A: Yes. I subscribe to the patient’s bill of rights proposed by the California Board of Psychology.

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PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS

(Source:  California Board of Psychology)

You have the right to:

• Request and receive information about the psychologist’s professional capabilities, including licensure, education, training, experience, professional association membership, specialization, and limitations.

• Verify licensure of the psychologist with the Board of Psychology and receive information about any license discipline. You can do this on the Board’s website at www.psychboard.ca.gov. Click on “License Verification.”

• Have written information about fees, methods of payment, insurance reimbursement, number of sessions, length of sessions, professional assistance when your psychologist is not available (in cases of vacation and emergencies), and cancellation policies before beginning therapy. This kind of information is referred to as informed consent.

• Know the limits of confidentiality and the circumstances in which a psychologist is legally required to disclose information to others.

• Receive a verbal or written treatment plan.

• Have a safe environment, free from sexual, physical or emotional abuse.

• Expect that your psychologist should not involve you in any social or business relationship that conflicts with your therapy relationship.

• Ask questions about your therapy or psychological assessment.

• Refuse to answer any question or disclose any information you choose not to reveal.

• Request that the psychologist inform you of your progress.

• Know if there are supervisors, consultants, students, registered psychological assistants or others with whom your psychologist will discuss your case.

• Refuse a particular type of treatment or end treatment at any time without obligation or harassment.

• Refuse or request electronic recording of your sessions.

• Request and (in most cases) receive a summary of your records, including the diagnosis, treatment plan, your progress, and type of treatment.

• Report unprofessional behavior by a psychologist.

• Receive a second opinion at any time about your therapy or about your psychologist’s methods.

• Receive referral names, addresses and telephone numbers in the event that your therapy needs to be transferred to someone else and to request that a copy or a summary of your records be sent to any therapist or agency you choose.

This really presents two different but related questions.

Sometimes people come to see me because they feel that they “need” to see a psychologist. In those situations, the person usually has found some area of their life not working the way they would like, and they may even feel like things have fallen apart in their lives. They have tried everything they can think of to make things better, and it still hasn’t worked the way they’d like. Sometimes they feel hopeless or desperate and may either be contemplating some drastic action, such as quitting a job, ending a relationship, or suicide, or they may have actually tried do to something like that. Similarly, they may be involved in some kind of behavior, such as drinking, substance abuse, or something else that they do in addictive kind of way. Or, they may be stuck in a relationship or a pattern of behavior and they can’t stop. These people are acting in more of a reactive way, and in those situations, they feel that they “need” the therapy in order to make those changes in their lives.

Alternatively, some people come to see me because they “want” to see a psychologist. They want their life to be better. Nothing drastic or terrible has happened in their life, and in many ways their lives are going well, but in some ways they may feel unfulfilled and just want their life to be better. It’s like some people get help with how their body works only after an accident or injury, and then they go to a physical therapist to fix what was damaged. Some people go to a gym only when they are extremely overweight, and even then they may only then do it because their doctor very strongly told them that it’s a serious health issue or they have found that the weight problem has had some really negative impact on their life. This is more in the realm of “need.”

In contrast, some people go to the gym, and/or see a nutritionist perhaps, because they want to be more healthy and fit. They may not have any physical problems, but they may want to be more healthy, toned, flexible, strong, resilient, and generally more capable to using their bodies to do things that they enjoy. They are wanting some help to make their life as fulfilling as they want it to be, not just trying to fix something that may feel “broken” or “damaged” in their life. These people are acting in more or a proactive way.

I think these different descriptions will help you to answer your question as you think about what got you even thinking about reaching out for some kind of help. As for the question about “what can one gain from speaking to a psychologist,” let me answer that in a general way that has to do with how I work with people. We talk together about what brings you in for therapy and what you’re looking for. With that in mind, we talk about what works, what doesn’t, and why. Together we explore various options for alternatives to all of that. So, what you may gain is a clearer understanding about how it came to be that your life is as it is, some understanding of what has made it difficult for you to change it, some tools to make those changes, and growing new and better abilities to deal with those things that had been obstacles for you previously.

A: Here are several of the letters that may appear.  Some of these apply only in certain states, and the designations may vary from one state to another.

MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER DEGREES AND CERTIFICATIONS

Degree / Meaning

A.P.R.N. / Advanced practice registered nurse

C.A.D.C. / Certified alcohol and drug counselor

C.E.A.P. / Certified employee assistance professional

C.N.S. / Clinical nurse specialist

D.Div. / Doctor of divinity

D.O. / Doctor of osteopathy

D.S.W. / Doctor of social work

Ed.D. / Doctor of education

Ed.S. / Education specialist

L.C.S.W. / Licensed clinical social worker

L.I.C.S.W. / Licensed independent clinical social worker

L.M.F.T. / Licensed marriage and family therapist

L.M.H.C. / Licensed mental health counselor

L.P. / Licensed psychologist

L.P.C. / Licensed professional counselor

M.A. / Master of arts

M.D. / Doctor of medicine

M.Ed. / Master of education

M.F.C.C. / Marriage, family and child counselor

M.F.T. / Marriage and family therapist

M.P.S. / Master of pastoral studies

M.S. / Master of science

M.S.W. / Master of social work

P.M.H.N. / Psychiatric-mental health nurse

Ph.D. / Doctor of philosophy