[Depletion]

My T just quit her job at a residential treatment center, and I just found out that the place has been sued on numerous occasions including a new suit filed this year. And there are numerous Google reviews that charge the place with sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. What exactly am I supposed to think about that?

[Favorite Jeans]

That she's leaving a really toxic workplace? She thought she could make a difference there but realizes she can't?

[Depletion]

Originally Posted by Favorite Jeans

That she's leaving a really toxic workplace? She thought she could make a difference there but realizes she can't?

She worked there for five years.

[Utterly]

Originally Posted by Depletion

And there are numerous Google reviews *SNIP* What exactly am I supposed to think about that?

Stick with what you know.

Anyone can file a lawsuit. It doesn't mean it has a legitimate basis.

Its more common for people to negatively comment on something than positive. It has to be much more amazing for someone to comment in the positive than if there is a problem too.

Ultimately what has happened matters less to you than what will happen. You can't change it. You can use it to justify a "people hurt me" position. While that might very well be true, the only one that continues to be hurt is yourself.

I don't want to dismiss your experience. (A) I'm not aware of your story, and (B) what happened is personal and affecting to you.

What I will say is that staying focused on a positive future rather than a negative past is proven to lead to better outcomes for you.

[stopdog]

Most people do not file frivolous lawsuits in my experience as a lawyer. They may not all win, but they do usually have a legitimate basis. That the therapist voluntarily left such an environment would seem a good sign to me.

[Utterly]

Originally Posted by stopdog

Most people do not file frivolous lawsuits in my experience as a lawyer. They may not all win, but they do usually have a legitimate basis. That the therapist voluntarily left such an environment would seem a good sign to me.

Mental Health cases are a tiny tiny proportion of malpractice cases. The NPDB has data on malpractice spanning decades. To illustrate proportion, for the 2000-9 decade in Kentucky, the incidents resulting in disciplinary action were 4200 physical health professional related, and 15 mental health professional related. While there are more physical health visits, it isn't even close to this degree of disparity. This means the vast majority of cases lose in professional review.

One of the reasons for this is the population served; many or most of those in treatment have some kind of emotional or cognitive disorder, and people can make decisions based on faulty reasoning. A person with BPD and a disagreement with a treatment team isn't precluded from filing a lawsuit. They just don't typically get very far, when you look at the stats.

[stopdog]

I really enjoy suing therapists and psychiatrists for my clients and all the cases I take have some merit. Regardless of the outcome - the case itself has merit. Our code of ethics prevents a lawyer from filing frivolous lawsuits. Just because therapists protect each other does not mean a lawsuit is frivolous. Plus they are not all sued under med-mal.
A friend of mine made partner because of his work in suing the recovered memory practitioners in his area.

I just read a new book on cross-examining them and got some great ideas.

[Ad Intra]

Oh wow! That's tough

[Depletion]

Originally Posted by Utterly

Mental Health cases are a tiny tiny proportion of malpractice cases. The NPDB has data on malpractice spanning decades. To illustrate proportion, for the 2000-9 decade in Kentucky, the incidents resulting in disciplinary action were 4200 physical health professional related, and 15 mental health professional related. While there are more physical health visits, it isn't even close to this degree of disparity. This means the vast majority of cases lose in professional review.

One of the reasons for this is the population served; many or most of those in treatment have some kind of emotional or cognitive disorder, and people can make decisions based on faulty reasoning. A person with BPD and a disagreement with a treatment team isn't precluded from filing a lawsuit. They just don't typically get very far, when you look at the stats.

People won the lawsuits, there is a whole thing about it on the Wikipedia page, and the place was forced to change its methods supposedly, but now there are more reports and more lawsuits. BTW the Google reports day things like:

There is physical abuse by staff, fights among the kids daily. You either learn how to fight in there, or you become a victim. Staff will slam you anytime they want and they know they can do it with no consequences. So they do it aggressively.

Sexual abuse and molestation by staff was occurring there, I know this for a fact. Staff would disappear with kids in private and there was a lot of bizarre stuff happening on that level.

The brainwashing techniques they use are barbaric. It creates insanity and sociopathic behavior. It breaks you down until you are a confused a lost soul. Combined with the other underlying issues, many people never recover from it.

I was a student at this 'school' my senior year of high school in 2000. Any posting stating that this is a place a student should be subjected too is a flagrant LIE. I was there and witnessed and subjected to Abuse in this school and the authors of comments condoning this school are deceiving parents and belittling the harsh treatments had by students -like myself- there. To condone this campus as anything other than what is it, a money making human rights violating machine perpetrating fraud and child abuse across state lines.

DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE! Practically a POW camp. An unknown fact is that X university is the biggest recruiting center for FBI and CIA. 90% of their recruiting taking place at x university. They use a lot of their torture tactics at these treatment centers.

