Reply to DH’s therapist refused to talk to our marriage therapist

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What is there to coordinate, though? Marriage therapy uses a different muscle, and has a different focus, than individual therapy. I wouldn’t necessarily think to have a marriage counselor consult with my individual therapist. I imagine you have specific circumstances that makes it more of a necessity? [/quote]

Interdisciplinary healthcare is standard of practice.  I don’t even consider couples therapy and individual therapy different disciplines, so this example is even more egregious; imagine if, say, someone’s PCP refused to talk to their ophthalmologist because it’s their “policy.”  This situation is no different.  As a therapist (I’m the psychologist PP), you’re darn right I want information from other healthcare professionals treating my patients, if there’s consent.  It only improves my care - I’m one person and I only see this person in one context.  When I worked inpatient, we had interdisciplinary rounds daily and at every single one of those, someone in one discipline, e.g., occupational therapy, shared information that a healthcare provider in a different discipline, e.g., psychiatry, hadn’t known about the patient and which was *relevant to their care*.  Refusing to talk to any other healthcare professionals about anything is unethical care.  [/quote]

And what would you do if your long-time client cane to you with a consent to discuss his treatment with a marriage counselor, but told you that he signed it to placate his wife and he really didn't want you to have any discussions with the counselor?  [/quote]

Generally, I think it’s helpful in those cases to (1) examine why someone doesn’t want information shared and (2) see if we can come to an agreement on sharing some information.  Some people seem to have a misunderstanding about what this kind of information sharing looks like.  No one’s handing over audio recordings of any session or even progress notes from every session.  It’s about two healthcare professionals having a phone/video call to discuss general issues of relevance, e.g., differential diagnosis, areas of treatment focus, etc.

To the PP who appreciated my earlier post about therapy being healthcare: thank you for your response.  I’m glad you understood the point I was trying to make.

To the PP who thinks therapy isn’t healthcare: you’re wrong.  Mental health is health.  Licensed therapists are healthcare professionals just as much as are physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, audiologists, speech therapists, etc.  Societal stigma around mental illness is problematic, but it doesn’t dictate, legally, what healthcare is, thank goodness.[/quote]

Wow, you are really clueless. OP said her husband has a history of childhood trauma. Insisting, suggesting, coercing, or pestering a client to share confidential information is awful. Your stance shows you cannot be an effective therapist if you are incapable of understanding.

I hope you disclose your stance to your clients before they start seeing you. I would rather see the therapist who was adamant they won’t ever share. Which therapist are people with childhood trauma going to be more comfortable trusting and disclosing information? [/quote]

You and others need to learn to read before slandering me.  I never, ever, used words like insist, suggest, coerce, pester, or pressure.  It’s also impossible to provide anything beyond a general response without knowing the individual patient and the situational specifics.  Generally, though, it’s good clinical practice to communicate honestly with your patients.  That goes for therapists and physicians, etc., alike.

This thread is a painful exhibit on just how deeply stigma around mental illness is entrenched in our culture.  It’s heartbreaking.  It sure as hell doesn’t help anyone.[/quote]

Oh please. Outside of severe mental illness (not clear if it exists here) there is ZERO reason to be so insistent that a patient has to give up confidentiality. The more you insist on it, the more reason I have to believe you don’t deserve it. Trust has been imperative between me and my therapists - I don’t think it would be appropriate for them to share any impressions with anyone else unless I was in some sort of severe crisis. In this case the marriage counselor seems to have some blurred boundaries. Possibly colluding with OP to turn the DH into the “identified patient” in the family, which I have seen happen before. [/quote]

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