Peter Navratil, LCSW-R

After seeing Pete for 18 months, I went to a regularly scheduled session, and, unannounced, he insisted on terminating with me. He would not let me speak, saying that I had done or said certain things I had not and that I felt negatively about therapy when I had never said any such thing. It was so surreal. I was in shock as Pete repeatedly verbally and emotionally abused me over the course of an hour. He had recently returned from a 2 month trip out of the country and had yelled at me for not asking about his trip. I have called and written Pete telling him how traumatic his abrupt termination and his words and actions have been for me and asking to meet with him to process what happened. He has not responded. To this day, I have had debilitating anxiety and severe flashbacks of his abuse that have affected every aspect of my life. Pete is a terrifying person living a double life. I am hoping to file an ethics complaint against him with the state. This man should not be practicing.

The most horrifying experience that has ever happened to me. I went to see him for a regularly scheduled session, and he blindsided me by spending over an hour viciously verbally assaulting me. It was 8 pm, and we were in the building alone. He literally screamed abuses at me. He gaslighted me over and over again, and I could not say anything to defend myself. I had missed my prior week’s sessions due to illness, and Pete had sent me a kind text expressing concern. Pete’s grossly unprofessional and unethical behavior came out of nowhere. It has been a month now, and I have suffered from insomnia and PTSD symptoms wherein I have flashbacks of the incident while my heart is beating out of my chest and I am drenched in sweat. I am haunted by an ever present sense of estrangement from the world because this whole thing was so surreal: a highly respected therapist at the helm of a large organization. Isn’t this how it always goes? I hope to file a misconduct action against him.