[Sunrise]

Had some sessions a year ago and was open minded about it at first but I didn't enjoy it. I felt like an outsider. I was the only man in the group and didn't really have much in common with the others. It was very clique to be honest. There would be a group of them gossiping about various things but I didn't really feel like I could join in as I couldn't relate to a lot of what was being talked about. I felt like I had different type of issues and lived very different lives to these people. Not that I had it any worse, just different, and I felt uncomfortable talking about my issues or the sort of lifestyle I live. It didn't really feel like a safe, non-judgemental, inclusive environment.

Personally I don't think it should be seen as a place to make friends. It's a professional environment. The fact that people did seem to form their own little friendship groups is probably what I found disappointing. I didn't find it diverse at all, I found it very insular. I felt like I was being judged a lot. I stuck out like a sore thumb in that group, I felt like the scary man sitting in the corner on my own.

The therapy itself was very "one size fits all", and again I felt like it was aimed at a different sort of person and a lot of the time struggled to see the relevance to my own particular issues.

I feel like I should beat myself up again because it wasn't helpful. Obviously it was just my bad attitude at fault again.

I turned down the opportunity of another group thing recently. I can see how it helps some people but I don't find talking about these things with a groups of peers helpful. I'd rather talk to a professional who is trained to deal with people like me and hopefully respect patient confidentiality.

On the topic of bad advice from therapists I think I can pinpoint the exact moment I completely lost faith in mental health services as the time a cbt therapist recommended I join plentyoffish.com.