[stopdog]

Sadly, many times others would blame the victims in these sorts of facilities rather than believe and help them. Abuse is condoned and perpetrated in all sorts of areas where there is an appointed authority against the weak. Read child rearing and you will find many md's and phd's who condone abusing children by hitting them, force feeding them, locking them up etc under the guise of it being for the victim's own good. The same is true of ministers, social workers etc - tough love sorts of crap. And people want to believe them and do all sorts of torture to others on that basis.

Originally Posted by stopdog

I really enjoy suing therapists and psychiatrists for my clients and all the cases I take have some merit. Regardless of the outcome - the case itself has merit. Our code of ethics prevents a lawyer from filing frivolous lawsuits. Just because therapists protect each other does not mean a lawsuit is frivolous. Plus they are not all sued under med-mal.
A friend of mine made partner because of his work in suing the recovered memory practitioners in his area.

I just read a new book on cross-examining them and got some great ideas.

Could you share the title of the book?

[guilloche]

How long have you known your T? What's your sense of her?

I think if I had a long, successful relationship with a T, and felt fairly confident that they were a decent human, I wouldn't let the stuff about the treatment facility get to me. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn't involved in any bad things going on, and probably didn't know about them.

Did you know she was working there before, or did you only find out because she recently left? I'd almost think it would be worse if she were still working there, no?

*good luck*

[Utterly]

I just found the place online. I don't fault her for quitting. That place sounds like its run terribly poorly. They don't seem to understand the psychiatric principle of minimal restraint.

I can't say I'm surprised at where this is located. I'm thinking local culture might have a lot to do with this.

[junkDNA]

i was sent to a program very similar to this. there are lawsuits against it as well. there are a lot of "schools" and "residential facilities for teens" that are like this. its really sad. they are basically insurance scams. its not about recovering its about control and getting money. i was abused in the program i was in and now i have ptsd from it among other things.

i would feel pretty uncomfortable too if my T were involved in a program like that. i understand ur response.

[stopdog]

I had one kid I represented, beg to go to military school because he thought it would be less bad than the place he was at (boot campy place for troubled teens). Half of his parents (mom) were trying to help get him out and half (dad) would have done anything the sadistic md running the place wanted.
Happily - that place did get shut down.

[Depletion]

Originally Posted by guilloche

How long have you known your T? What's your sense of her?

I think if I had a long, successful relationship with a T, and felt fairly confident that they were a decent human, I wouldn't let the stuff about the treatment facility get to me. I'd give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn't involved in any bad things going on, and probably didn't know about them.

Did you know she was working there before, or did you only find out because she recently left? I'd almost think it would be worse if she were still working there, no?

*good luck*

Um I have known her for eight months. The relationship has been fairly solid, but she has been really kind of over sharey about her stress level and she mentioned things casually about restraining people at this place, and while I don't doubt her general good intentions, and her general dedication to her work, I have been having a hard time getting the sense that she is able to verbalize her feelings of compassion and care towards me.

I didn't find the google reviews until to day. I was writing to her about some of my feelings, and then I started to think about how much I hated the fact that she had worked at this place, and then I decided to look it up, and I found the stuff and felt sick.

The other thing that is hard for me is that I want in the future to purse graduate level research that critiques places like this, and tries to share the stories of survivors.

I'm worried about compassion fatigue with my T, and seeing that she worked here just really put another check in that column.

I'm glad that she left, but I really hate to think how the culture of somewhere like that might influence the way that they see their clients.

[ThisWayOut]

If you are having continued misgivings about your T, perhaps it's time to change?
If you are hesitant to switch, you could give her a few weeks and see how she does once she is no longer working at the facility. Honestly though, if she is as burnt-out as it sounds from your posts, you may be better off simply switching t's. While the stress will lessen with her being out of the environment, it may well stick with her for a long time...

[CantExplain]

I think you would be entirely justified in asking her about it.

Did she leave when she found out or when the police found out? You have a right to know.

[precaryous]

I would look to see if she has any complaints against her license....but that's just me.

[guilloche]

Wow. I'm sorry, there were a bunch of replies that I didn't see before I wrote to you last night. I agree... what a tough, awful situation. I think you're going to have to go with your gut... you could always try interviewing new Ts on the side, if you're not 100% sure you want to leave, to see if there's someone else that you get a "Yes! Much better!" feeling from... but it sounds like there are already some inklings of problems with her, and that finding this out is just adding on to that?

[Depletion]

Originally Posted by precaryous

I would look to see if she has any complaints against her license....but that's just me.

I looked up the license number I can't find anything.

[Depletion]

I have a consult to discuss the relationship in an hour.

[guilloche]

Originally Posted by Depletion

I have a consult to discuss the relationship in an hour.

Good luck! I hope that whatever happens, it gives you a strong enough feeling to make a clear decision and feel good about it. I hate being stuck in those "in-between" places trying to decide whether to zip or zag.

[CantExplain]

See you soon!

[precaryous]

Originally Posted by Depletion

I looked up the license number I can't find anything.

Well, that's good, at least.

I'm glad you have a consult appointment to discuss the situation.