Recall T misrepresented her abilities and then terminated me abruptly by phone, without seeing me, after months of therapy. She claimed it was her limitation in a letter, although her "profile" says she treated trauma, dissociation, etc.

New Ts say the T was unethical and unprofessional. One even said, there should have been consultation with other T before doing what she did.

Would you pay the monthly bill?

She did harm to me by her treatment and has made me feel even more damaged than before.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by Stringcheese

Recall T misrepresented her abilities and then terminated me abruptly by phone, without seeing me, after months of therapy. She claimed it was her limitation in a letter, although her "profile" says she treated trauma, dissociation, etc.

New Ts say the T was unethical and unprofessional. One even said, there should have been consultation with other T before doing what she did.

Would you pay the monthly bill?

She did harm to me by her treatment and has made me feel even more damaged than before.

Paying the bill brings closure. She'll leave you alone after that and you can move on.
If you don't pay the bill, the dispute is likely to continue.

I made a point of always paying Madame T on time no matter how much I hated her.

[IndestructibleGirl]

I bloody wouldn't pay the bill if she terminated you by phone and messed you about quite a bit. But I'd be prepared to do battle, and that kind of thing doesn't upset me. If I hated dealing with that sort of stuff, I'd pay it to stop her sniffing round for the money.

[elaygee]

I had a T bring me in for a 2nd session to then just tell me it wouldn't work out. She then charged me. I did not pay her. But for the first payment, I did pay, because she DID provide a service to me.

[Perna]

I would pay for whatever time I went to see her but pro-rate it if there's just a monthly charge, one a week or something and I only saw her 3 out of 4 weeks, that sort of thing. There are no guarantees with therapy, that it will help or be useful. You have to pay the doctor even if the loved one dies. . .

[sunrise]

I don't know the full situation (what your T did that was harmful), but probably I'd pay. I'm sorry you had to experience that abrupt termination. But since she wasn't able to help you, maybe it is for the best and you can find someone with the expertise you need.

I think there is no guarantee in any part of health care that the treatment will actually help. But the provider tries various treatments that have helped others. I don't pay my doctors based on whether their treatments help, and I have definitely had doctors choose treatments that did not work for me. I pay and we move onto another idea that might help. For example, I went to see a doctor because I was having a lot of trouble with sleep, and his advice was to use good sleep hygiene and he gave me a list of guidelines. I already was using good sleep hygiene so this was useless treatment, but I still paid his bill. Yeah, I felt a little ripped off, but I paid. Another doctor told me to ice the bottom of my feet for plantar fasciitis and I did try this quite a bit but it did not help. So that was an appointment that did not provide treatment that helped, but I still paid the bill. Maybe I'm a sucker?

[Rive.]

Of course I'd pay. She still provided a service. She would still have given me her time, presence and expertise, however limited you/she felt it was.

Even if a T specialises in a particular area, this doesn't mean they'd be able to 'treat' any and every particular client with said issue. All Ts are *not* equal. Some have more experience and savoir-faire etc.

I would actually prefer a T to be upfront and tell me they can't help me as it is not within their expertise (which I wouldn't consider bad service anyway, maybe just my bad luck) than keep stringing me along and subsequently fumbling in therapy. The latter scenario would be a waste of time (both of us), money (mine) & expectations (mine). At least, she was honest in recognising her limitations. This way, I could look for someone better able to help me.

[Favorite Jeans]

If you are seriously considering lodging a complaint against her, pay it. Your position will be undermined if you haven't paid her. If there is an investigation for possible disciplinary action against her you don't want to come across as petty or vindictive. You want to seem like what you are: a client suffering from the effects of trauma who was trying to seek help and treated in a very brusque, unprofessional, incompetent manner. Nothing should cloud that truth. Who knows, the disciplinary body might even find that she should refund you or pay for some portion of your future therapy (maybe that's excessively optimistic!) but leave that to them.

[unlockingsanity]

I agree. If you're going to lodge a formal complaint, then pay her. If you're not, then if you don't want to pay, don't. If she bugs you about it, you can threaten to file a complaint since she was negligent by dropping you without at least a referral. Here, if a therapist did that, that's enough to lodge a complaint and get your therapist in some serious trouble.

If you just want to move on, I'd say just pay and leave it in the past. Don't drag it out. I know what it feels like to want to sort of hurt your therapist back, but if you want to move forward, it's going to hinder your progress.

I would pay for whatever sessions I had with her. Like them or not, she was with you during those sessions and provided a service. Otherwise, this will drag on, and I doubt that is what you want.

[Victoria'smom]

I'd pay, same as I pay for bad food or service at a restaurant.

[anilam]

I'd pay. The way I see it, I'm paying for the time my T spends with me.
I think you have grounds for filling a complaint but not for not paying. In therapy no guarantee's included.

[IndestructibleGirl]

As I understand it though, it's not like paying for bad service at a restaurant. I know there are no guarantees with good outcomes in therapy, of course - BUT there should be a guarantee of professional and ethical behaviour from the therapist.

If they do not act in a professional manner (ie termination over the phone, no referral to another therapist - all stonkingly bad form imo) then I'd argue they can't expect to be paid as a professional. I pay for a professional service - if the therapist has bigged themselves up and bitten off more than they can chew, instead of behaving in a responsible and ethical fashion by referring the client to someone with the depth and breadth of experience to be able to help, then no, I would not pay, and would feel no moral implications.

[Eliza Jane]

I had a friend in a similar situation: she didn't believe the therapist was worth paying, so she ignored the bills she got. The therapist sent her to collections. I think this therapist would be even more likely to do that to you to get back at you if you report her.

I also agree with the point someone made above that if you are going to report her, you have to make yourself look good. Not paying her will reflect poorly on you---remember the people you will be reporting her to are therapists as well!

Good luck!
EJ