my son 16, has severe anxiety and depression. he is under CAMHS and has been started on medication, with some improvement.
There is a VERY long waiting lost for NHS individual therapy and so about 12 months go I started looking for a private psychologist to support him, we tried two who he didn't click with and this one was the third. He started seeing her in April. he likes her and trusts her.
She is very expensive, although since I accepted her fees I'm not moaning about that.
in August she was on leave, but she contacted me to remind me about a bill and to wish my son good luck for his GCSE results. I would not have interrupted her leave.
To cut a long story short after our first appointment with the psychiatrist there was contact between the psychiatrist and the psychologist.
Last weekend she sent me a bill for £920.
I was expecting £345 for sessions my son and I had attended.
She charged me time and a half (because it was her holiday ) for every minute of work she did in contact with the psychiatrist. Phone calls, emails and reading a letter...
So, she never once told me (either in writing or verbally) that she charged 1.5 x normal rates in her holiday period ; I did not ask her to do this work; I was not told she was doing this, not offered the option to defer it to 'normal working time' ie a week later and I was given no warning of the costs incurred. When I challenged her she basically said 'this is the bill, pay it' ; and because I didn't want the relationship with my son disrupted I paid it.
BUT the more i think about it the angrier I am ...and I have lost all trust in her. I think the therapeutic relationship is finished anyway as I no longer want to meet her and I think she is unprofessional .
In a comparable situation, with my divorce lawyer, who charged her time in 5 minute slots, I was fully aware that each call would be charged and at what rate. I was asked for my agreement before letters were written and I was provided with an estimate of costs at regular intervals. In short I had a choice about how much I spent
so AIBU ? and if I am not BU, how far would you take it ? e.g. complain to the BACP (her professional body) ?
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
AIBU?
to be very angry with my sons psychologist
41 replies
lilybetsy · 20/09/2018 13:42
OP posts:
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.