[musinglizzy]

I have been trying to get into my former rehab clinic/counseling/etc, and my current rehab doc is helping me. He contacted my former therapist yesterday, and she told him an outright LIE about me, that I can prove was a lie. Months back, the actual DOCTOR at that same clinic lied to my current therapist about me. Two people, one well known clinic, telling two different professionals outright LIES about me. What would you do? BTW, I am kicked out of this clinic. So much for someone asking for help with their addiction. FML.

I recently landed myself in the intensive care unit for two days, and that experience alone has changed my way of thinking, and I am doing better, but still can't do it alone.

For example, my former T told my current rehab doc that when I started with her, I didn't tell her until well into our therapy that I had an addiction problem. That is NOT true. I told her before she even scheduled our first session, I wanted to make sure she knew what she was in for. And I told her I chose her because she said one of her specialties on Psychology Today WAS addiction. I am furious over being lied about.....

[AllHeart]

Report this t. She wrongfully terminated you as well, right?

[dlantern]

Lie means hidden motives and feelings. I'd do the same make sure you take up for yourself when it is time to engage.

[ruh roh]

I've had misinformation put into my record, so whether or not that's a lie or evidence of incompetence, laziness or meanness is hard to tell. You had expressed a lot of unhappiness with this therapist at times (justifiably so), especially with the way she came into her job at the rehab center, so it's not surprising that she would either recollect the wrong thing or outright lie. I would take it as a sign that you are well rid of her and that place and not grant them a release of information to talk to other professionals about you.

[Anne2.0]

Sometimes people aren't lying (and why would she do so to a colleague?) but are mistaken. I could see how something you would have said as a prospective client ("before the first session") might not make it into her memory; because therapy doesn't really start until the first session and T's likely talk to many people as prospectives who don't show up, so the memory thing isn't engaged the way it is when someone is in front of you. Or maybe she came to think that because you didn't deal with your addiction much in those early times in therapy.

I could also see how your memory could be mistaken, in the sense that maybe you intended to say it but was caught up and didn't.

I think her clinical notes would reveal what she thought she knew at the time. There could be many reasons why her impression of what you'd revealed is different than what you remember you said. I think this happens all the time and memory can shift from the integration of new information. Maybe she didn't realize how bad your addiction was and that reframed what she thought she knew and when.

This is probably one of the risks of having current T's consult with former ones. My guess is that the former ones get a lot of stuff wrong. I imagine your current T is used to dealing with this phenomenon or at the least is familiar with the basic psych principle that 2 people having the same conversation can come away with vastly different ideas of what's been said.

Sometimes it has helped me to try to find the more benign explanation such as mistake rather than go full on hostile and accuse someone of more than the facts can indicate.

[Fuzzybear]

I’ve had misinformation put in my record.

[maybeblue]

I find misinformation hugely frustrating. I actually on purpose don't read or ask to read any of my therapy notes because I'm afraid I'll get mad. But I have gotten my medical records and it is astonishing how many things they omit that I think are important or are completely wrong about. I had drug induced pancreatitis and I had a doctor put a completely different drug in my notes than had actually caused it. I doubt she lied on purpose. I think she was senile. But because she was the "doctor" it took forever to get that corrected.

I avoid letting therapists talk about me with each other. I'd probably be ok with one getting supervision from another one, but if I have a relationship with both of them they can just get their information directly from me. I think there's less chance of error that way.

[missbella]

A former therapist used deceit and unfounded assumption to save his own hide in answer to my grievance. Since his claimed knowledge would have required clairvoyance, it’s a shame the grievance board failed to detect his dishonesty.

[musinglizzy]

I have Emails and recordings to prove I am not remembering wrong. I told her of my addiction prior to meeting me, and she told my doctor I did not disclose that until well into therapy. This isn't the first lie, but this is one I can prove. Time to be rid of her, but it still hurts like hell.

[Fuzzybear]

Originally Posted by musinglizzy

I have Emails and recordings to prove I am not remembering wrong. I told her of my addiction prior to meeting me, and she told my doctor I did not disclose that until well into therapy. This isn't the first lie, but this is one I can prove. Time to be rid of her, but it still hurts like hell.

What a strange thing. Maybe I’m not delusional and imagining that not all therapists are perfect ....

Time to be rid of her, I agree.

[ruh roh]

Musing, I don't think anyone is saying you misremembered, just that she may have.

I record all my sessions and my therapist often says she didn't say x or y, or that I didn't, and it was just the week before. I wouldn't remember myself if it weren't for the recordings.


This is not to say your ex-therapist is off the hook or isn't bad at what she does, just that in this case it may not be a 100% lie.