Anyone filed a formal complaint against Child Therapist?

[trappeddad]

My child's life and my life have been damaged by lies and opinions by this therapist from several years ago.      I hoped I would just get over it by now, but I see my son suffer due to this T's lies.   Basically the therapist was a hired gun for my ex and could care less about the child.     I have many examples where she skirted the edge of the APA ethics code.     Mostly, she had a dual-relationship helping my ex while she was pretending to help the child.    One example is where the therapist provided therapy to my son without my consent.   

I do not want to file a complaint that back-fires or goes nowhere, and looking for templates/examples on how to file a complaint successfully.    The T will have legal suppport.    This T has gotten away with murder, and gives caring child therapists a bad name.     I just cannot let the therapist's improper behavior impact others anymore.       

[Stolen]

Childress has posted several articles regarding professional competence, here are a couple, hopefully these will point you in a helpful direction (there are more related articles on there also):

https://drcraigchildressblog.com/2016/04/27/demanding-professional-competence/

https://drcraigchildressblog.com/2016/11/29/professional-competence/

[soundofmusicgirl]

trappeddad... i feel you. We have the same problem. My SS`s are seing a therapist hat BPDxw witheld from my DH for 3 months. The therapist refuses to speak to my husband and has written a letter to our lawyers stating that neither he nor I know anything about parenting my SS´s. The whole letter is full of lies. It is pretty clear that this therapist has not done her due diligence and talked to any other care givers besides BPDxw who has no problem coaching the kids to have them say they suffer greatly at our home.

Since we currently have lawyer we letting her handle this. She sent a letter to therapist and told us if therapist is not stopping we will file a motion.

[Stolen]

Sound,

Please take a look at the links I posted above - particularly https://drcraigchildressblog.com/2016/04/27/demanding-professional-competence/

This includes a good discussion of how to assess for professional competence and how to move toward filing a complaint.

Good luck - as you have found this is a very steep uphill battle.

[scraps66]

I really don't see how getting embroiled in addressing the therapist's issues helps the child.  I would definitely, as quickly and succinctly as possible, end the therapy with this therapist. 

The part about having therapy without your consent, is you consent necessary?  Do you have joint legal custody and/or is it spelled out that decisions on care are to be made jointly?  If not then this is another thing that needs to be highlighted.

I have found few if any therapists, whether joint legal custody or not, that will see a child without having both parents involved.  If one parent is blocking the other from participating in the therapy that is a huge red flag as the child's behavior should be measured and described from both parents' perspectives.   

As far as finding therapists, I have not found one that could properly provide therapy for my situation - high conflict divorce, obstructionist mother, and a child that has been caught in PAS.   

[trappeddad]

The part about having therapy without your consent, is you consent necessary?  Do you have joint legal custody and/or is it spelled out that decisions on care are to be made jointly?  If not then this is another thing that needs to be highlighted.

It is true that I did not have joint legal custody when my son first saw the therapist, but I lived with the son for all 42 of his months at the time (except the 1 month after I left my ex and she went to the T).     I also was seeking joint legal custody at the time my ex took him to her.    I know the T can legally say I had no rights.

At a minimum I want to write up what my experience was.     The T's attacks on me were a reason I lost my good job and have not been able to recover financially due to her attacks.     When my son is older, he should know how this therapist exploited him to help in a custody battle.    I want to explain to my son somehow someway why I have no place to live now, why I have been between jobs (not able to pay Child support)  and my life and $ is not what it once was.    I must take  responsibility for this, but the T played a big role in my downfall.     I don't want to attack my ex in this note, so it can be tailored to what the T did.    Maybe even posted on a website but leave my family's name out.    And give the T a chance to respond.     

For example, if you were having surgery to remove a wart and the surgeon made a mistake and removed a testicle or breast instead, would you not complain about the damage done?     You would just say that is in the past and move on with your life?     The damage in court was over 2 years ago and I have had trouble moving on while this T continues her reign.         

 

[scraps66]

If this T works through a large practice, I would ask them to explain to you what their procedures are for administering counseling to a minor.  As I had found, many agencies require the involvement of both parents and an initial "intake" interview with both parents to even schedule an appointment - regardless of the custody situation.  I would find any professional certifications that this T has and make contact with those entities and make your case known.   

Beyond that, this T was way over the line in picking sides and using personal opinions during therapy.  I would have to also assume that the T would have been having inappropriate discussions with your son during sessions.  Something that is just a no-no if not having talked with both parents.