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Original poster

To think it’s a crime to pretend to be a registered doctor?

140 replies

Domino34 · 21/05/2024 22:53

Keep this short and sweet, please help me out!
I discovered that the ‘psychotherapist’ that ‘works for the nhs’ I’ve been having therapy sessions on the phone with, was actually not a doctor at all. Payed for by DH. I think I’ve been a victim of coercive control. Yet another tactic to manipulate me and be in a position of power. It sounds crazy, I know! My question is, is it a crime in the same way where if somebody pretended to be a police officer? I feel like my mind has been violated. I haven’t done anything about this. . . What can I do?

OP posts:
ShrubRose · 21/05/2024 23:03

How did you make contact with her?

Was it through an agency of some sort? Is she on the website of the agency?
Is she on LinkedIn?

Original poster
Domino34 · 21/05/2024 23:03

She doesn’t even have a job at all. It was all a plan to manipulate me by DH. Who swiftly left the country to his parents, when I discovered this.

OP posts:
justabigdisco · 21/05/2024 23:02

Yep she’s probably got a PhD so entitled to use the term doctor - and may well work part NHS part private. That’s fairly common and actually a good sign

Herdit · 21/05/2024 23:02

Can you search for them on a healthcare register?
HCPC I think?
NMC for nurses/midwifes
GMC Drs
etc?

Ciderlout · 21/05/2024 23:01

They probably have a PHD so can use the title Dr but they aren’t medically qualified.

Original poster
Domino34 · 21/05/2024 23:01

Yes, I have a voicemail on my phone where she says she has been busy today, working at a locus elsewhere, saying it’s doctor *. I have evidence in the form of a text also. I might be mixing the two up. I thought I was speaking to a therapist registered with the NHS.

OP posts:
TwattyMcFuckFace · 21/05/2024 23:01

First hit on Google says it's a criminal offence to impersonate a doctor, OP?

justabigdisco · 21/05/2024 23:01

As others have said, psychotherapists generally aren’t doctors (some psychiatrists - who are doctors - are also trained in psychotherapy, but this is the exception rather than the rule).

PrincessTeaSet · 21/05/2024 23:00

Yes it's a crime to pretend to be a doctor. However a psychotherapist doesn't have to be a doctor. Anyone can call themselves a psychotherapist - it's not a protected title. Even qualified registered ones don't have to be doctors

ThePure · 21/05/2024 23:00

Yes it is a crime to pretend to be a Dr but nothing you have quoted actually amounts to that.
Psychotherapists are more often psychologists than psychiatrists. I would not usually expect someone describing themselves as 'a psychotherapist who works for the NHS' to be a qualified Dr. My assumption would be that they were a psychologist or even a mental health nurse.

SpringerFall · 21/05/2024 22:59

How did they lie? If they said they were a doctor and not sure lie but did you just assume?

Sunnysummer24 · 21/05/2024 22:58

Are you mixing up psychotherapist and psychiatrist?

Butchyrestingface · 21/05/2024 22:57

Did the person TELL you they were a qualified medical doctor? I’ve certainly never understood a psychotherapist to be a doctor.

JaniceBattersby · 21/05/2024 22:56

Psychotherapists do not have to be registered doctors or regulated. Did this person outright tell you they were a medical doctor?

I’m sorry you’ve had a tough time.

MoonriseKingdom · 21/05/2024 22:56

A psychotherapist is not the same as a psychiatrist. They are not usually medical doctors although could be Dr X if has a PhD. Did he actually claim to be a medical doctor?