ALERT: Counselors, Nurses, Doctors

Colleagues and friends, unfortunately, as healing professionals we're continuing to be targeted in increasingly creative and sophisticated methods by folx suffering in ways that push them to do harm. It just happened to me.

I was robbed of over $3000 when a human being called me up on a City of Oakland phone line and impersonated a police officer. It's chilling to realize that they'd done their homework on me, knew where I lived, had a story about a subpoena to be an expert witness being received at an old residence of mine, followed by threats of arrest for not appearing in court and promises of helping me clear my name by doing a signature test for the falsely signed subpoena. Their story and tone ingeniously preyed directly on my skills as a therapist and my care for my clients, using my legal and ethical commitment to confidentiality against me.

But at the end of the day, the details don't matter. I wasn't failing to see through the ruse or fight back. I was being attacked with the intention of locking me into freeze response. I never asked or consented to be harmed.

You can learn more about this evolving phenomenon here: https://www.camft.org/Membership/About-Us/E-Newsletters/November-2021-E-News/Scams-Targeting-Therapists

and here:

https://www.koaa.com/money/consumer/scams-targeting-mental-health-and-medical-professionals-prompt-warnings-and-concern

My financial goal with this GoFundMe is simply to recoup the monetary losses incurred; I am in dialogue with my banks to see if they can help me, and in the meantime I am busy getting new bank cards and having to change over all of my personal financial systems. Just $5 dollars will help me rebuild my wellbeing, financially and mentally.

But my larger goal with sharing my story and making this public, community ask for support is to actually change lives and make our communities stronger by example, by practicing being in real relationships of mutual care, open dialogue, and safety with each other. I am not interested in leaning into suffering and going after punishments.

What I want is to recover, stronger than before, and to get back to helping people. I want to help people know about this kind of targeted assault on our professions' vulnerabilities. But I also want to help our society to shift out of cycles of poverty and violence. I want to raise up communities of awareness, collective care, and compassion.

After a 24-hour cycle of lots of crying in the day following my own attack, I know clearly that it is going to take time to keep remembering that it's not my fault and that I am more than the shame that being attacked inevitably and reasonably brought up in me. That said, there are things that have been helpful in the aftermath and other things that haven't been helpful, and while it's scary to share openly, I want others to benefit from my story. You're not alone.

Helpful

Not Helpful

For those of you who have ever been targeted and attacked please always remember this: IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. AND we can interrupt it happening to more people and make positive change in our communities.

"Dust off your wings, shake off that bad juju they tried to throw on you, and fly again, my dear." — friend

Leaning into healing and growth,

Anna