Quote:
Originally Posted by FallingFreely
Lauliza - you are right on the mark!
There is no reason a therapist cant be evaluated the same way a doctor is. It's even more valuable to have reviews due to the secrecy and shame around mental health treatment. A client is unlikely to have received a referral from a friend or family member because they are unlikely to have been willing to ask for a referral in the first place. Most clients pick a therapist from a insurance list or a therapist directory. Reviews are critical to weed out the incompetent and dangerous.
Private practice therapists are the least monitored. A substance abuse issue, untreated mental health issue, or raging egomania and narcissism can go totally under the radar and unchecked until a client is damaged by it.
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I think people want to review Ts more but are reluctant because of the stigma that goes with being in therapy- most of which I think is perpetuated by the field itself. I agree that informative and honest reviews of pdocs and therapists are the word of mouth people need, yet often can't find, in order to find a decent T. Otherwise you end up going where your insurance company refers you or finding someone in the yellow pages, which is what makes the proces of finding a T such a crap shoot.
I reviewed my pdoc (and by default the group practice) on Yelp and not long after there were more reviews about them. Mine was positive but a few of he othere were negative, so it clearly is a balanced viewpoint. Consumers of mental health services are just as entitled as anyone else to as much information as possible before deciding on a provider.