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  #26  
Old Jan 01, 2019, 03:02 PM
roxyc roxyc is offline
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I don't believe you have a case against this t.
You are responsible for your choices and she gave you the option of the waiting room or home. If you had chose the waiting room and decided to leave anyway what could she have done about it?
Therapist do not have the power that she could have kept you in her office. If you had insisted on leaving she would have to let you go anyway.
The fact that you had shown up to the session (you could have attempted suicide beforehand) and had agreed to a hospital admission shows you had some insight and were taking steps to keep yourself safe...but made an impulsive decision and won't take responsibility for it.
If she had let you leave without a plan and without checking in then this would be a different case.
I feel quite sorry for her being put through this.We give our therapists so much power we forget we have our own and they are not responsible for us or our actions outside of the sessions...thats our job.

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  #27  
Old Jan 01, 2019, 04:04 PM
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Ididitmyway Ididitmyway is offline
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What I know from my own experience is that when the board investigator interviewed me after I filed a complaint, he had me sign the release form for my therapist so the board would be able to request my records from him.

I have no idea if the therapist has a choice to dig in their heels when the board requests the records and I don't know if they have a choice to submit the summary instead of the full record. In my state, the therapist can choose to give the summary instead of the copies of the records when the patient requests to see the records or they can let the patient examine their file in their office. I have no idea if they have the same choice when dealing with the board. I guess, they may have the right to refuse to present the full record under the pretense that it'd be detrimental for the patient's well-being, but the board would see it as a refusal to cooperate, which would not work in the therapist's favor.

I'd think that the board would be interested in seeing the full records because they want to investigate what factually took place and for that they need as much information as possible.

The board doesn't put everything that pertains to the case, including the patient's records, for public access after the case is closed and the judgment is issued. In fact, they put as little as possible in there just to illustrate the point that the therapist violated ethics in some way. In my case they selected just a few facts from the whole case and from the records to illustrate that point and to make it easy to understand what exactly went wrong. Those were the least personal and sensitive details. It didn't feel violating to me in any sense, especially since my identity was concealed.

So, no, in my experience, the board doesn't make the public record look embarrassing for the patient. They compose it wisely and sensitively. But that was my experience. Other people may experience it differently. What I was trying to say that regardless of what is put out there for public access, people who investigate and evaluate the case would, probably, know a lot of private and sensitive details because that's what the investigation process requires. How else would you be able to accurately assess what went on if you don't dig out as many details as possible? Nothing in that process felt ****ed up to me. They were just doing their job.

I read the public record of my case. There was nothing in there that reflected negatively on me and everything that reflected negatively on my therapist. I've read other people's cases when they went public and haven't seen any case that would look embarrassing for the person who filed a complaint. So, no, there is nothing ****ed up about this process and I hope the simple fact that the investigators would come across many personal details of your case because they need to do their job won't deter anyone from reporting unethical therapists.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahsweets View Post
Are you sure there is no sort of.. redaction process? Like something that would be basic but not damaging? I know with sexual assault they limit details like this when the complaints are against a professional like another doctor as well as personal information like.. if you had sexual assault charges against anyone else, if you would be considered "promiscuous" stuff like that. I always thought in these cases a therapist or doctor was limited to sharing what would only be shared with an insurance company, not a full patient record..but I could be wrong. In fact if I am wrong than thats f'd up because its probably one of the reasons people are afraid to file complaints or charges in the first place.
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  #28  
Old Jan 01, 2019, 07:46 PM
Whalen84 Whalen84 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MRT6211 View Post
Here is my report, as an example, I took out identifying details, but it should give you the gist:

*****TW: contains an account of my suicide attempt******

As a short summary, before I begin the complete account, I wanted to lay out that I am filing this complaint because, during a therapy session, I presented to Dr. ______ with serious suicidal ideation, and we both acknowledged that I was a danger to myself and needed to be hospitalized urgently. She ended up letting me go home to wait for a call from the hospital alone, and when I was not able to be admitted to the hospital, i followed through on my plan to attempt suicide. I very nearly died, and spent 10 days in the ICU at ________ Hospital. Dr. ________ never saw me again after that day, and would not own up to any possible mistakes. I believe she was negligent and did not act in accordance with New York State Mental Hygiene Law (9.46, specifically). I have voicemails that she left on my phone that may help to prove this, and I will send them with this e-mail.

