Barbara Hill

"I have been seeing barbara Hill for 3 years now. She has completely changed my life for the better. I wish everyone could see barbara- she is so knowledgeable, compassionate, and kind. She has cried with me in sessions while I poured out my heart on not feeling worthy during an incredibly abusive relationship and stayed past time with me when we were making progress and didn’t charge me because she cared so much. I am so shocked to see the other review here- i would not be where I am today- safe and operating at higher standards without her. Barbara made me believe in therapy again after so many clock watching/ bad therapists."

"Barb Hill is culturally incompetent and has no understanding of how to treat complex trauma as it relates to systemic violence. I’ve had many therapists, and haven’t had issues with any of them- but I’ve never had any as dangerous as her. She’s the only therapist I’ve ever had to fire. I was closer to ending my life than I had ever been before realizing she was the trigger. Towards the end of my time with her, she displayed a lack of understanding and respect towards people of color and disabled people. She had multiple unprofessional moments, including telling me she has never invalidated me (she didn’t bother asking if she had said something invalidating- she just assumed she could do no wrong), she would show up later and later to sessions, and when it came to EMDR, she pointed at my hesitation to trust her and said that was why I wasn’t progressing in therapy, and I needed to just trust her. But she had proven herself untrustworthy. She couldn’t answer simple questions about the difference between an honest limitation and a limiting belief. She couldn’t be trusted to show up on time after a tense session the week prior. When I brought up concerns about the lack of a diverse sampling population when it came to proving the efficacy of EMDR in relation to complex trauma with its roots in systemic violence, I would just be met with “just trust me.” When I would ask her if she could help me understand how the brain can heal from complex trauma from systemic violence if that person is still under threat of that same systemic violence, I would just be met with “just trust me.” When I would have autistic meltdowns and would do the hard emotional work to figure out the one unanswered questions triggering the meltdown, she would straight up ignore the question and change the subject. After a few weeks of this, I asked her why she kept changing focus, and she would tell me those questions weren’t helpful to focus on. In my last session, I asked if she could help me find a new therapist who is well versed on these issues and who belongs to a marginalized community. I have her on record saying she would do so. I received zero follow up from her. She also gave me advice to stop trying to adhere to system a and schedules to keep me on track- this was a huge mistake. I was unable to stay on top of buying food, picking up medications, cleaning my house, paying my bills- all of which should have been an obvious risk to any therapist with an understanding of disability and executive dysfunction. When I talked about my frustration with food insecurity and talked about needing to find a way out of it, she addressed the subject with CBT to help me feel empowered when I have no food left to eat. I was frustrated as that has never been my goal- to accept starvation as my reality. I asked if she had ever been food insecure, some part of me hoping she would take pause & reevaluate her approach. She said her friends growing up dealt with that. So I asked again, if she had ever been food insecure and was met with “I was in Zambia and saw a lot of starving kids there.” So I asked once again, if she had personal experience being food insecure. She finally said no- and then broke down saying “I don’t know what you want from me, I’ve never invalidated you ever” I told her I want her to tell the truth. She can’t own her truth. Barb consistently manipulated me into thinking she knew best. She claims she views her clients as experts in their own lived experience, yet consistently invalidated my concerns I brought up regarding her beliefs and approaches, because my lived experience has shown those concerns to be valid. I think Barb has a very long way to go before she should work with clients in marginalized communities. She caused me so much harm. I was scared when I fired her that I had kicked away the one person that was supposed to help me. But when my health got so much better within just a few weeks of leaving, and I talked with autistic therapists about all the red flags, I knew I had made the right choice. Don’t trust Barb Hill."