Posted by Racer on March 21, 2004, at 11:50:26
In reply to Re: Just random advice » Racer, posted by terrics on March 21, 2004, at 11:16:12
Well, that depends on what you consider records. My understanding of it is that some therapists keep very, very limited records, to protect their patients. Remember, all these records can be brought out in court, or requested by insurance companies, etc. So, for your protection, your therapist may limit her note taking to dates and times of appointments, and try to keep everything else in her head. If that works for her, and she's working for you, that's fine. It means that no one can ever pull your records and use them against you.
Other therapists keep detailed records. How would you feel about having those read out loud in court? {{shudder}} A lot of therapists at this time write up sessions with a sort of personal shorthand: 'pt discussed distress at maternal disapproval', for example, so that they an remember what you talked about, without betraying any really personal or intimate information. Since most of us have some distress when our mommies don't approve of us, that's not telling any outsider anything much, but it may jog the T's memory enough to keep you both on track.
Damn, I shouldn't have to learn all these things just to go through therapy, should I? LOL Maybe next time my therapist will have learned them instead...
Hope that helps. It could be that she won't encourage you to see the records, so says that they don't exist, or it could be that she takes protecting you so seriously that she really does limit her notes to dates and times of sessions. If you trust her, though, does it really matter?
(That's just an expression of envy for anyone who trusts his or her therapist...)
poster:Racer
thread:325724
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040321/msgs/326682.html