Posted by Emily Elizabeth on February 2, 2006, at 15:59:36
In reply to She HAS MY FILE, help!!!!, posted by B2chica on February 2, 2006, at 8:58:42
I didn't read all of the replies, so someone might have said this already, but if they are working in the same clinic they can consult and share info. I suspect that this applies to professionals that work in the same practice as well.
It's funny b/c I was on the other side of this...I was taking on a client who had seen a T in our clinic who was graduating. As a matter of course, I obtained his file. I would say that in this context, obtaining files is something that is largely accepted. Like a medical record. But if the patient doesn't want the new T to see it (perfectly okay), then someone needs to tell the T so that they don't get the file.
Now, back to my story...so when I met with the client for the 1st time he told me that he really didn't want me to read the file (for similar reasons to what you have mentioned). I promised him that I would respect his wishes. When I shared this w/ my supervisor, he seemed annoyed and didn't understand why I would agree to that.
I hung on to the file and did not read it right away. Eventually, my client became quite ill and had a poor grasp on reality. At that time I did read the file in order to help his treatment. I was able to speak to his new pdoc and tell pdoc that my client was exhibiting some very severe symptoms and he had not had these problems before (which I knew b/c I had the file). I do believe that having the info helped his treatment.
This is a really rough situation. I do think that the T has the legal right to look at the file. But just b/c she wasn't breaking the law doesn't mean that she should do it. Do you like her in general? If not, perhaps this is a sign that you should look for a new T. If you want to stick with her, perhaps you could make an agreement that she won't read the file until a certain point in time--maybe like 1 month
I totally understand why you would be extremely mad at the new T. But, I think it might help you to address this situation if you remind yourself that T made this decision in order to best help you. It wasn't that she wanted to be nosey. Perhaps reminding yourself of that could help you talk to her abt the issue so that she will hear you and not just react to your anger.
Take care. I'm going to read the rest of the thread now. Hope I didn't repeat too much of what others said.
Best,
EE
poster:Emily Elizabeth
thread:605422
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20060131/msgs/605551.html