Asking if a T been sued before.

I was on another forum and feeling like giving good advice to someone who was asking what are some things you can ask a new T (the person never been to therapy before). One of the things I suggested was to ask also if the T had been sued before or if there was an active complaint against her.

The person asked me how to ask that. I realized I don't know. I don't even know if it's appropriate. It's just that I've been traumatized twice by two different Ts, one had been sued and the case had been active at the time. I think to myself if I had known about it, maybe I could have saved myself the terrible pain of being traumatized (I was going to that T for PTSD, so I can't really describe how painful it was that year or so after getting traumatized, seeing how I refused to see another T for a couple of years out of fear).

But now I think maybe a T might decide to reject someone as a patient if they ask him about something like that, maybe the client gonna come across as hostile or something if they ask about this on the first session, the T might decide to drop this person...I don't know. I want to give this person good advice, and I'm not sure to what extent my vision is muddied by my own past trauma. Appreciate helpful kind advice. Thank you.

Well, I can see how a therapist might get her hackles up a bit if asked that, however, I think therapy is a place where no well-intentioned question should be off the table.

If I wanted to know that (and I can certainly see why you would want to know!) I would probably ask it like this:

"An aquaintance who had a bad therapy experience found out after it ended that her therapist was in the middle of active lawsuits for professional negligence, and she wished she had that info when deciding to work with that therapist. So, I wonder if those are common and if you're dealing with any significant complaints or legal action in your practice."

I figure it's gonna be a bit of an awkward question no matter what, but clearly, there are worse things than awkward. A competent therapist should be able to take this question and even more difficult ones in stride.

Consideration could be given to the fact that some lawsuits are in fact without merit. One could take an "innocent until proven guilty" approach and ask if the T has lost or settled lawsuits in, say, the last five years.

Since I have been exploited before in therapy, I do ask this question. I also ask if they carry malpractice insurance. I don't ask right away...I want them to get to know me a bit and I want to see if they seem like a good fit for me. I don't ask in a confrontive way, either.

Both Ts I have asked seemed to understand..and have answered my questions.

Such info is usually available through professional or governmental boards of practice, so I would check there before asking at all.

I really like that, well said, thanks you Leah!

Yeah, and that's a concern, because obviously if someone was fighting a lawsuit, it doesn't mean the person was guilty. Could be something like, say, refusing sexual advances by a client.

Sometimes I've looked online for various sites that review therapists but again, it's hard to know who is making an honest assessment. There is another side to it as well, given that many people do the opposite, putting up with bad or unethical treatment and think they deserve it or that's how it should be. Given that many people who go for therapy have been abused, they couldn't tell the difference or perhaps fear authorities.

Another issue with lawsuits is that therapy is more of an art than a science. An incompetent surgeon is more likely to leave physical evidence of her incompetence than would a T.

But I really like how you phrase it, about "lost" or "settled" lawsuits, I feel like a T admitting to them, the number of them, or recency, can be helpful in completing a picture one paints of a T as they go forward with a new treatment.
Yeah, I guess that's the worry, to come across as confrontational, so it's good to wait a bit to ask, I agree. And of course in a way it would be a problem with a T if the T could not handle such a question when asked in a way that shows it comes from a place of hurt. A defensive T who personalizes this question is likely not to be a good T anyways.
That information is only available for certain kinds of mental health providers and also if there has been disciplinary action by the board. Some people have been sued multiple times but never disciplined by the board.

I don't know if I should feel good or bad but in one case my complaint added up to long list of complaints and only years later I saw it became public that the board finally decided and the person was disciplined. Too late! Sometimes the evidence is so clear or the T so incompetent or unethical, right away the board has no choice but to discipline. Other times it's a matter of mere volume of complaints with decent evidence accumulating or perhaps the one person they really hurt badly, before anything is done. I find these people to be more dangerous, spreading their harm over many people, before caught. Since they're not exceptionally incompetent or unethical, many people say nothing.