From debunking Covid conspiracies to providing self-help tips and destigmatizing mental health, many professionals have turned to TikTok to share their wealth of knowledge to help others.
While most therapists have peoples’ best interests at heart, one who went by the name of @sidequesttherapy, has disappeared from the platform after they shared a video that bashes patients for “trauma dumping.”
For those unfamiliar with the phrase, “trauma dumping” is an “unsolicited, unprepared way, where a person dumps traumatic thoughts, feelings, energy onto an unsuspecting person.”
Subsequently, people often turn to therapy to seek professional help.
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Captioned “Not happening on my watch ever again”, the deleted clip has since resurfaced on Twitter, causing major outrage.
Social media users were quick to highlight that her job is literally to deal with others’ trauma.
Her TikTok clip has been branded unprofessional and immoral, especially as therapy is intended to provide a safe and confidential space to voice mental and emotional problems.
— with an "i" (@liawithani) October 20, 2021
One Twitter user asked, “Is it ‘trauma dumping’ if you’re literally their therapist? If my therapist told me not to ‘trauma dump’ on them I would start making my tapes.”
One took to the platform and said: “Ah ok *adds “my therapist is making fun of me online” to my grand list of anxieties*”.
Holy shit. I was hoping that she would somehow elaborate and maybe make it not as bad as the screenshot makes it seem. I was wrong.
— moritz (@moritzvonheute) October 20, 2021
She should NOT be a practising therapist. Grim..
— Clair (@peregrine795) October 20, 2021
It’s actually a lot worse than I thought
— Rainey Scribbles (@RaineyScribbles) October 20, 2021
“Please don’t let this discourage you from going to therapy,” a fellow therapist tweeted. “Most of us therapists are not like this and actively detest social media for reasons like this. Also, this is the first time I’ve ever heard the term trauma dump and hopefully the last.”
Following the backlash, Sidequest Therapy has deleted her entire account. She claimed to have been a licensed counsellor who specialized in anxiety disorders, mental health degradation and coping mechanisms, according to Heightzone.