Now, I will go into further details. On the morning of _________ at 9am, I saw Dr. ___________ at her office at ___________ for a therapy appointment. This was my third appointment that week, and 6th within the short 2 weeks that I participated in therapy with her. At that point in time, I was in extreme psychological distress, having come to her directly after a hospitalization, my third in three months, at _____________ Hospital. On the morning of __________ I presented to her with very serious active suicidal ideation, and agreed to go back to the hospital to receive treatment. I had told her that I had a plan to commit suicide by overdose, had intentions of carrying out that plan, and had the means to do so. I also told her that I had written a suicide note. I came to that therapy session with my bags packed, expecting to go straight to the hospital from there. During the appointment, Dr. _________ and I both agreed that I was an imminent danger to myself, and that I needed to be hospitalized that day, for my safety. We called __________ Hospital from her office, and they did an intake with me. They told us they would call me back later and tell me if I was able to be admitted there. This was nearing the end of the appointment, so Dr. ___________ told me I had a choice: I could either wait in the waiting room there by myself until ____________ called me back, or I could go home, wait, and call her when I knew if, and when, I was going to the hospital. I chose the second option and went home. While I’m a strong believer in patient autonomy, I don’t believe Dr. __________ acted in accordance with the law or the standard of care by letting me leave by myself and be unsupervised, as she knew I was presently a danger to myself. When I was at home and called back ____________ for a status update, they informed me that they were unable to admit me at this time. I became extremely emotionally distraught and called Dr. ________ repeatedly and left messages. Her answering machine said to press 1 for emergency, and I did that, but to no avail, because I still got her voicemail. In my panicked and psychologically dysregulated state, I made the very regrettable decision to try to end my life. I overdosed on many different medications and then laid there waiting for the effects to set in for probably about an hour. At that point in time, I was discovered by my roommate and rushed to _________ Hospital ER, where I began declining. My oxygen levels started to fall, I became nonresponsive, had a seizure, and needed to be intubated. I spent about 7 days in a coma, and then 3 additional days recovering in the ICU. Luckily, I made a full recovery. I estimate that I placed those calls and left those voicemails for Dr. ________ around 11am, although I don’t know the exact time. I do know for certain that she returned my calls and left me voicemail messages at 12:44pm and 12:52pm. At this point in time, I was already in the ________ ER and not fully conscious. I will include the complete transcript of these voicemails after this synopsis of events (and I will attach them to the e-mail I send this in). There are a few notable quotes within them, though, that I would like to point to, as I believe they show that she knew that I was a danger to myself before I left her office, and therefore did not respond in the appropriate way according to professional standards and the law. In the first voicemail, she said: “…It does sound like you need to be hospitalized today and I’m concerned that this is the second time I’ve tried to call you and that you were not answering your phone. I am in my office right now, I have my phone ringer on and I hope to hear from you very shortly. If I do not hear from you by 1 o’clock I will probably need to call the police to come and do a welfare check and help facilitate your admission today…” This was followed up by several important quotes in her second voicemail: “…It's very important that you are working together with me today to help make sure that you are safe, in that we find a place to admit you to the hospital…” “…we have to work together in these high-risk situations where you are feeling very suicidal....” “…I cannot be your therapist if you disappear after telling me that you want to die, so we need to work together…” I believe that all of this clearly demonstrates that she was very aware of the danger I was in but did not act appropriately or promptly enough. This endangered my life, and I am very lucky to be alive today. The only reason I am alive to write this is that other people intervened. Given, while it was my choices and my actions that did this, I believe it was her responsibility as my provider to protect me and not allow me to have those choices in the first place. I was not of sound psychological mind at the time to make any decisions regarding my own care. She did eventually call for that welfare check, but the police only found an empty house, and then had to track my phone, and that’s how she figured out that I was in the Emergency Room at ___________ Hospital. The next day, a Saturday, Dr. _________ called ___________ to check on my condition. The staff at the ICU gave the phone to my mother, and they had a conversation. She denied any wrongdoing during that conversation, because she said she had another patient, and that’s why she couldn’t stay with me. I believe there were many ways that Dr. _________ could have ensured my safety in that moment, regardless. She had a professional and legal responsibility to protect me, as she knew I was an imminent danger to myself. I am filing this complaint because I could not let this negligence go, and I believe that she should be educated in some way so that this doesn’t happen to anyone else in the future.
I apologize for the long-winded nature of this complaint, but I wanted to spare no details to make my account complete. Below, I have included the full transcript of the voicemails. I have highlighted the relevant parts, but I have included the entire transcript for the sake of completeness and context.

