Fighting the system - any advice?

[Saneasever]

Hi everyone.

 

Have had a productive day making phonecalls. Spoke to Social Services to get complaint ball rolling, set up a meeting with school to talk about viewing my daughter's school records (before making a complaint against them), but most importantly of all, I'm at the Children's Hospital on Friday to speak to 'Mary Moo Cow's' boss.

 

'Mary Moo Cow' is my daughter's name for M.G. - the psychotherapist who ignorantly accused us of 'possibly' abusing our daughter. My daughter, A., doesn't have a malicious bone in her body, but would like to see this woman go to jail for ever. We, on the other hand, will have to make do with trying to get her suspended.

 

(Should probably point out that A.'s an 'Aspie' (recently diagnosed), but hospital had no training to spot it 'til forced onto a Psych. unit that caused the poor child additional emotional harm. Subjected to Child Protection Plan, Social Workers, etc...)

 

So... any advice / words of wisdom, anyone???

[Kathryn]

Well done for what you've achieved - even small steps forward will boost your morale.

 

The Family Rights Group may be able to offer you advice if you haven't already contacted them.

 

K x

[Saneasever]

Thank you. Will contact them tomorrow.

[coolblue]

If there's any lack of clarity about who's supposed to be doing what, asking for information about procedures, especially in writing, can focus minds wonderfully. "Do you have a leaflet on...?" is a useful question.

 

Similarly, if allegations are being bandied about, asking for evidence can make the allegations evaporate. Getting people to write it down makes them think about what they are saying/implying and often they realise they are simply making it up, or actually don't have any evidence on which they have based their conclusions. Or they know nothing about the issues on which they are venturing an opinion.

 

Thirdly, another useful question is "What would do if you were in my position?" I've lost count of the number of times this has resulted in a very confident person going "Well, erm, that's a good question, I see what you mean, it's a bit difficult isn't it?"

 

Good luck.

 

cb

[Karen A]

An interesting question might be to ask what training psychotherapists within the organisation have in ASD ?

 

The psychotherapist is very unlikely to be suspended if her line manager knows she knows nothing about ASD.

It is perfectly possible that her line manager also either knows little about ASD or has an opinion about ASD that is rather unconventional compared with most current professional thinking.

 

Some very well known psychotherapists within the establishment have very different views regarding ASD to most professionals in the field.''Live Company psychoanalytic psychotherapy with Autistic,Borderline,Deprived and Abused Children'' by Anne Alvarez was recommended to me.Anne Alvarez is very highly regarded by many professionals.

 

I do not know whether you could get hold of a copy before Friday.However if the psychotherapist or her line manager happens to have come from a background where recommended reading includes the book above they are unlikely to change their whole philosophy because of one complaint.

 

At least on Friday you may be more aware.

 

Do you know what job the line manager does ? Is she/he also a psychotherapist or is she/he a psychiatrist ?

 

If you do not make much progress on Friday I would suggest you contact PALS for your area.PALS will advise you regarding how to make a formal complaint to the NHS trust.You could even do that before Friday if you wish.

 

If a formal complaint has been lodged it will demonstrate that you are serious.A person from within the trust that is not so closely connected to the psychotherapist will probably also deal with the complaint on your behalf.

PALS should have a copy of the trust complaints procedure and it would be worth obtaining a copy and reading it.

 

You may even decide to cancel the meeting on Friday and just pursue a Formal complaint.

It is extremely difficult to get a professional in the NHS suspended unless there is evidence of complete negligence or abuse by the professional.On Friday you could find that the line manager either supports the psychotherapist or attacks you.

 

Even if you are in the right it is possible that you could come out of the meeting having lost your temper and provided evidence that you are difficult to deal with....which the psychotherapist may then just use as her defence.

 

I hope I am being helpful.

I have had enough experience with many professionals across education and health over the course of twenty odd years personally,professionally and as a parent to know that meetings such as these do not always go well.

 

PALS have a web site on which you can find the one for your local NHS trust.

The Trust should also have a web site with a copy of the complaints procedure.

 

Karen.

 

.

[coolblue]

Just wanted to add to Karen's comments. She's quite right that a psychotherapist might know very little about ASD.

 

Psychiatrists should know about it, and are qualified to diagnose it, because they are qualified doctors.

 

A clinical psychologist should know about it, and should be able to diagnose it as it ought to be part of their training.

 

Other kinds of psychologists might or might not know about it.

 

A psychotherapist is not necessarily a qualified psychologist and might not have any formal training at all.

 

cb

[Karen A]

Just wanted to add to Karen's comments. She's quite right that a psychotherapist might know very little about ASD.

 

Psychiatrists should know about it, and are qualified to diagnose it, because they are qualified doctors.

 

A clinical psychologist should know about it, and should be able to diagnose it as it ought to be part of their training.

 

Other kinds of psychologists might or might not know about it.

 

A psychotherapist is not necessarily a qualified psychologist and might not have any formal training at all.

 

cb

 

Just to add to that.

Psychotherapists within CAMHS are not psychologists.It is a completely different profession with its own membership,training and qualifications.

Psychotherapists within CAMHS are not even psychotherapists [who could be psychologists].They are Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists.

 

http://www.childpsychotherapy.org.uk/

 

There are other therapists within CAMHS such as family therapists, there are also psychologists who offer CBT and specialist nurses and social workers who are counsellors or use counselling skills from any one of many theoretical frameworks......

