To complain / Not to complain - Unethical Therapists

I wish their so called profession would do more to acknowledge the real harm that can be done by them and that therapy is not risk free. Some of them talk about it like there are no dangers at all - which is quite reckless in my opinion.

I think the con is one's credibility I mean if there aren't witnesses. Its your word against a therapist or any mental health professional. When I was in my late 20s I went a therapists office. It was in his house. I 've been to other therapists in their homes. However their offices were in a separate place used only for professional therapy sessions. This time in this man's place it was a basement. A secluded basement. To get to the point he stripped down to his birthday suit. He proceeded to throw me on the coach and raped me. I never told anybody since I figured nobody would believe me because I was his patient. ie no credibility. i'm in no way telling anybody what to think. Only telling what feels true to me. HD79, everyone hugs!!!

I think many of them are unaware of the hazards or are in denial. It's their religion. Thoughts must remain pure. That's what makes it so dangerous.

I would always try to settle conflict / dissatisfaction directly with anyone first, before I complain to a third party. The thing with that T though was that he could not take criticism and became extremely defensive, threw it back to me with some twisted interpretation, just not receptive and was unwilling to discuss and take responsibility. At the same time, he encouraged me to go to session and tell him my concerns as a form of treatment, to express my anger. But what for if the concerns are not received really, I generally don't have issues with anger and don't tend to bottle it up, am pretty direct. It made no sense to me and I found it useless to pay a T high $ to just fight with him. So I just left.

In my case, it had nothing to do with my boundaries or needing/expecting unrealistic things from him. It started out with his sloppiness: he was repeatedly unable to correctly fill out his portion on my insurance claim forms, always made mistakes and I had to redo the forms multiple times and got very upset when I complained. He also tried to impose authority that he never earned and often talked to me as though I was a kid or something. And told me very inappropriate things several times. He was also a complete mess with his own boundaries. The guy is just plain insecure and incompetent, IMO. What is there to talk about, really, don't see how that would have served me well. He was also pretty useless for me as a therapist and actually would have made some of my issues worse if I listened to him. He also refused to respond to my requests for his therapy notes repeatedly - I am almost sure because he did not keep proper ones. Would fit with his overall sloppiness and unprofessionalism.

I tried to post reviews on my experience online but he managed to have them removed, together with other negative reviews I had seen. I am sure any complains would have been unsuccessful and mostly just would have cultivated resentments dealing with it. He does a lot of social media and I have seen him many times just removing critical posts, much like the reviews and his inability to face challenge in person.

My therapist's defense amounted to performed mind reading: that I was unable to distinguish between actual events and residual parental conflicts.

I assume the grievance board accepted that, since I lost my complaint. He was the "authority" and I was the "patient," and he spoke for me. I was an unmedicated, homeowner with an executive job, but I was pathologized because I had a the temerity to complain against a psychologist. I also forfeited my privacy because the grievance was on public record. Rather my therapist's fictional representation of my therapy was on public record.

Hello fellow survivors,

I want to thank everyone for sharing so much about your own experiences and insights about this matter! I am so heartbroken to see so much of this around. It sickens me to think that the healthcare system is designed to protect the professionals and maintain public facade of do no harm. Even with all the research and statistics surrounding this particular problem, nothing seems to change!

I have decided that I may begin a complaint process for my own traumas. Before doing so, I am requesting EVERY health record written about me in order to see how they've covered up their abuse. First I will be requesting amendments / addendums for anything that is false / malicious / improperly recorded. After I know what they are and are not willing to change, I can get a better idea of what their defense is, then I can go about writing specific complaints.

I will keep everyone up to date on what happens. I am sure there will be some useful insight that comes from all of this. Here's to hoping that someone will be held accountable (though I know deep down that this is very unlikely).

Thanks,
HD7970ghz

I think inappropriate sexual advances are a main area where reporting can be and is more often successful in reprimanding the T or taking away their license. Because it can be so clear, specific and explicit and often happen outside of the secrecy of sessions. Easier to accumulate evidence and it is wrong regardless of the client's mental state. I am always sort of amazed that Ts can do those things, knowing full well that their profession is at stake. Just shows that their mental health is not intact, that they get so out of control and take such obvious risks. I am glad that you benefitted from reporting the T.

Other types of more subtle manipulations and violations can be much harder to prove and defended by the the therapist. Easier to put it down to the client's issues.

I think I could have reported my first T because he demonstrated most of the inappropriate and unprofessional things in outside of session email and text communications. But it would have been a lot of work to compile it to make it meaningful. Also, when I decided to quit, I deleted all of our emails on an impulse because I was so fed up and wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

My therapist's defense amounted to performed mind reading: that I was unable to distinguish between actual events and residual parental conflicts.

I assume the grievance board accepted that, since I lost my complaint. He was the "authority" and I was the "patient," and he spoke for me. I was an unmedicated, homeowner with an executive job, but I was pathologized because I had a the temerity to complain against a psychologist. I also forfeited my privacy because the grievance was on public record. Rather my therapist's fictional representation of my therapy was on public record.

It's really scary how they pathologize you isn't it? This is happening to me right now with my former therapist.

Hello all,

What are the pros and cons of making formal complaints?

Thanks,
HD7970ghz

I had a T for a couple of months who had bizarre boundaries. Under a guise of 'equality' he began telling me about his mother... It definitely felt off - Anyway, I was concerned for future patients he might have and I think if there are grounds for formal complaint then at least one pro is protecting others. However, I imagine that filing a formal complaint means disclosing some sensitive info of your own and not everyone is able / ready for that. This is all pretty speculative - hopefully someone is better informed about this!

What do you do when a T emails you 7 months after an unethical termination in order to make himself feel better ?

What do you do when a T emails you 7 months after an unethical termination in order to make himself feel better ? It wasn't for my benefit. Jeez , these people.