Filing Complaint Against Therapist: Anyone Done It? What To Expect?

[Macepa]

Based on your posts you come across as quite unaware of the basics.

Insurance can usually be changed once a year during...

@Iljop
Its not unusual for a trauma survivor to have delayed reactions to feeling violated or vulnerable. I'm surprised by the repetitive comments you made suggesting otherwise.

I didnt read every single post here, but they dont seem to be after suing for money or retribution. It's about giving away your power willingly in a therapy session without understanding how to assert yourself properly if things dont feel right. Her therapist knew her history ( of trauma, abuse, rape whatever the case ) and as a trained professional should have left her feeling like she was being treated with respect. When she told the T she was unhappy about the therapy she was, according to this person, dismissive and patronizing. ( ironically, so was your post )

As a trained therapist, or one in training, she absolutely should have been able to create a dialogue where that didnt occur, once she'd been told the misgivings of her client.

Maybe this person isn't young, anyone who has had a lifetime struggling to find boundaries and evade power plays would have trouble trusting their own judgement as well as a therapist. The therapist, however, should have known that.

Whats with all the judging and commanding her to focus on healing? She was, maybe paying for a poorly trained therapist because it was affordable but still a financial burden.

A part of healing is learning where , when and how to assert yourself. Many times those of us who were never given choices by abusers don't do a great job of that when we start trying. The most important thing is to keep trying and learn from your mistakes.

I cant remember when I ever read the fine print on insurance policies either, you sound like loads of fun.:dead:

 

[Eti]

No it wont be a public record in court, keep in mind she wouldn't want it to be public either. I also don't see why it would be in court if you're not suing for reimbursements. I have to be honest, if that's what you want to do I doubt it would work.

I'm not after monetary damages -- I can only imagine how difficult it would be to win a case like that anyway.

This is probably baseless, but I feel she might look me up online and find ways to retaliate through social or career media -- you know those sites. She's just such a twisted character, who knows?

Based on your posts you come across as quite unaware of the basics.

I admittedly am quite unaware of what ensues when you file a complaint -- that's why I didn't know whether courts were involved. As far as open enrollment for insurance, once a year doesn't help me much -- this whole episode isn't even a year old. Also, with the healthcare reform in the US, I would still not qualify for the tax credit, which is the only way I could afford any plan besides the public system.

I also think it would be a good idea to understand that just because a therapist doesn't want to listen to everything you want to talk about doesn't mean that she's done something wrong. Everyone has their limits.

It wasn't simply not wanting to listen; she actually aggressed against me in a lot of weird ways over the course of many sessions. You keep conveniently forgetting that in your posts. And even if she is entitled to her "limits," I'm entitled to know about them upfront rather than dragging myself back to a therapist who refuses to treat my issues whilst lying and gaslighting me about it the whole time.

 

[Umek]

This is probably baseless, but I feel she might look me up online and find ways to retaliate through social or career media -- you know those sites. She's just such a twisted character, who knows?

This is paranoia. Unless she wants to commit career suicide - and if she's as manipulative and self-serving as you say, there's little likelihood she'd want to throw her license down the toilet, which is what would happen if she did this.

I would still not qualify for the tax credit, which is the only way I could afford any plan besides the public system.

Pretty sure I suggested this earlier - on the off chance that you have not done so - call the customer care number on the back of the card and explain that you need extended coverage for a specialty provider, and would like pre-authorization. You'll have some paperwork to do, which may include a copy of the complaint you will have filed. It's not at all unheard of to get this kind of a stretch from an insurance company, especially when it's a specialty provider (trauma therapist certified in whatever you want them certified in that's evidence-based, so let's go with EMDR). Be rational, be clear.

Look up (online) who is a trauma specialist with the credentials you want, who is in-network for this insurance provider at the higher level of care (that you can't afford). Contact them. If they aren't taking clients, go to the next name on the list. And so forth. You aren't financially committed to this person until after you've done the short, free, conversation about who they are and who you are. Some will even do a first session for free. They will know the ins and outs of the insurance from their end very well, and can likely be helpful in the pre-auth process.

Forgive me if you've done all this already.

she actually aggressed against me in a lot of weird ways over the course of many sessions.

Doesn't matter - it's your interpretation with no evidence. Get your head around how to start describing her actions completely neutrally, with zero mind reading. All action - what you did, what she did. No interpretation. Your mantra should be 'I'm not looking for anything for myself, but maybe this will help someone in the future'. I know that's not true, you are looking for revenge of some kind, but you aren't going to have that satisfaction, and if you communicate the complaint with a lot of judgement (in an effort to be taken seriously, using interpretations like 'aggressed'), it will be ignored.

And start finding a therapist you want to work with who has the skill set you are looking for. You stand at minimum a 50-50 chance of getting approved for the treatment; whereas, if you do nothing, you have zero chance.

 

[Joku]

I'm not after monetary damages -- I can only imagine how difficult it would be to win a case like that anyway.

This is p...

@Eti this is isovu / macepa.

I actually think that you're doing the right thing, as long as you do it well.

The entire purpose of therapy is to help someone find new ways to approaching old problems. It's meant to guide a client into finding strengths and possibilities in their new perspectives, and help heal trauma so they can stop unconsciously creating patterns of destructive cycles in your life.

In a weird way, seeing this woman has done some of this. You asked around to get other opinions about the situation to see if you were valid in your responses and emotions. You carefully looked at the feedback here, and probably elsewhere. Took it all into consideration and decided, then asked for practical advice on how to go about a complaint.