Transcript of voicemails:
[Due to the very specific nature of these and in the interest of maintaining some level of anonymity, I’m not including them here on this forum, but I included them in my report.]
Thanks for sharing all that. So what's up with it now? Was it accepted? Im in the middle of a complaint process myself. I had to make an ethics complaint against my former social worker for sexual harrassment. My ajudication hearing is in Feb. It really sucks thiz stuff takes so long
  #29  
Old Jan 01, 2019, 10:58 PM
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susannahsays susannahsays is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roxyc View Post
I don't believe you have a case against this t.
You are responsible for your choices and she gave you the option of the waiting room or home. If you had chose the waiting room and decided to leave anyway what could she have done about it?
Therapist do not have the power that she could have kept you in her office. If you had insisted on leaving she would have to let you go anyway.
The fact that you had shown up to the session (you could have attempted suicide beforehand) and had agreed to a hospital admission shows you had some insight and were taking steps to keep yourself safe...but made an impulsive decision and won't take responsibility for it.
If she had let you leave without a plan and without checking in then this would be a different case.
I feel quite sorry for her being put through this.We give our therapists so much power we forget we have our own and they are not responsible for us or our actions outside of the sessions...thats our job.
Well, you would be wrong. The therapist in question was found guilty of misconduct. I guess her peers disagree with you. But that summary was about another user, not OP.
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  #30  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 04:26 AM
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sarahsweets sarahsweets is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roxyc View Post
The fact that you had shown up to the session (you could have attempted suicide beforehand) and had agreed to a hospital admission shows you had some insight and were taking steps to keep yourself safe...but made an impulsive decision and won't take responsibility for it.
If she had let you leave without a plan and without checking in then this would be a different case.
I feel quite sorry for her being put through this.We give our therapists so much power we forget we have our own and they are not responsible for us or our actions outside of the sessions...thats our job.
That is like telling someone that says they are suicidal that they do not mean it otherwise they would have tried already. A cry for help should be taken as seriously as a suicide attempt.
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  #31  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 08:34 AM
toomanycats toomanycats is offline
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Member Since: May 2017
Location: USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roxyc View Post
I don't believe you have a case against this t.
You are responsible for your choices and she gave you the option of the waiting room or home. If you had chose the waiting room and decided to leave anyway what could she have done about it?
Therapist do not have the power that she could have kept you in her office. If you had insisted on leaving she would have to let you go anyway.
The fact that you had shown up to the session (you could have attempted suicide beforehand) and had agreed to a hospital admission shows you had some insight and were taking steps to keep yourself safe...but made an impulsive decision and won't take responsibility for it.
If she had let you leave without a plan and without checking in then this would be a different case.
I feel quite sorry for her being put through this.We give our therapists so much power we forget we have our own and they are not responsible for us or our actions outside of the sessions...thats our job.
Did you just make an account here to post this??
This is ridiculous. And rude. And judgey. And many other words that the forums will bleep out if I try to post them.
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  #32  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 08:51 AM
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SalingerEsme SalingerEsme is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roxyc View Post
I don't believe you have a case against this t.
You are responsible for your choices and she gave you the option of the waiting room or home. If you had chose the waiting room and decided to leave anyway what could she have done about it?
Therapist do not have the power that she could have kept you in her office. If you had insisted on leaving she would have to let you go anyway.
The fact that you had shown up to the session (you could have attempted suicide beforehand) and had agreed to a hospital admission shows you had some insight and were taking steps to keep yourself safe...but made an impulsive decision and won't take responsibility for it.
If she had let you leave without a plan and without checking in then this would be a different case.
I feel quite sorry for her being put through this.We give our therapists so much power we forget we have our own and they are not responsible for us or our actions outside of the sessions...thats our job.
Since the board found this practitioner negligent, your comment's credibility is even less than its supportiveness. Therapists certainly ARE responsible for what their patients do out of session in some situations. The Tarasoff case is the famous example. This case is another.
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  #33  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 11:37 AM
Whalen84 Whalen84 is offline
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Location: Connecticut
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SalingerEsme View Post
Since the board found this practitioner negligent, your comment's credibility is even less than its supportiveness. Therapists certainly ARE responsible for what their patients do out of session in some situations. The Tarasoff case is the famous example. This case is another.
To me the negligence seems that she okayed you to leave but then when you called she didn't pick up the phone. That seems like one of veey dew cercomstance that no matter what she was doing. Even if she was in session with someone balling their eyes out ahe ahould have pick up the damn phone call. That ring with OPs caller ID on it would be as much of a sign of an emergency to me as a blaring fire alarm. And then I believe she called more than once like ?????? WTF? It seems negligent to me. If she let her go home than it seems pretty dumb not to respond to her calls on a basic common sense level. Tell the other client that you're sorry but there's an emergency -
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  #34  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 06:26 PM
Whalen84 Whalen84 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DP_2017 View Post
From what I've read online, it says that most things that get reported, don't get investigated so yes, I assume you need some evidence. Otherwise it's hearsay. I don't think hearts would be a thing, what if that's how she does notes to everyone in her life? Not just a you thing?

I thought you said in your last post, you didn't want to hurt her or do a report, so I'm wondering what changed?
Where did you read most things that get reported don't get investigated? Just curious
  #35  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 06:55 PM
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DP_2017 DP_2017 is offline
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I'll Google it again this evening and post the link. I don't recall off hand
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  #36  
Old Jan 02, 2019, 08:30 PM
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Ididitmyway Ididitmyway is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whalen84 View Post
Where did you read most things that get reported don't get investigated? Just curious
I read the same thing on my state's licensing board's website. I was searching for as much information as I could find and came across the page that described the process of how the board assesses which complaints are worthy of investigating. I don't know if I can find that link right now. In there it was said that about 2/3 of complaints don't get investigated because they lack evidence and for other reasons. After I filed my complaint I received the response from the board explaining that it'd take them some time to review it to decide if it warrants investigation. So, no, they definitely don't investigate every complaint. I can believe that most of them get dismissed as not credible. Many people have no idea how to write official documents in order to be taken seriously, so..
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Last edited by Ididitmyway; Jan 02, 2019 at 10:23 PM.
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