No Notification of Psychologist Beginning Consultations Again

[suecat]

I'm feeling hurt and upset. I need an outside opinion on this; am I over-reacting?
I have been seeing my psychologist for some years, re anxiety and depression. When things started closing down, at the beginning of April, she left a message on my phone re consultations and that she would be doing phone/zoom meetings or some-such from then on. I messaged back that I found it too difficult on the phone, due to deafness (and have no idea what zoom is or how to access it). So said I would rather wait until things got back to a more 'normal' situation.
So, I waited, and things were really difficult for me at times. I waited some more, presuming she would be in touch at some stage.
Two days ago I rang and left a message, wondering what was happening with her practice. Received an answer ... 'yes, I'm doing face to face appointments again. If you want to make an appointment please do.'
Maybe it's just ME, but I found that hurtful. Am I being a 'snowflake' here or should I have expected her to at least inform her patients she was again doing face to face consultations?

I feel hurt in that I often felt I needed some support but didn't ring her thinking my worries weren't all that bad, and I didn't want to be a nuisance. Now I feel even worse.



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[romantic_thi3f]

Hi suecat,

Thank you for your post. No, I don't think you are over-reacting at all. Or a snowflake, or a nuisance (just to be clear! 🙂

I think what you're feeling makes perfect sense although sadly I'm not too surprised by it - it's a very professional kind of response.

What would have been ideal is probably to talk to you about Zoom more (it's very similar to Skype) as you may have found that it works really well. It also would have been ideal to at least send a text when appointments were back on face to face.

I'm sorry that your psychologist wasn't very caring about the way she communicated with you. I imagine that if you did make an appointment she'd understand the way you're feeling. I also imagine that there are lots of other people in the same boat.

I hope this helps

rt

[SarahZ]

Hi suecat,

Thanks for reaching out.

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation; I can't imagine how frustrated and hurt you must feel right now. I'm also really sorry to hear that you went through some difficult times during isolation without any professional support. That must have been exceptionally tough to deal with. You definitely aren't over-reacting; expecting a sms that face-to-face consultations are running again is warranted. While this is rather poor communication from your psychologist, I can see how transitioning to online consultations and dealing with a bunch of administrative work might have been potentially overwhelming for them. However, irrespective of that, the well-being of clients is paramount for every psychologist. Maybe talk about how this made you feel with your psychologist at your next appointment? Although what happened isn't excusable, they might potentially have a somewhat valid reason? (i.e., maybe receptionist forgot to send out text reminders?)

Wishing you all the best and sending you positive thoughts.

[Guest_1643]

Hi there,
I don't think its any overreaction. In fact, I think asking questions about how therapy is conducted and if its being conducted in a way that is sensitive, transparent, and morally sound is a really good thing. You could've just let it slide and made excuses for her, (i would've done that a few years ago, pushing down my feelings) - but you can see that your feelings and experience are important.
This made you feel uncared for, so it wasn't okay... I would raise it with her and also potentially consider seeing someone else if it continues to bother you. You come #1

[suecat]

Thank you for your response. My psychologist did ring me back on Monday, and I saw her today.

She said that she tried to leave a message several times, but apparently on my home phone which is not connected at the moment. I wish she had mentioned this when she first replied, rather than have me thinking I'd been ignored.

At least I was able to think about it, and weigh my concerns, then reach out for some thoughts on what had occurred. Funnily enough, when I got there for my appointment this morning, I discovered her door (office adjoining the house) into the waiting room was locked. I rang the bell and sat on the seat outside.

Due to my trying to balance my thoughts rather than be terminally offended, I waited, and she opened the door at my appt. time, having inadvertently locked it after her last consultation.

Maybe there's hope for me yet! Thanks again for your comment.

[suecat]

Thank you. It turns out she did try to get in touch, but on my home phone which is not connected at the moment. I saw her today, and mentioned my feelings.

[SarahZ]

Hi Suecat,

Thanks for your update!

That's terrific to hear everything has worked out. Great work on weighing out our concerns before coming down to a definitive conclusion.