Survivor recovery blog legit?

[fundiefun]

http://lolasrecoverysite.wordpressDOTcom/

After the whole razing ruth scam went down I stumbled upon this blog that's done with the main character being "lola" who was supposedly a survivor of abuse, lived with abusive bio parents, and was institutionalized in an orphanage for years until being adopted by her mom. "Lola" is apparently in her mid twenties keep in mind and her "mom" supposedly helps her with her blog and made a post defending lola on one occasion. The blog author is a talented artist as witness with the drawings and art which are of "lola" the blog was up and running until talks of shopping for a book deal happened with no success then silence come August. The author/owner of the site even got one of those expensive American Girl type dolls and dresses it up and poses it for the blog and sews it outfits. I know not all blogs are fake, but this seems a little unreal I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'm looking too much into the abuse survivor book deal angle?

[lemonhead]

I'm confused by this site. Under "Disclaimer" the blog author says, "Lola is not a real-life person, but a fictional character from a book...Any resemblances to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Lola is the intellectual property of the author and blog owner. The blog owner is a non-medical practitioner psychotherapist..."

So it's not really a survivor blog, but more a work of fiction meant to educate as well??? But the switching between first-person and third-person is too distracting for me.

[mockingbird]

I'm confused by this site. Under "Disclaimer" the blog author says, "Lola is not a real-life person, but a fictional character from a book...Any resemblances to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Lola is the intellectual property of the author and blog owner. The blog owner is a non-medical practitioner psychotherapist..."

So it's not really a survivor blog, but more a work of fiction meant to educate as well??? But the switching between first-person and third-person is too distracting for me.

Yeah, I think... and it's a blog about a book that's not published yet - contact her if you want the manuscript! :?

I kind-of think the owner is not a psychotherapist though. I think by "non-medical practitioner" psychotherapist she probably means someone who's not a psychiatrist or psychologist? Not sure. But anyway, you still need a decent amount of education to "just" be a therapist and I think that would include basics of plagiarism. Much of her content seems to be directly lifted from psychology textbooks or websites, or self-help books, and sometimes it's not cited (e.g. the list of things to look for in a therapist - that sounds like it was taken from a standardized patient guide or advice website). Furthermore, one would think that if a real therapist was writing this blog, he/she would rephrase things into lay language, in order to better educate readers.

The whole thing just doesn't add up to me, even as a story. I am definitely aware people can have more than one mental illness at a time, especially something like borderline personality disorder and depression, but just in skimming the first few entries it kind-of feels like the character is just "checking off" boxes to have her multiple disorders. Like, oh look, she happens to fit the DSMV criteria PERFECTLY for this, line for line, let me show you! I mean maybe that could just be awkward integration of the "educational" content and maybe poor character development (like focusing too much on making your character fit the diagnoses you want to portray vs. working on their unique story first)?

Then there's the fact that she shares way too much information about her self-harm practices and does not seem at all sensitive to the effects her posts could have on others. For example (spoilered because I found it disturbing and it could possibly be triggering):

Taking a picture of her doll's arms wrapped in bandages, as if the doll was also cutting herself. Does not add a "cute" element to the blog, IMO!

At the least, I don't think that is something a therapist would put on a blog, even if trying to capture the reality of someone with mental illness who might not have a good "filter" for what to put online. I think they'd be a little more careful and sensitive to the fact that people who really do have a mental illness might read the blog, and not want to post anything that could seem to encourage or trivialize self-harm in any way, you know? There ARE blogs out there that glorify self-harm, especially on tumblr, and while I don't want to jump to conclusions, this blog is rubbing me the wrong way, in the same way those blogs do. It's one thing to write a blog about subjects that could be triggering (such as struggling with self-harm) which I don't think is wrong at all - but this one seems to go a little too far in that it's all too eager to show off that type of content.

[mockingbird]

Er... I enjoy writing fiction and I'd be the first person to say things like "my characters have a mind of their own", and have definitely had the experience where you get really into writing and a character "takes over" and the story doesn't go as I planned (usually better). But I know my characters are just that, characters. They are figments of my imagination. I could write them responding to comments if I wanted, sure (it's just like writing a conversation), but it's still me writing them and me actively thinking about how they would respond... this is too much for me (from the comments on her disclaimer page):

I’m glad you can relate to what you read. That’s really all that matters. Even when Lola is not physically real in the sense that she can walk among “real†people like you can, her struggles, her issues, her experiences and her thoughts are very real and true to the disorder and to her experience with it. I think that may be what you can sense when you feel like you can relate. In my (the author’s) experience, that is a more true-to-reality approach than just writing about BPD from a detached and professional point of view. So please don’t feel discouraged by discovering that Lola isn’t a physical person (novel = fiction). She is a genuine person nonetheless, trying to make sense from her experiences much in the same way you do, trying, failing, learning and maybe on her way helping others understand themselves as she tries to understand herself better – in a way textbooks often can not quite manage.

And since we’re on the disclaimer page, which is the only page that is not solely from Lola’s point of view, I (the author) can add: thank you for your interest! The method I use is in a certain way similar to having DID, only in a non-pathological way, because my personality is not truly split into different personas. I deliberately step outside of my own experiences and realm, to enter that of Lola to see what she thinks, how she reacts, how she feels and how she perceives the world. It’s hard to explain, really, but it is very real in its own way. Therefore when Lola writes, it’s not just an author’s perception of what she WOULD say, but it is her genuine reaction – it’s what she DOES say. She has her own history, her own personality, her own thoughts and feelings and her own struggles. Because she is inside of my mind, I can look in on her thoughts and lend her my hands to write something in the 3D world. And while I am there while she writes, I am standing in the background and keep myself out of her thoughts etc. So this is her place, not mine and while wherever she goes and whatever she does on the internet, I am there also, I am never participating, only watching to learn and broaden my understanding of her and the issues she has.