Do You And Your Psychiatrist Text?

[IWIK]

No....I would find that very odd personally.

 

[nursenurse]

In other words, I think it is unethical.

 

[Friday]

I'm constantly amazed by the amount of texting and non-appointment contact a lot of people have with their therapists. (And like @nursenurse I have very real security & medical ethics concerns, any 12yo can clone a phone, it's the new crank-call right of passage...clone a phone or phish someone's number and have full access or pranking wihout being able to easily trace who did it). But hey, here I am throwing all my own dirty laundry online. I practically live on here, lately. I'm sure there are probably many who find my practice of doing this equally disturbing. I think, in part, it's that people get used to their own modes of communication and support structures. When they find something that works? Full steam ahead.

 

[Justmehere]

It would make more sense if it was her therapist. Texting a doctor is weird. It's off kilter to me that she would even have her doctor's cell phone number. My guess is that the doc is experiencing significant counter-transference and being over rescuing.

Seeing the doctor every week on an on-going basis is weird to me as well. Does she have full on sessions with the doctor every week or are they medication follow ups? Most of the time, doing individual therapy with two people is not such a good idea. It might be another sign that her and the doc are overly enmeshed.

If it's just medication follow ups - those should be 15 minute appointments on average. In my experience, medication follow ups are sometimes weekly when doing medication changes, but them they usually go back to monthly appointments. (Anyone - please correct me if I am wrong.)

 

[joeylittle]

In my experience, medication follow ups are sometimes weekly when doing medication changes, but them they usually go back to monthly appointments.

I think you're right in general; I see my psych once a week when things are bad, because she wants to be able to respond to what's going on with me. Otherwise I see her once every two weeks (at her request), because we are trying to catch it earlier when my meds start to fail. But at first, when I was more stable, we saw each other every 3-4 weeks.

I never feel like she's a "helicopter doctor" though. I've got her cell phone number because she wants me to have it in case her pager fails, but I don't use it - I'm supposed to use it in an emergency, haven't needed to.

@Ketamine Dreams, I'm with everyone else - your wife's texting is atypical. Does her relationship with the psychiatrist go back significantly longer than with the therapist? Or is the therapist maybe not doing such a good job lately?

 

[Lucycat]

I have text conversations with my therapist regularly. Sometimes just about appointment times but also to clarify issues or as a means of support ( but I don't see T every week).

However from the other side of the fence I am also a nurse. I have frequent text and/or email communication with my clients both for appointments and support too depending on their personal choice. There is nothing to say it is unethical as long as it remains professional - for example I would not send a joke as I might to a friend. Neither text nor email are secure, (but then neither is a telephone call) but both can be later accessed if required by a court- even if deleted off the computer or phone. I print out emails and store them in patient records. Text conversations I transcribe into records.

So I would say it is not about whether texting is appropriate - it is about the content of the messages. If you have asked your wife and she has given a reasonable explanation then I see no reason for concern.


And I don't care what the American College says, firstly we are not all in America, but also technology moves at a much faster pace than policy. Everybody texts these days. It is normal life. Here in rural Scotland text is more reliable than voice calls as we have such poor coverage by mobile signal providers.A text gets through when a voice call doesn't. Most of my clients prefer texting, and it means they can reply at their leisure.

Oh - and although I don't see him regularly my psychiatrist ( yes - doctor not my T) does EMDR and Brainspotting. He does therapy - not just meds.

 

[nursenurse]

I don't find weekly sessions with the actual doctor disconcerting at all, depending on where the patient is in therapy. Psychiatrists should not be pill pushers only.

The doctor needs to care about what the American College says. It could mean their license. What I quoted was from 2013. I stand by what they said, and by what I said previously. I however agree on the issue of content. Appointment changes and such. But therapy content provided over anything perceived as social media is inviting trouble. And while it may be the way of the world, it doesn't necessarily make it ethical or right. Nurse over and out :)

 

[moonbeam]

I text with my psychotherapist but its usually only to discuss sessions or to inquire about if she can call me when she has a minute. And that's once a month maybe.

Occasionally if I have mentioned a particularly stressful day is coming, on that day she has sent me messages like "don't forget to take deep breaths" or "one thing at a time" just little encouragements and usually to call her if I need her. I tend not to call her because I think our weekly sessions is our time the rest of her time is hers. I'm huge on boundaries. Though I like the texts.

 

[Lucycat]

"Together with other eHealth services, text messaging complements traditional health care practice. It is a highly effective way of
signposting and improving patients’ access to health care and advice services."
Taken from;
Link Removed

I appreciate this is UK advice, and it is for nursing staff not medical staff - but here is the rules I am obliged to follow.

 

[hailstorm]

Let's let the doctor and patient decide what is appropriate or not. I am also a health professional and find it is up to the patient/client and health professional to decide what therapeutic venue to use. The venue used by the wife/psychiatrist therapeutic relationship may be working for this client. The American Medical Society prides itself on being in control of how physicians/nurses practice by book only. They forget that we deal with human beings and in order to do the best for our patients/clients we have to set precedents. Not everything is cut and dry in this world. Access to care is very important and finally being treated as such. Back when doctors made house calls quite often they were also the family's friend. We have put doctors on a pedestal and unreachable. They are being brought back down to earth as humans themselves.

 

[Dee Morris]

I have never texted with my Psychiatrist or Therapist, ever. Seems inappropriate to me but it would depend on the nature of the texts.

 

[digger]

Is your wife comfortable with the arrangement?