When you work as a private practice psychologist, you have to create your community. While I get to know many lovely clients and other professionals who work with my clients, it can sometimes feel a bit like I am on an island. Last fall, I had the opportunity to join a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) clinical consultation group with several other professionals who came together through PDA North America.

While we came together from different disciplines, we were all focused on PDA and mental health, and we were able to come together to discuss topics and challenges related to our work with PDA.

For those of you who are not in the mental health field, consultation groups are an opportunity for clinicians to come together to discuss clients, challenges, and questions to gain the wisdom of other providers. Names and identifying information are kept confidential, but by sharing a little about one’s work with a client, sometimes other group members can see possibilities that may not be obvious to that therapist or psychologist.

As my work is primarily assessment, it was helpful to see the routes that therapists would take with various challenges and helped inform many of the recommendations and suggestions I offer clients after a diagnosis. Participating in the group has been incredibly informative and has offered me invaluable insights into the challenges and triumphs of navigating PDA. In this blog post, I want to share some key takeaways from this experience.

1. The Journey is Challenging, But Rewarding

First, let’s acknowledge that this work is hard. Supporting individuals with PDA and their families, especially during crisis periods, is very challenging. It requires patience, understanding, and a deep well of empathy. But it can also be tremendously rewarding. Many of the members of this consultation group were also in private practice, and the opportunity to connect, share success stories, and sometimes commiserate about challenges was important.

When faced with safety concerns, legal issues, family discord, communication difficulties, and resistance from clients and their family members, it can sometimes be difficult to know how to navigate the clinical relationship. By sharing what has (and has not) worked, group members, were able to empathize and also share insights from their work—we were often able to come back together to hear how some of these insights were helpful for clients and their families.

2. The Power of Connection

One of the most profound realizations from participating in this group is the importance of connection. We all need someone who understands us, and who can see our struggles from a different perspective. This is beautifully encapsulated in the mountain analogy. We are all climbing our mountains, facing our unique challenges while it can sometimes be difficult to have perspective on our own journey, and it can be difficult to tell what lies ahead or how far we have come, someone on a different mountain has the viewpoint to notice and provide insight that can help us navigate. Further, when we work together, we can achieve more.

3. The Energy in Groups

There’s a unique, unmistakable energy in a group setting. All of us were driven to understand one another, to support each other, and to grow as clinicians. This energy can be a powerful motivator, helping us to keep going even when the work gets tough. Even though we met in the evenings and there were challenges surrounding dinner time, childcare, and other evening activities, we were all excited to be there and all recognized the importance of continuing to meet, even after our original period ended.

By discussing progress, challenges, and other projects, sessions were not just about accountability, but also a source of motivation. It can be undeniably difficult to spend a whole session with a child who will not speak to you or an adult who negates everything you say. Hearing about the small victories and breakthroughs from other clinicians was a reminder of the positive impact of our work.

4. The Importance of PDA-Informed Therapy

If you are a PDAer, or if you’re supporting a PDAer, it’s crucial to have a therapist who understands PDA. The clinicians I’ve met on this journey have been incredible sources of knowledge, compassion, and support. While I have always encouraged clients with PDAs to seek out therapists who understand PDA, I became even more convinced of its importance for both adults and children as I learned more about the clinical work that the other group members were doing.

In our group, I met some amazing clinicians that I now view as trusted referral sources I know that many of them were in turn grateful to get to know me, a provider they could refer to for assessment. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to refer a client to someone you KNOW will do great work with a client. A knowledgeable therapist can help you find other resources, things that you might not even be aware that you need!

Conclusion

In conclusion, participating in a PDA clinical consultation group has been a journey of education, understanding, and connection. I plan to continue and know that it will make me a better clinician, one that can support and educate clients about tough topics. It has reinforced the importance of empathy, flexibility, and a deep understanding of PDA in supporting individuals with PDA and their families. It’s a challenging journey, but it’s also a rewarding one.

Dr. Jessica Myszak and Dr. Jaime Long have significant experience performing psychological evaluations with children and adults. They offer both in-person and telehealth evaluations for children, teens, and adults looking for answers. In addition to seeing clients on the Chicago North Shore, they can work with families who reside in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming! Dr. Long is also now available to see clients in New York and California. If you are interested in learning more about potentially working with them, you can visit Contact Here to get the process started.