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

[Zisico]

Hi,
It sounds horrible. You know what happened. Someone who was supposed to help you harmed you. There are far too many poorly trained, untrained, or just untalented "therapists" out there. It's just wrong. It's really hard to see a licensed psychologist, because the insurance companies fail to reimburse them or reimburse them so poorly that they often only accept out-of-pocket, private payments. I feel you will be further frustrated by the system and its shortcomings if you pursue something formally, but only you know what you need to do. If you write her a letter outlining what you felt and how she hurt you, and write it in a way that may make her more likely to hear it, you might not get a tangible acknowledgment, but it may affect how she approaches similar situations. If you don't get a response from her, I would pursue it with her supervisor or the board.

@sepur, can you report her now?

 

[Daru]

I just don't know how I'd find out.

I would say, to get patients, she has to have a card and/or listing somewhere such as Linkin, or simular professional page. Find these by googling her name. The title is behind their name. For example, my therapist has behind his name LMHC (licenced mental health conselor) and my psychiatrist I believe is PhD (i dont have one of her cards but i believe thats what it is). If i google my therapist's full name I get 5 or so professional pages and the title LMHC is directly behind his name on the pages.

Ask for information about her qualifications from the centre she works at

I also agree with this. They should have someone else making appointments. You can call and ask and by law (or at least in this State) they have to advise you of their qualifications. When I did that, i not only got all of his titles and certifications but also all of his degrees and what he specializes in.

If she doesnt then google for contact of the board of directors she's under and see if there's contact info.

Id still send a letter to her & the board/supervisor/whomever her "boss(es)" are (MD's have a medical board of directors and that's no different with a mental heath professional), unloading everything you feel about what she did or didnt do. That alone, whether acted on or not, will give you closure.

 

[Eti]

If you write her a letter outlining what you felt and how she hurt you, and write it in a way that may make her more likely to hear it, you might not get a tangible acknowledgment, but it may affect how she approaches similar situations. If you don't get a response from her, I would pursue it with her supervisor or the board.

I'd rather not have any contact with her. Why would I give her the satisfaction of knowing that she upset me? That's what she wanted to do in the first place.

The title is behind their name. For example, my therapist has behind his name LMHC (licenced mental health conselor) and my psychiatrist I believe is PhD (i dont have one of her cards but i believe thats what it is). If i google my therapist's full name I get 5 or so professional pages and the title LMHC is directly behind his name on the pages.

I looked around for her letters -- can't find any.

Does anyone know if filing a complaint will lead to the details of my therapy becoming public record somehow? I certainly don't want that.

I think the best thing might be to contact her supervisor at the center and complain to them about her conduct -- not an official complaint, but something that will get round to her and hopefully teach her a lesson. I guess the first step would be to call the center and ask how I'd go about it, who to contact?

 

[Ogi]

I looked around for her letters -- can't find any.

Was she a free therapist?

I had 4 bad unethical therapist; 2 that acted on my come ons, one kicked me out for not being ready for exposure therapy, one kicked me out for being too terrified to talk. None knew of my true trauma. And i dont believe any had certifications to have letters behind their names.

 

[Eti]

Was she a free therapist?

Well, she was free for me, because of my insurance coverage. Her online profile says that she works on a sliding scale from x to y dollars an hour.

Don't all therapists have to have some type of certification?

 

[Cali]

I had 4 bad unethical therapist

Im sorry; 4 bad FREE unethical therapists

 

[Jabavet]

Don't all therapists have to have some type of certification?

Nope. My 4 free horrible therapists/counselors didnt anyway.

I can google and search her for you if you want. You can message me, lostforgottensoul, her name if you want and i can research her. If not thats cool too.

 

[Ibe]

I think, at least in the US, to legally function as a therapist, you need a license and for that you need some kind of relevant education. Social work, psychologist (could be Masters or PhD), or psychiatrist (in in this country that's an MD with more training to specialize). My T has his license hanging on the office wall. You should be able to call the office and ask what kind of license the person has and what their education and experience is. These are reasonable questions for a potential client to ask and it shouldn't be a secret.

 

[Awukim]

Why would I give her the satisfaction of knowing that she upset me?

This is at odds with this

something that will get round to her and hopefully teach her a lesson

If you think she'd take "satisfaction" in knowing she hurt you, then she's not likely to learn from the experience. If she is going to learn, it's more likely to happen by you contacting her, maybe in the presence of someone else like her supervisor. In my experience formal complaints get adversarial really quickly and drag on forever, so may not give you what you want.

It sounds to me like you want her to feel as bad as you do - there's nothing wrong with that but at least do it to her face.

 

[Eti]

If you think she'd take "satisfaction" in knowing she hurt you, then she's not likely to learn from the experience. If she is going to learn, it's more likely to happen by you contacting her, maybe in the presence of someone else like her supervisor. In my experience formal complaints get adversarial really quickly and drag on forever, so may not give you what you want.

It sounds to me like you want her to feel as bad as you do - there's nothing wrong with that but at least do it to her face.

Not really. Pouring my heart out in a personal letter to her seems inappropriate. Having her boss tap her on the shoulder and say, "Can I speak with you in my office?" is teaching her a lesson. The lesson I'm trying to teach her isn't, "You should be nice to your patients." It's "If you violate the therapist's code of ethics, there are going to be consequences."

I already confronted her on her dishonesty -- she didn't give a hoot, she just sat there and denied everything. It would not be so easy for her to brush off a formal letter sent to her supervisor making him/her and the whole practice look bad.

In summary, sending a letter to her is saying, "You got me." Sending a letter to her boss is, "I got you."

 

[Egam]

Are you thinking she breached her code of ethics because she lied to you? How do you know she lied to you - eg if she said something that later you could prove was incorrect or inaccurate, it would be a fairly powerful thing to give to her or her supervisor. If it's a case that you think she lied to you because of her expression (you talked about micro expressions earlier) and she says she was being honest, that's much harder because no matter what you think, you can't know for sure because there isn't a true/false thing to provide, just your sense that she wasn't being straight with you.

In therapy supervision is a supportive, reflective process rather than a "can I see you in my office" type thing. Reflection is a,ways a good thing but she, and her supervisor, may decide that your acting out your own stuff in therapy. Would you be looking for a response from her or her supervisor or is making the complaint enough for you to feel able to leave it?

 

[Eti]

re you thinking she breached her code of ethics because she lied to you? How do you know she lied to you - eg if she said something that later you could prove was incorrect or inaccurate, it would be a fairly powerful thing to give to her or her supervisor.

Told her I was in therapy to talk about a certain issue and felt she was avoiding it. Asked her if she was avoiding it. She said no, she was not avoiding it -- and then continued to avoid it. This repeated more times than I can count.

there isn't a true/false thing to provide, just your sense that she wasn't being straight with you.

This is the whole thing. How would you prove anything?

Would you be looking for a response from her or her supervisor or is making the complaint enough for you to feel able to leave it?

Knowing that her supervisor says something to her about it would be adequate, I think.