 

 

.However they are not psychotherapists either.

 

CAMHS psychotherapists are actually few and far between.It is an extremely specialist area only available in some parts of the country.

 

Incidently Sanesever another avenue open to you might be to complain to the profesional body for CAMHS psychotherapists.

Edited October 19, 2010 by Karen A

[Saneasever]

An interesting question might be to ask what training psychotherapists within the organisation have in ASD ?

 

The psychotherapist is very unlikely to be suspended if her line manager knows she knows nothing about ASD.

It is perfectly possible that her line manager also either knows little about ASD or has an opinion about ASD that is rather unconventional compared with most current professional thinking.

 

Some very well known psychotherapists within the establishment have very different views regarding ASD to most professionals in the field.''Live Company psychoanalytic psychotherapy with Autistic,Borderline,Deprived and Abused Children'' by Anne Alvarez was recommended to me.Anne Alvarez is very highly regarded by many professionals.

 

I do not know whether you could get hold of a copy before Friday.However if the psychotherapist or her line manager happens to have come from a background where recommended reading includes the book above they are unlikely to change their whole philosophy because of one complaint.

 

At least on Friday you may be more aware.

 

Do you know what job the line manager does ? Is she/he also a psychotherapist or is she/he a psychiatrist ?

 

If you do not make much progress on Friday I would suggest you contact PALS for your area.PALS will advise you regarding how to make a formal complaint to the NHS trust.You could even do that before Friday if you wish.

 

If a formal complaint has been lodged it will demonstrate that you are serious.A person from within the trust that is not so closely connected to the psychotherapist will probably also deal with the complaint on your behalf.

PALS should have a copy of the trust complaints procedure and it would be worth obtaining a copy and reading it.

 

You may even decide to cancel the meeting on Friday and just pursue a Formal complaint.

It is extremely difficult to get a professional in the NHS suspended unless there is evidence of complete negligence or abuse by the professional.On Friday you could find that the line manager either supports the psychotherapist or attacks you.

 

Even if you are in the right it is possible that you could come out of the meeting having lost your temper and provided evidence that you are difficult to deal with....which the psychotherapist may then just use as her defence.

 

I hope I am being helpful.

I have had enough experience with many professionals across education and health over the course of twenty odd years personally,professionally and as a parent to know that meetings such as these do not always go well.

 

PALS have a web site on which you can find the one for your local NHS trust.

The Trust should also have a web site with a copy of the complaints procedure.

 

Karen.

 

.

[Saneasever]

Thanks for the info. Karen. M.G.'s paperwork has the CAMHS stamp on it with 'Dept of Clinical Psychology'.

 

We have made an official complaint - this is the beginning of the process.

 

Do you have any other advice? She actively pursued false allegations against us, brought in social workers, enforced a stint on the psych. unit, gave a 'professional opinion' of A. can't eat any food other than hospital food (she gave this opinion about a week after I and her dad successfully got her eating again. Had tried M.G.'s approaches, but they didn't help A. to eat so we ditched them and did it ourselves). She even stopped us from taking A. out of the hospital grounds - she didn't leave the hospital for two and a half months...

 

M.G.'s negligent actions have caused so much harm to us all as a family. I've posted elsewhere today about how A.'s emotionally scarred by all of this.

 

I can't let this go on and know that others will suffer.

 

Any more advice would be welcome...

[Karen A]

Thanks for the info. Karen. M.G.'s paperwork has the CAMHS stamp on it with 'Dept of Clinical Psychology'.

 

We have made an official complaint - this is the beginning of the process.

 

Do you have any other advice? She actively pursued false allegations against us, brought in social workers, enforced a stint on the psych. unit, gave a 'professional opinion' of A. can't eat any food other than hospital food (she gave this opinion about a week after I and her dad successfully got her eating again. Had tried M.G.'s approaches, but they didn't help A. to eat so we ditched them and did it ourselves). She even stopped us from taking A. out of the hospital grounds - she didn't leave the hospital for two and a half months...

 

M.G.'s negligent actions have caused so much harm to us all as a family. I've posted elsewhere today about how A.'s emotionally scarred by all of this.

 

I can't let this go on and know that others will suffer.

 

Any more advice would be welcome...

 

It may be worth finding out exactly what this professional is if you can as I think it makes a big difference.

 

You could try doing a search on the web under the signature.

Although it is shocking that a psychotherapist could be this involved with a case and know nothing about ASD I can appreciate how it might happen.

 

If the professional is a Clinical Psychologist then the expectations of their role might be very different depending on their role and job discription.

 

If the meeting on Friday is the first stage of a formal complaint then do not accept any explanation you are not happy with.Ask for time to consider your response.Have you got someone coming with you to take notes and support you ?

If you think you may want to take the case further do look up the link Kathryn posted.It may well be worth obtaining some professional advice.

 

Karen.

Edited October 19, 2010 by Karen A

[Saneasever]

Just to say that, according to his email footer, M.G.'s boss is a consultant clinical Psychologist - CAMHS. Not sure if that's good or bad, but do know that 'somebody' had spoken to him regarding our case prior to us contacting him (prior to formal complaint procedure), and it wasn't M.G.

 

Thanks for your help, guys...

 

Today's been a long day...

[coolblue]

If the psychotherapist is a chartered psychologist or a member of the British Psychological Society they have their own complaints procedure.

 

http://www.bps.org.uk/additional-pages/contact/contact-us$.cfm

 

cb