Posted by mair on May 14, 2002, at 6:54:18
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Chloe on May 13, 2002, at 22:04:48
I exclusively use email to communicate with my pdoc in between appointments. She can be difficult to reach and I have an aversion to communicating with people directly on things that are uncomfortable for me, so email suits me just fine. She's made it clear that she only checks it at night so it's not the fastest way to get to her, but nothing has ever been so much of an emergency that I needed a speedier response anyway.
OTOH, my therapist has never given me her email address although I know she uses it some since my pdoc has copied her on emails to me. In my case she probably wouldn't think I'd abuse it, but she's worked awfully hard to get me over my reticence about calling her when things are tough, and I think she'd find email a cop out.
I think if I were a therapist, I'd feel like I had to respond to emails but I wouldn't want to deal with sensitive or substantive matters that way. Emailing about an appointment change might be fine or a reminder about an issue you want to discuss, but I think if someone emailed me about their deteriorating mental state, for instance, I'd send a quick message back saying the person should either call or bring it up at the next appointment. The security issues are too great and so much more is probably communicated verbally or non-verbally in a face to face meeting or even over the phone.
Mair
poster:mair
thread:23711
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020509/msgs/23729.html