is it ok for a counselor to require this?

[gazelle]

that I release all medical, mental health and educational records from my whole life? I can understand talking to mental and medical - but this therpaist is even asking for police records of a traumatic event that we have not even talked about, no time to do so before she just suspended the therapy, and wants school records... I have no idea why. She says she must review all of this information and get all the records before she will see me again.

I don't know why.

It doesn't feel good. I don't know why it feels bad and so invasive... I'm not hiding anything. It's also a lot of money to pay for all the record copies...

is this ever ok for a therapist to suddenly stop therapy and say they won't continue until they have all this info? Is it common for therapists to ask for this? require this?

It's hard to find a new therapist right now, so I can't just easily go see someone else. I really like seeing this therapist too. and she has been very helpful for me. But it's been almost three months since I have seen her - she keeps recheduling, and saying she needs this stuff, and I ask if we can talk about it first...

I'm so mixed up...


She is an amazing highly repsected and skilled therapist.    Others say that and she has been helpful to me, but this feels weird.  Is this ever ok?  Am I overreacting?

[kisselj]

Typically clinicians will request releases to speak with your PCP, and via them, will obtain your medical records. Requesting copies of the police record that documents a tramatic event, makes sense too. I am not fully sure why he or she would request your education records, unless you are currently in school, or were in the somewhat recent past. As far as terminating treatment, that does not seem appropriate to me...

[rmetherapy.com]

I'm surprised she did not request this information prior to starting the therapy, usually you get that out of the way at the start. But now that you have already started I agree with KisselJ that terminating in treatment for this reason is not appropriate.

As far as overreacting, based on this information I don't think so, again, if she has worked with you for a period of time and then all of a sudden makes such a request it is going to catch you off guard and spur such a reaction.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you weren't able to express your concerns and feelings about this situation when she brought it up. Or maybe you have and just didn't write about it in your post. that would give us insight into possible motives.


However, ulitimately its up to you, you must weigh the cost/benefit of working with this therapist, who you've stated is amazing, and fulfilling her request that you regard as an excessive probing into your personal records and doing so at the wrong time during the therapy.

[HW7]

Just a guess here.  Seeing academic records can show patterns that you wouldn't expect.  Like maybe you did well in gym until 9th grade when you dropped to a C- and then failed in 10th grade just scraping by your next two years in gym.  Or something like that.  It could suggest what subjects you enjoy and are willing to put effort into and what subjects you are willing to overlook.  It could show where a stressor in your life happened or something.  There are any number of reasons that it could be important.

As a solution to the financial issue try speaking to the dean/principal and asking them to release documents for free.  Explain that it's not for a college and your psychologist requested it (mad people have psychologist so they probably won't think twice about why you have a therapist).  See what they are willing to release.  I'm going to guess she doesn't need like official transcripts or anything.  Maybe just report cards and stuff.  Try to get what you can for free.  I would hope the school would work with you.

[HW7]

Thanks for the contribution?  Or were you just trying to raise your post count?

[Patrickmeister]

lol? a bunch of smilies? hahaha

Anyways, I would say, it is easier for the counselor to accurately help you with your problem if he/she had more information ABOUT you, so he/she can find a solution for YOU...

[HW7]

lol? a bunch of smilies? hahaha

Anyways, I would say, it is easier for the counselor to accurately help you with your problem if he/she had more information ABOUT you, so he/she can find a solution for YOU...

Ditto

[docjp]

that I release all medical, mental health and educational records from my whole life?  ...and get all the records before she will see me again.

ABSOLUTELY NOT.  Her requests are required because she is insecure, inexperienced, unsure, and hoping that something in all this material  will provide her a "clue" as to what might be your problem.

Find someone who can talk to you perhaps ten minutes, and then tell you quite specifically how you can resolve your confusion.

Peace

[Patrickmeister]

What results in better results? an insecure lion who wants a gun, or a brave lion that throws away his claws? It's always best to have a gun, therefore, the issue of whether or not he/she is insecure or incapable is non existant

[HW7]

What results in better results? an insecure lion who wants a gun, or a brave lion that throws away his claws? It's always best to have a gun, therefore, the issue of whether or not he/she is insecure or incapable is non existant

That may be true, but which makes a better house cat?  My point being, therapy is uncomfortable.  It supposed to be that way.  If you want a friend, go to a bar or something, if you want to change your psychological processes through hard work and dedication, go see a therapist.  Just because the client doesn't understand a request made by the psychologist, doesn't make it any less helpful.

[Personal story] I once had a therapist hand me a river rock and tell me to sleep with that rock and remember my dreams.  She made it clear that it was all about the rock.  Then she told me to keep a pencil and tablet by my bed that night.  I did, and the dreams were so profoundly eye-opening, that I still have the tablet in a memorable place (not packed from moves).

Bottom line, trust that even though she may sound crazy, she is doing what she's doing for some reason.  No one wants to read a file of grades for fun, that doesn't make anyone feel more secure or powerful, it just wastes their time.

[Patrickmeister]

yea agree with above comment

[docjp]

that I release all medical, mental health and educational records from my whole life?  ...and get all the records before she will see me again.

The fact is, the vast majority of mental health professionals today are not trained properly, and have not tapped the Esoteric operations of their own MIND realms, and have not discovered how to use the faculty of intuition in regards to Conscience, Discretion, Knowledge and Empathetic Understanding [CDK&EU, which are the Virtues human beings accumulate by completing Karma over many, many lifetimes].

Proper training would include a  period of personal psychotherapy to enable the student to enter his or her MIND realm, and discover the deeply repressed misperceptions that reside within the MIND of everyone.  Unless these are eliminated, they naturally and automatically cause the therapist to be "hooked" by the actively repressed fears within the MIND of the client/patient.

Of course what I am sharing here is not part of the oxymoron "behavioral psychology".  But it would be the natural training of someone following the desire to discover the Psychology of the ancient Greeks, whose study was the Esoteric dimensions of Man [the MIND and Spiritual dimensions].

The natural psychological "need" of the intellectual pretending to provide psychological help is to "justify" a complete ignorance of what Psychology is by copious and never-ending amounts of physical material... such as what you are being asked to provide.  The law often demands this for the same reason:  An inability to comprehend the Esoteric dimensions of Psychology causes those limited to intellectualism to mask their ignorance in physical stuff.  Lame, but to be expected as compensation for lack of understanding.

Peace
ABSOLUTELY NOT.  Her requests are required because she is insecure, inexperienced, unsure, and hoping that something in all this material  will provide her a "clue" as to what might be your problem.

Find someone who can talk to you perhaps ten minutes, and then tell you quite specifically how you can resolve your confusion.

Peace

[acousticeagle]

I agree with rmetherapy's reply. She should have requested all the information she wanted from you before you started with her. But my gut instinct about your situation is this - go with 'your' gut instinct. Her requiring records from 'way back' in your history doesn't sound right to be. I am considering that she may be doing 'case studies' on clients - probably not using their names but doing a collation of information by which to do something like ie write a paper/thesis. If her manner is at all intimidating to you (by which to procure from you these personal records that you do not feel inclined to release) then I would be suspicious of what she needs them for.

[ababrab]

to request your educational records it seem reasonable but police records is weird