Quote:
Originally Posted by imapatient
It's common for mental health pros to share info on current and/or former patients. It's done to get one up to speed to provide greater help sooner rather than having to get to know you for X months before really important diagnoses and understanding of Pt might occur. Nothing sinister. I've had T's do it and T's with pdocs, and pdocs with pdocs. It's done to better help you. On an ongoing basis I've had standing agreements with a current T and pdoc so they can check their assessments, judgments, and perspective. Maybe the Pt has told important info to one but not the other. They need to be as well informed as possible. T's usually consult with peers and/or a supervisor to process what they've been doing to get an objective viewpoint regarding not just the patient but themselves and their behavior. My understanding is that, in my State, T's don't share names or other personally identifiable info about their Pt's. To run things by a pdoc can be even better because both T and pdoc know first-hand far more about a Pt than mere peers.
I wouldn't be happy either had it happened without my knowledge, but if you signed something or even gave verbal approval in some states, it's not against any formal rules, other than with a professional association like APA. It sounds like you didn't give verbal approval, but maybe written?
Don't take it so harshly as betrayal; it's done for important, beneficial reasons.
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i agree completely with this.
i'm in a situation now where i'm trying to find a new T. my pdoc said he bumped into the T he wanted to refer me to the other day, and had a chat to the T to see whether we would be a good fit. i have a long-standing agreement with pdoc that he can talk to any of the professionals i consult if he needs more info to help me better.
also - did you pdoc give you the referral to your T? if that is the case, then there may well be expectations that they will consult. here is australia, Ts are required to provide written reports to referring drs every 6 sessions.