Well, in the minutes after he parted ways with me as a client — his decision and me with as yet undiagnosed Complex PTSD — he offered two other therapists I might want to work with: his wife or another woman working as his understudy or whateer. “She’s beautiful,” he added, for reasons as to which I can only speculate.

As a confused young man longing for help, that word “beautiful” resonated. I opted to see her and proceeded to get involved with her in therapy that may have been helpful, but was probably not. I saw her for 11 years.

She diagnosed my PTSD and inner fragmentation, so I’m grateful for that. And I don’t for a second fault her for her looks or her diligence in trying to get past them in our strictly therapeutic relationship.

Who I do fault is John McNeel for his blatant, unprofessional, spiteful tagging of her as beautiful. How does he explain it? I wrote to him and he never wrote back. When I asked for my records with the therapist in question — she died prematurely, to my great despair, and I’d guessed he had inherited her records — but he said he had recently destroyed them. How convenient.

I have not used profanity here, but this guy RICHLY deserves such treatment. I should have reported him to the state oversight board.

Submitted Feb. 22, 2023