[Mountaindewed]

About my abusive therapist I had from 2011-2015. There was just a story in the news about how this kind of stuff is considered freedom of speech and you can not get into any legal trouble over it.

But has anyone else done this? Written a bad review about a therapist?

[ScarletPimpernel]

I would have, but I didn't for a couple of reasons.
1. I didn't want to have a fight over freedom of speech and defamation of character.
2. I wouldn't want to post my name for everyone to see.
3. I don't want to be accused of harassment.

[Mountaindewed]

I changed my name but I still have my old name on the review. And I moved out of state and my info isn’t on Google anymore. And I don’t have my old phone number either. It doesn’t exist anymore since we got rid of our landline. It will be hard to find me.

But there have been stories about people writing Yelp reviews and being taken to court but winning because of freedom of speech.

[elisewin]

As long as you stick to truth in the reviews, you should be fine. I don't really know much about the US legal system, but it makes very little sense if you could not write the truth about what has been taking place. Arent't the reviews there for that reason?

[Waterbear]

I was sorely tempted after that one lady basically said I should leave when I told I her I was terrified. But I didn't, because of the same reasons as Scarlet. To me it wasn't worth the possible come back.

[LonesomeTonight]

As someone with journalism training, the defense against libel is the truth. If what you said happened, then you should be fine.


I'm curious as to what happened with the Yelp reviews with people being taken to court, if any of the plaintiffs won the lawsuits. They certainly couldn't win for just something like "the food is terrible"--it would have to go deeper than that and have actual accusations, I'd imagine.

[elisewin]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

I'm curious as to what happened with the Yelp reviews with people being taken to court, if any of the plaintiffs won the lawsuits. They certainly couldn't win for just something like "the food is terrible"--it would have to go deeper than that and have actual accusations, I'd imagine.

Me too, very curious about this! The reviews are mostly opinions anyway, and good ones are based on what happened for real so that the reader understands why the writer had such an experience, right? F.g. a client says therapist x was horrible, because he was always late. If he indeed was always late, what's there to complain about? If he is not late, then there can be a case? I can't see a reason why the client couldn't mention the actual stuff happening and their opinion about it. What's the use of reviews if only positive ones are welcome?

[ScarletPimpernel]

I think you don't see many bad reviews because of the issues I wrote above and/or other reasons. Reviewing a product is different than reviewing a person. Saying someone is always late is different than saying they abandoned you. And just like if you report them to the board, it's your words versus theirs. Hard to prove you're right in those situations.

I.e. I had proof that ex-T abandoned me, and I still lost my case.

[Echos Myron redux]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

As someone with journalism training, the defense against libel is the truth. If what you said happened, then you should be fine.


I'm curious as to what happened with the Yelp reviews with people being taken to court, if any of the plaintiffs won the lawsuits. They certainly couldn't win for just something like "the food is terrible"--it would have to go deeper than that and have actual accusations, I'd imagine.

Complicated in the UK where we have "defamation by insinuation" which I think is utter BS.

[elisewin]

Originally Posted by Echos Myron redux

Complicated in the UK where we have "defamation by insinuation" which I think is utter BS.

Can you give an example where it could be an issue?

[Echos Myron redux]

Originally Posted by elisewin

Can you give an example where it could be an issue?

(Sorry this is a bit of topic, OP)
Famous case was Sally Bercow: UK Court Finds Tweet Libelous Because Of Implied Meaning

[elisewin]

Originally Posted by ScarletPimpernel

Saying someone is always late is different than saying they abandoned you. And just like if you report them to the board, it's your words versus theirs. Hard to prove you're right in those situations.

I.e. I had proof that ex-T abandoned me, and I still lost my case.

If wanted to be sure there won't be a problem in a case like this I wouldn't probably write into a review that a therapist "abandoned" me, as it is a term that can have different interpretations according to who reads it. But if that happened, I would write for example that "a therapist wanted to stop our sessions suddenly without referring me to anyone". That is a rather neutral way of putting it, if that's what really happened.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Still hard to prove that the therapist was in the wrong.

I'm not trying to argue. I am giving warning. If the board of psychology can dismiss a case like I experienced, then a therapist can easily get around a review. I'm not saying it's right or fair. Just be warned that leaving a review "could" have consequences. The people here who have been abandoned or abused or mistreated by a therapist already have enough to deal with. Sometimes speaking up doesn't result in what you hope for and you should be prepared for those consequences.

Eta: I do NOT regret filing with the board even though it hurt like hell that I lost. I DO regret not trying to sue her. Again, it would be painful as hell, but at least I would have tried. I thought I didn't want her money, but now looking at it, I could have donated it to a foundation.

[Mountaindewed]

I never heard anything about the review. So I guess I’m in the clear.