My psychiatrist dumped me.

Hello. I had seen a certain psychiatrist for over three years. My wife is also his patient. Over the last 6 months, bizarre developments involving this doctor has resulted in him removing me as a patient.

It is a long complicated story. He has seen my step-son and has refused to reveal his diagnosis because he knows my wife would no longer see him as a patient, so there is a financial aspect. So the Dr. decided to lie and tell me that everything has been discussed with my wife. This is demonstrably false. When I revealed to him that I know this isn’t true, he first violated HIPPA then decided to remove me as a patient since this solves the dilemma he put himself in.
There is another egregious detail I need to leave out of this message. I know the exact reason he terminated me and it’s because of the most unusual twist of fate.

My question is, do I have any legal ground for requesting (in writing) the reason for my termination? He was grasping at straws and making false claims as to the reasons for why he was letting me go.

Thank you in advance for any feedback!

Tipsy, it sure sounds to me as if you have grounds for all sorts of things, but I am not a lawyer. I recommend you check out two threads on the Psychotherapy Forum here, one called "To Complain/Not To...... and the other called "Survivors of Unethical Therapy". I'm pretty sure you'll find some interesting information there.

Your post is probably going to be assigned to that forum anyway.

All best wishes...

Hi TipsyTurtle. I am not a lawyer, so can't answer your question. If there are any lawyers here that can, I'd still pass your question by a lawyer you officially contact. But I do agree that something seems a bit odd with your dismissal.

Does your wife still feel comfortable going to this psychiatrist? If I were her, I'd start looking for a new one, too. I think it could also be best if you, your wife, and your son all see different psychiatrists, unless you only need couples or family therapy.

I have been "dumped" by two therapists and one psychiatrist in the past. In my cases, the one therapist and psychiatrist were in the same group and dumped me because I was going to quit an Intensive Outpatient Program prematurely, when I was still very manic. I ended up in the hospital again, then the IOP. The IOP then found me a new psychiatrist and therapist. The other therapist dumped me because she could not handle my case. She even called my psychiatrist and told him I "scared her" when manic. I think people get dismissed for various reasons. I can definitely sympathize with you that not knowing would be very unfair.

on your question of whether you have a right to get your termination notice in writing...

the answer is yes if you are here in america we have laws and one of the things that treatment providers must do when terminating or closing someones files with them is a closing the files form that gives the reason why the file is being closed....

Example......by mutual agreement Amandalouise and I have decided not to work together any longer signed treatment provider

and then at the bottom of the page appears the letters cc (meaning carbon copy / copy of form sent to ) then a list of names that I designated to receive copies of the closing / termination form.

my suggestion is contact the treatment provider and let them know you would like a copy of the termination letter for your own records. you may have to pay printing fee. some places are now charging for paper copies instead of email or having a "patient portal" that the patient can access any time on their own and make their own copies from the portal.

Is your step son a minor? Does your wife want to see a doctor that acts like this?

Do you only go to him for meds or for therapy too? It would seem like a conflict of interest for him to be seeing two family members of yours individually for therapy.

I think regardless of legal grounds, you can file a complaint against him at least. Perhaps to whatever board he is licensed under. It all seems a bit unprofessional.

I agree with the posters that are suggesting you and your wife see separate therapists unless it is considered couples/family counseling. Are you angry because it WAS considred family counseling and he fired you and kept her? Since he initiated the break, why not just go with the split and find a less overlapping situation. Having someone be strictly your advocate alone may have definite advantages.