My 7-year-old son has always been difficult to deal with. The constant tantrums, hitting, and screaming over the littlest things have worn me out completely.

After trying everything, we finally took him to a child psychologist, Dr. Samuel, four months ago. The sessions seemed fine at first, but Jamie’s behavior barely improved. Then, two days ago, the doctor emailed me saying he wouldn’t continue treating Jamie, without giving a clear reason. When I called, he simply said it was “best for everyone.”

I was confused so I called Dr. Samuel again. He finally revealed that during their last session, my son had a breakdown, yelling at “Claire” and insisting that Claire was angry with me. Dr. Samuel explained that this wasn’t normal imaginary friend behavior and strongly recommended we see a child psychiatrist right away, as he felt the situation was beyond his expertise.