Asking for a lot of feedback was smart. You valued your own opinion above everyone else's and based your decision on that. Whatever your trauma back round is, the self protective anger you felt at believing this woman abused her position was a good thing. Following through on a formal complaint is healthy. Do it in a clear businesslike way and then let go of any outcome.

That's outcomes including fearing her retaliation and letting yourself get into paranoid fantasies about what she might do.

Also any outcome that you imagine her being really sorry, or getting in trouble someday over it.

There really are plenty , more than plenty, that get themselves in that field for all the wrong reasons. Often County workers, just like low rent landlords and low fee attorneys take an attitude that they can get away with anything because they think you cant afford to fight back. A therapist of any kind will always say you're projecting or blame your mental health issue for the problem, sometimes they are right and they need to know when they're wrong.

If you weren't the first, you wont be the last, and filing a complaint is a positive move for the next client that might be in your shoes.

I totally support it anyway.

 

[Eti]

This is paranoia. Unless she wants to commit career Suicide - and if she's as manipulative and self-serving as you say, there's little likelihood she'd want to throw her license down the toilet, which is what would happen if she did this.

She could do it anonymously, though. Remember, it's the internet.

Pretty sure I suggested this earlier - on the off chance that you have not done so - call the customer care number on the back of the card and explain that you need extended coverage for a specialty provider, and would like pre-authorization.

I will definitely try this. Thank you.

 

[Eti]

If you weren't the first, you wont be the last, and filing a complaint is a positive move for the next client that might be in your shoes.

For all the talk about revenge here, this is really where I'm coming from; doing my part to clean up the crap heap that is mental healthcare.

Thanks for your support.

 

[Ose]

She could do it anonymously, though. Remember, it's the internet.

yeah, but it's about you - and you'd know it, and she's the therapist, so she can't actually be anonymous. It's the nice double-blind in privileged/protected information. The person who has the information can't actually reveal it openly without de facto revealing who they are - since there are only two parties, and you aren't going to leak your own therapy sessions.

 

[Eti]

yeah, but it's about you - and you'd know it, and she's the therapist, so she can't actually be anonymous.

Good point. She's not the only person on earth who knows the things we talked about in therapy, and she could pose as one of those people. I know I'm spiraling into paranoia now.

 

[Bumek]

You are being paranoid, but that's part of the deal with PTSD, right? So, keep in mind the paranoid bit but also think about how likely should would be to actually put your stuff out there. If you think it's a possibility then I'd include it in your complaint - explain that one of your anxieties is that she might breach your confidentiality, the board will be used to folk being anxious about complaining.

In all honesty I really doubt she'd be so silly - I've seen people be disciplined for not fully anonymising case studies in research papers etc because a client thought they could recognise themselves, it's something professional bodies take very seriously and can be evidenced. You do need to do something to lay this to rest because it's clearly sitting with you.

 

[Amog]

Good point. She's not the only person on earth who knows the things we talked about in therapy, and she could pose as one...

Okay may last name here was joku-not going to list all of them--kind of a pain about the anonymous thing isnt it?

A lot of the paranoia accusation here is not fair to you. It's one thing to point out that you're being paranoid in excessive fear of vengeful actions of the therapist, in an effort to get you to take a look at where that's coming from, and another to generalize it as only that.

I have no idea what your history is and why you have PTSD, I'm not going to make too many assumptions.

Anyone who's been in a situation where they felt powerless to protect themselves from someone else who had control over them, once, a short time, or for an entire childhood will have a knee jerk fear of angering an authority figure. Telling on someone that has more power than you do is a trigger to anyone who's been abused. I dont know why you've been judged over that here of all places. It is important that you understand your fears are not in the realm of what is probable, to the point of being unrealistic. Anxious people always go over doomsday scenarios trying to brace themselves for what awful thing will happen when they've gotten in a conflict with someone above their own power level. There really isn't anything that weird about what your feeling considering you have PTSD.
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That's why I support you in your complaint, both for you to overcome that fear and handle someone that you think mistreated you in a mature and professional way, and equally to let this woman know that she has handled herself badly.

The bottom line is that whether your account is entirely free of some false perceptions on your part or not, you let her know how you felt about her approach with you. The result is that she failed you as a client by not resolving it or altering her approach and a reminder that she does not have immunity from her behavior with a client professionally.

Dont ruminate over her disguising herself as someone else and cyber stalking you, these people get complaints. You arent the first person who hasnt liked her , you may be the only one who has filed a complaint so far. She is not going to do anything more than give you a dirty look if you run into her at the store.

What you're doing is about taking care of you, the right way, and learning not to let fear stop you from that. It's all good :tup:

 

[Eti]

If you think it's a possibility then I'd include it in your complaint - explain that one of your anxieties is that she might breach your confidentiality, the board will be used to folk being anxious about complaining.

I guess anonymity in the complaint is out of the question? I mean the board is going to tell her my name at least? I can't opt out of that, can I?

 

[Rakuha]

@Bumek here. I'd be surprised if they kept your name out of it. She has a right to be able to defend herself in any complaint process and she can't do that if she doesn't know who made the complaint. They can't investigate either because she can't be asked to produce all of her client records, for example, so they can see whether there are ground for complaint. She also can't be expected to change her practice if she doesn't know where she got it wrong/who she got it wrong for.