day. Usually if you contact them before hand they will let you. Just tell your teacher you have a really urgent doctors appointment or something. Your scared of getting yelled at by your therapist? That's a really bad therapist then. Mabey you should try to find a different therapist.

11-09-2009, 07:05 AM	#4 (permalink)
00Athena00 Status: SAS Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Iowa Gender: Female Age: 24 Posts: 86	That was incredibly inappropriate for the doctor to confront you like that in the waiting room. I can understand how they would be concerned if you had a pattern of canceling appointments at the last minute. But, they needed to be more sensitive and speak to you privately. If you need to reschedule the appointment, do it. Your tuition pays for this service, they need to accommodate you. The other option is to try to contact the teacher and schedule a makeup test. If you say it's because of a health related issue, they aren't allowed to ask for details. Next time you see your therapist, you should bring up the incident and tell them how it made you feel. They are professionals, your feelings should be respected.