We sought the counseling services of Kara Gerling because her location was convenient for my husband and I. We both work for the same financial services company in the Feather Sound. Kara. I'm not going to give our life story but as couple we have acknowledged there are some problems we need to work on. We also have a 5 year old child who is beginning to exhibit behavioral problems. A lot of our familys problems relate to the circumstances around our eldest child's death and our recent relocation from Buffalo, NY.
We considered other well established counseling groups in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area but elected to choose Kara since she was close to our same age, pleasant over the phone and purported herself as being experienced in child, relationship, and grief/loss counseling.
Our first appointment should have been a sign we had chosen the wrong counselor. We arrived 15-20 minutes early to make sure all necessary paperwork was filled out. When we arrived we were met by Ms. Gerling in the waiting area, who explained another therapist who rents from the same building was meeting with a patient who had arrived late and we could either wait 30 minutes, reschedule or meet in an adjacent conference room (apparently Ms. Gerling only rents a single room for the dates she has patients scheduled). We choose to meet in the conference room. This wouldnt have been a problem normally but because this same conference room doubled as a banquet/buffet table for the buildings employees during the day, we had our first session surrounded by left-over meat and cheese platters and trash.
As a patient person, I understand unplanned circumstances come up we finished our session and I was comfortable scheduling a second session two weeks out.
This time, I brought our 5 year old son along. He is hyperactive and does not like to sit very long. Kara arrived 45 minutes late to our 6:00pm appointment, however she was courteous enough to call 15 earlier and inform us she was running "just a little late. No problem. I'm patient and I understand traffic can be hectic around this time.
When she greeted us, she was doused in perfume and wearing causal night clothes. The perfume was a big problem since my son has allergies to heavy fragrances. Anyhow, we met and discussed our homework assignment she had given my husband and I to complete the previous session (yes, we were actually given HOMEWORK). Kara appeared to be listening and taking notes, but she made no attempts to hide her cell phone or refrain from texting during our session.
Again being the patient person I am, it wasnt a problem the first three times. My husband, however is not so reserved, after the 5th time, he jokingly asked her if she had an important date. She chuckled, seemingly not embarrassed, she explained she was meeting up with friends after our session was over. As if this wasnt unprofessional enough, during the first 45 minutes of our hour long session, Kara did not acknowledge our son; she did not even introduce herself to him. Maybe because we were intruding on her nights plans? Who knows. We left our second appointment questioning whether we should attend a third.
Two weeks later, my husband decided he would not be going back since he felt Kara lacked the maturity to deal with our familys concerns. Reluctantly, I went, knowing this time, most of the session Kara was going to meet one-on-one with our son. My son and I met with Kara for 15-20 minutes together and she then asked me to leave the room to do "play therapy" with him. About 30 minutes later, they both exited the office and my son had a joyous smile ear to ear. I felt for a brief second I had made the right decision to there that night.
Then, I realized what my son was carrying in his hand, as part of this "play therapy" he was given rewards of candy. This might not be a bad approach for some children, but not mine, especially since my son is allergic to peanut butter! We informed her of his allergies during our first meet where she came doused in perfume and during the second where her text messaging preceded the importance of our session. Fortunately, my son had only ingested a single Reese Cup during and did not show signs of an allergic reaction until I reached All Childrens.
THIS LADY NEARLY KILLED MY CHILD! If the Florida Department of Health took complaints against practitioners for being brainless or inefficient, you can be certain, I'd be filing a complaint! I suggest any person, any couple, mother or father to seek counseling elsewhere.
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