A therapist is a trained expert in a position to help an individual achieve greater life satisfaction. Their role is to guide, direct, and listen. The therapist must offer unconditional support and empathy in helping a client meet their goals without bias.

A good therapist must have excellent communication abilities when serving clients. Therapy aims to help a client achieve wellness. These skills include active listening, good service orientation, and problem-solving expertise. Good use of soft skills allows the client to talk through a problem or a crisis and come to a viable solution on their own.

Good Therapy Doesn’t Always Feel Good

The therapeutic process isn’t always easy. A client may experience painful emotions, and that’s normal. Emotional pain is an unfortunate but necessary part of the healing process. That only means that the therapist is doing their job well.

No one said therapy had to be easy. However, it must be practiced ethically and legally for clients to achieve wellness. There are some situations and actions where a therapist can be held accountable under the law.

When You Might Have a Case Against Your Therapist

Some practices are unacceptable in therapy. Therapists can and should be held liable for unethical practices. These situations include sexual involvement or exploitation of a client, HIPPA violations, or discrimination. This includes making statements or taking actions that are racist, homophobic, sexist, or biased in any way.

Other red flags to watch out for include:

• Any therapist who engages in fraud, such as charging for services that were never given.
• The therapist offers a service that they’re unqualified for, such as medical advice or medical treatment.
• The mental health expert provides an experimental treatment that is harmful or risky.
• The expert violates personal and professional boundaries with clients.

Any client who finds themselves in these situations can seek services from a personal injury lawyer in Baltimore. An attorney will review your case and advise on the best course of legal action you can take against your therapist.

Examples of Violations

For example, a client may decide to discuss their sexual orientation with their therapist. In a session, this client admits they are in a same-sex relationship. An ethical violation would involve the therapist suddenly denying them services after being informed.

Violations such as these involve a homophobic attitude towards the client and can cause harm in recovery. The client may experience extreme feelings of guilt or isolation due to the therapist’s response. Any situation that disrupts the healing process should be documented and reported immediately to the licensing board.

Other Circumstances to Consider

Some practitioners have definite guidelines regarding acceptable times to call, and that’s okay. For example, rules stating no calls after a specific time should be made clear in writing to the client to clear up any confusion. Clients should be provided a crisis hotline number just in case.

Sometimes a therapist may quit their practice, retire, or find work elsewhere. In this case, they have a legal obligation to tell their clients in writing and in person that they will be leaving. In most cases, they should offer referrals or simply transfer their caseload to someone else.

There are some instances where the therapist will abandon a client without warning. Known as ghosting, this is both a legal and ethical breach. It can also violate trust. Anyone in this situation should contact the state licensing board and file a complaint.

Seek Legal Assistance

Anytime a breach occurs, it’s good to seek legal help. Everything that happens should be documented in writing with the date and time that it took place.

Every client should keep in mind that filing a complaint will hold any practitioner accountable for their actions. It will not, however, grant any financial compensation for any harm or injuries that were caused. Getting a settlement requires the dedication and expertise that only a qualified attorney can provide.

Crystal A. Davis

How does one combine a passion for journalism with a strong sense of justice? For Crystal A. Davis, the choice was simple: legal journalism. Born and raised in a family of attorneys but wanting to approach the law from an investigative angle, Crystal decided that people would not hear her voice in the court, but online, in magazines, journals, and other platforms. When she is not studying active lawsuits closely to report on them, she writes public-friendly articles detangling the complicated threads representing the American legal system.