AIBU to not want to pay twice for dd's CBT assessment?

[NoonarAgain]

dd1(14yo) has had 5 months' of counselling for anxiety with a private organisation which employs many therapists/ counsellors/ psychologists.

her counsellor has now left and we are starting with someone new. AIBU to now want to effectively pay £300 for the 3 assessment sessions all over again? They are not being billed as assessment, more as handover, but the was I see it, her CBT cannot be continued with someone who doesn't know her, so it is effectively a reassessment.

Should I ask for reduction in fees during the handover / transition period?

BTW, CAHMS was not an option as I don't want to wait (did do a referral).
any advice, please?

anyone?

That sounds to me an utter rip-off. You should not be made to suffer the financial consequences of their staffing discontinuities. Emotionally, your DD will probably be suffering more than enough.

(I have worked in an administration capacity in private MH services, and it is really not the norm. IMHO, they are taking the mick)

EreniTheFrog Out of curiosity, what did your organization do when a therapist at the service you worked for left?

OP, it is not clear from your post, are you being charged more than the regular rate for three sessions, or the regular rate but with a new therapist? Is there an expectation that your DD will continue in therapy after the three sessions, or is it possible that she will be "assessed" as not suitable or as needing a different type of treatment or service?

I do not think that you or your DD are entitled to a reduction in fees because the therapist is changing, however difficult the transition is. But it would not be reasonable for you to be charged extra for the privilege of the therapist changing, either. In some sense it depends whether your contract is with the individual therapist or with the provider of the therapy service, and also on what the terms of the contract are or were, if there was one.

Thanks both. interesting that you seem to have quite different viewpoints!

There is nothing specific in the contract that refers to this type of situation- there is an undertaking to act in the interest of child and parent.

To clarify, the hourly rate is the same. the first 3 sessions ever were categorised as assessment. this involved dd telling her story. Logically, no one can tailor CBT to a someone who they don't yet know, so I am interpreting this as a reassessment. they are calling it transition.

The bottom line, is that although there may be some therapeutic value in retelling her story, the overriding feeling for dd and I at this time is that is emotionally draining to have to do so. and expensive. and its going to be a while before she gets told any actual strategies, which is the point of going. in essence, dd would be moving on much more quickly without the change in therapist.

contract is with the organisation.

Will the transition period include the previous counsellor briefing the new one about DD and her story or will it be a completely fresh start? I don't know anything about the MH industry to give you any proper advice but it just seems like one of those awkward things that happens when counsellors change jobs. Unfortunately, my guess would be that you are stuck with the 'getting to know you' period again and that it will come out of your wallet.

It would be worth voicing your concerns to the facility to see what they say and come up?

I'm guessing the sessions are an hour?. And she's been having sessions how frequently for several months?.

I don't see how they would need 3 hours of handover for CBT for a 14 year old.

What you have written makes me ask the following question: are you and/or you and your DD together, depending on her preference, reviewing the situation semi-regularly? For example, every six weeks or so? Just to see if there is progress and/or she is benefitting from the therapy? The change in therapists could be a good prompt to re-evaluate the situation.

Did the old therapist leave suddenly? You could request that they do a handover to the new therapist, or have a three-way session, to ease the transition? I agree that with a decent handover between therapists, it seems odd to label three hours as "getting to know you" sessions, although there will be an element of that if your DD has to get to know someone new. The therapy is for her, not for the therapist.

I hope your DD is okay. It can be difficult for the patient when a therapist leaves, especially if they were particularly helpful to the patient.

hi erin, thanks for your post.
we seemed to spend the majority of the time together with some sessions just dd and some half and half. I think the therapist must have seen my role as getting to the heart of/ raising current issues. I think without me there, there would've been a danger of dd missing out/ forgetting or skirting around big things that had happened during the time we last met. especially as dd wasn't great at keeping her journal!

I was always happy to leave them to it, but it didn't happen that often.

no one has actually said 'we need 3 transition sessions' but my hunch is it will take that long. the two therapists have been talking to each other, so there has been a handover of sorts.

I will just have to suck it up, I suppose!

we met for an hour weekly or 2 weekly- it varied.

new regime not yet decided.

thanks for the advice!

heknows, you actually need a lot of time to discuss anxiety, ocd and low self esteem in any depth, IME!

Ah, that makes sense. If the therapy helping your DD, then, yes, changing of therapists is one of those things that happens. It happens in NHS services as well as private ones, not that that is much help to your bank balance or sense of injustice!

Wishing you and your DD all the best

It happened so rarely that there was never an actual protocol. But we always ensured that any financial implications were borne by the company not the client.

(Sorry - that was a response to erin)

Are you generally happy with her progress?
To be honest five months of weekly CBT is a lot.
It smacks to me of private therapist elongating therapy for financial reasons.
Is your daughter greatly improved?
Because if she isn't, then it's not working and you should adopt a different approach.

Could you find out where the old therapist is going and continue with him there or is it out of question?