Did you know that as a mental health professional, you are ethically required to vet the professionals that you refer your clients to?
I’ll bet they didn’t tell you that in graduate school – at least not directly.
That’s why I’m always amazed at my colleagues who post things like “I’m looking for a licensed therapist in Florida who is on United Health Care’s panel to refer a 10 year old boy with Bipolar Disorder to.”
What I’m really thinking is “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”
That may fly for your managed care company. Remember?
Their code of ethics and priorities are not the same as yours.
However, you should know that according to Barton Bernstien, JD, LMSW and other mental health attorneys that I have spoken to, there have been suits of malpractice won against mental health professionals for making referrals to poorly vetted professionals.
What’s an ethical psychotherapist to do? Here’s what I recommend:
- Keeping your client’s clinical needs in mind, always recommend to the best professionals that you can. After all, isn’t that what you would want as a consumer?
- Know who you are referring to.
- Give your client all the information that you can to help him make an informed choice.
- Don’t blindly choose from a list or a “directory” of providers.
- Verify the credentials of the professional that you are referring to.
- Only refer to professionals that you know to be ethical and competent.
- And, most importantly, don’t refer to someone if you are not willing to bet your license on the professional that you are referring to!
Here’s the deal . . . .
Our clients trust us.
They believe that we have their best interest at heart.
To throw a dart into the online directory and then refer to that professional with no additional knowledge is like throwing your client to the wolves.
Think about it!
How many therapists do you know who exaggerate their skills, are clueless about their limitations, or make blatantly false claims about their results?
Perhaps you noticed . . . this is just one more reason that networking both online and face to face is part of any responsible mental health professional’s job.
It’s how we meet, learn about, and responsibly expand our resources for our clients.
That’s how I go about vetting a potential referral. Do you have additional steps to take when vetting your referrals?
[A special “thank you” to the Private Practice Network of Denver’s rich online discussion on this topic earlier this month. It was the inspiration for this post.]
Tamara,
This article is pure gold. Ironically enough, this week I’m launching another free social networking site for my local community helpers (doctors, counselors, social workers, etc.) so we can get to know each other and refer to people we trust & have relationships with!
I only ask that you use your mind-link powers for good, and not evil. 😉
Stephanie
Stephanie! I can’t wait to see what you are cooking up on that networking site of yours! I hope you’ll drop back in right here and fill us in! BRILLIANT way to establish yourself as a hub for community resources!
Tamara,
Thanks for the timely reminder. I’m fortunate to practice with some folks who have been in the community a long time, so I get a rich set of referral resources. 🙂
Ann
Hi, Ann! Yes! The benefits of being . . . uhmmmm . . . an old timer! It’s always good to have your voice here!
In the rural area of Texas where I practice, referrals are very difficult to find. To give you all a idea, the closest psychiatrist is over 90 miles away and they are few and very over booked. We rely on physicians for help with medications of all sorts. I do have a working knowledge of those who work well in that area and those who do not.
There is liability in “discouraging” folks from certain practitioners as well due to confidentiality issues, etc.
It’s a tough gig.
Hi, Mary! Thanks so much for joining in the discussion here! You bring up a really good point about the increased liability that comes (for many reasons) when you work as a mental health professional in geographically challenged areas. You are exactly right in that there can be both legal and social liabilities connected to discouraging or “blackballing” certain providers. It can be tough and yet . . . we still have a legal and an ethical (and some would say even a moral) obligation to refer our clients to competent and quality providers or to admit that our resources / knowledge is limited.
Again, one more reason to network, network, network – to build a strong database of allied health professionals to refer to. And, if you find yourself struggling to find a professional that does ___________ (you fill in the blank), consider dropping back in here – maybe at the Social Media LoveFest for Mental Health Professionals and Coaches. Perhaps we can help you network to find that next recipient of your referrals!
Mary, I hope you will drop back in often to join the conversations here at Private Practice from the Inside Out! We are building a strong and vibrant online community and your voice only makes it richer!
Great post Tamara! And right on! I tell my clients that I know all of the people to whom I refer. Either I have used their services personally, I have worked or collaborated with them, or I have met with them personally and gotten to know their work. This goes for acupuncturists to energy healers to attorneys or psychiatrists. I also try to help out those people that call me and who I don’t feel that I can adequately serve because they are outside my areas of expertise or interests. I also give them resources over the phone as to how to go about finding the best professional.
Ana! Thanks so much for dropping in to chat! You are exactly the kind of therapist that I can refer to because I trust your judgment! One of the discussion lists that I’ve been hanging out on, there is a huge discussion about all the reasons that a therapist “can’t be responsible for” who they refer to. I’ll admit that we have more liability than I would prefer to have but . . . not about to say that we are not responsible for the referrals we make.
And, like you, I am generous with information about how to find that good fit with a therapist . . . and it may not be me that is best for them. It’s just the right thing to do, isn’t it?
And to add this very late to the conversation- we should not be asking for referrals online when the information we are giving out does not blind the client or potential client’s information enough to insure confidentiality… here is a blog post I wrote ages ago…
http://www.counseling.org/news/blog/aca-blog/2009/07/09/listservs-and-case-consultation–what-about-confidentiality-
DeeAnna, thank you! You are exactly right and your blog post spells this out nicely!