Has anyone heard of a T regularly seeing/paying a "consultant" to discuss their cases with them? My T recently informed me that she has one and that they "know all about me" (except for my last name). I am not thrilled about this, as I am a very private person and it's very hard for me to even tell my T things. I trust my T to do the right thing, but I just want to know more about how this works...

[Brian37]

my therapist meets once a week with the other 4-5 therapists for a
meeting where they discuss clients problems and if another therapist can help or offer some advice.....no names are ever mentioned......I am aware that a few of my issuses have been discussed with other therapists, but like I said names of clients are never mentioned.....

im not sure what the legality of your situation is, but I would think
your therapist would know that

My T is consulting with another T. However, he asked me how I would feel about this first. He also had me sign a form so he could share information with him.

My T has consultation twice a month with the other therapists in the office. They talk about clients, but don't use names.

He's also offered to consult with and Eating Disorder specialist about me to get ideas, since I have an eating disorder, and his specialty is trauma.

So, yes, he talks to other people about me. It does feel kind of weird, actually, but I know he's doing in my best interest.

[lauren_helene]

I once asked my T if he has supervision and he said he has some therapists he will talk to when he feels he needs a double check.

I didn't ask more questions about it.

[Slippers]

It's standard in the T business to have a someone (or a team) to consult with. And they are required by law not to disclose anything which could identify you, unless you sign an agreement.

No single T has all the answers, so they help each other out like that.

T's have really stressful jobs...I think if they didn't have someone to talk with, they'd all burn out after the first year.

S

[Kiya]

i was told that i had to sign an agreement to NOT have them talk about me - otherwise they are perfectally within their rights... i've never signed anything (nor seen any such paper) and i know my t works closely with my MD.. which sometimes unnerves me quite a bit.

Yup, its common. All the T's I have had had been in consulting groups or met with the other T"s in their clinics/offices to discuss clients.

I actually see it as a good thing. It gives T an outside viewpoint to the situation.

I never heard of PAYING for a consultant, but it is probably just another T that your T talks to. Would not worry about it.

[Slippers]

They can talk about you....as long as you are not identified. For instance, your T can't disclose your last name.

If you go into a book store, go to the psychology section, and you'll see a lot of books with case studies. They are written by T's about their clients. This is allowed, but the T can't put any identifying info in the book.

And, I rather like that they talk about me, as two heads are better than one - and I need all the help I can get.

S

[sunrise]

notme9, how it seems to work in my area is that if the T wants to talk about you with anybody, he tells you who, asks permission, and gets you to sign a release form. You can always choose to not sign it. My daughter's therapist is the same way. When you first start therapy, you sign an informed consent form which spells a lot of this stuff out. You can look back at this and see what you agreed to. If you don't like it, you can ask that it be modified and then sign the revised one (if your T agrees). Now that my T has also become my coach, I had to sign a different form that doesn't guarantee my confidentiality. It says that he can talk to others about me without my signing a release form. He says this new contract supercedes the original therapy contract. So I have given up my confidentiality rights (these are different from anonymity, which is what you get when your T talks to others about you but doesn't use your name). I don't like the fact that we no longer have confidentiality and have told my T this a number of times. But that's what I have agreed to. When he is done being my coach, we are tearing up the contract and going back to the therapy one, which provides confidentiality.

Read your informed consent form to know what your own situation is.

[(JD)]

Absolutely! In fact, most States require a supervisor for a year (up to 3 years if you have only a Master degree) before you are a full fledged licensed psychologist. It is still a great thing for any/every therapist to have at least a colleague who they bounce cases off of on a regular basis. This not only helps when a T is studying and learning new info to add to their repetoire so as to help more patients, esp the ones they have, but helps a T stay balanced and not take things home, nor take things that a patient might say, personally. It guards against counter-transference.
In a case like this, it comes under the heading of "professional confidentiality" and is quite legal.It isn't to gossip or just chit chat about Ts work day, but it is a professional discussion of what is being presented and the best way to help the patient etc.