Dr. Wynette Word Barton

Looking back: what is it to know of real healing, of what and how to trust, of how to contain great waves of "unacceptable" thoughts and emotions, of how to redeem or where to place the ugly parts, of how to come out of hiding? I mustered all my courage and dared to knock at her door. That is, I soon discovered, I was knocking at the door of my own scary Self and Wynette's. I somehow knew that I, at least, needed to bring my half of the ticket, so to speak. In return Wynette was there. I mean fully there. She listened in ways I can only name as deep and deeper. And responded to all my piles of raw and unfiltered material with a knowing I could trust and the warmest of hearts to follow. Healing, opening, maturing, waking began and has continued for a lifetime. I reference our visits time and time again. She is marvelous.

I saw her for almost three years. After some initial red flags, I made some progress with her, but those red flags stuck around and kept getting more impossible to ignore. She was mistrustful of everything I said. She was more interested in slyly guiding me toward her own view of me than in helping me develop a confident view of myself. Whenever there was a problem in our relationship, she laid the blame at my feet. It was always my substance use or lack of insight or unjustified anger getting in the way—not her own inability to empathize. She couldn’t hear how I felt ignored and manipulated by her without assuring me how qualified and experienced she was, how little I knew in comparison. She would bring her own insecurities into our sessions. It was just a terrible experience. Everyone close to me told me I should stop seeing her. I’m glad to have found a new therapist who’s capable of a little warmth and willing to give me space to grow into my own individual.