Your Rights as a Consumer

General Information

Grateful acknowledgement goes to the California Board of Psychology for their permission to use and modify their excellent information for consumers available on their website (http://www.psychboard.ca.gov/).

Be aware that every jurisdiction may have differences in their laws and rules regarding the practice of psychology and licensed professionals. The information contained in this section is general information. If you have a question regarding a licensed psychologist, please check with the state, province or territory where the individual is licensed to obtain specifics about your questions.

The following information is provided to be an informal, helpful guide to consumers. It is not a legal mandate in any state or province.

You Have the Right To:

Verify licensure of the psychologist with the psychology board in your jurisdiction and receive information about any discipline imposed against this provider. Click here for contact information for psychology licensing boards.
complain to the psychology board about 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 psychologist or agency you choose.

Actions you can take

If you believe that you have been exploited or harmed by a psychologist, you can deal with your situation in several different ways. Take time to carefully explore all of your rights and options. It may help to decide what your goals are.

Reporting the Psychologist
Perhaps you want to prevent the psychologist from hurting other patients. You may want to receive monetary compensation for the damage you have suffered and to help pay for future therapy sessions. You may want to make it known that sexual exploitation is always wrong. You may want to do all of these. If this is your decision, there are several reporting options. It is important to note that some reporting options have limits on the time that may pass before the report is made (called a statute of limitations). As you consider your options, be aware of those limits.
Your Recovery
You may also want to explore and process what happened between you and the psychologist. If you decide to do this, you can explore therapy or support groups.
Move On
Or you may wish simply to move on past this experience as quickly as possible and get on with your life. Remember—you have the right to decide what is best for you.

Reporting Options

If you decide to report a psychologist’s unethical and illegal behavior, there are four different ways to do so. Each option has both strong and weak points. You may choose any one or all of these options:

Administrative Action — file a complaint with the psychologist’s licensing board.
Professional Association Action — file a complaint with the professional association’s ethics committee. If the licensed psychologist is a member of the APA, contact the American Psychological Association to obtain information about pursuing ethics charges.
Civil Action — file a civil lawsuit.
Criminal Action — file a complaint with local law enforcement if the offense is against the law in your jurisdiction.

Administrative Action

Contact the licensing board that issued the psychologist's license. If the psychologist is a licensed psychologist, go to the ASPPB licensing boards contact information to obtain contact information.
You may call the licensing board number to request forms and instructions, or go to the board's web site, if one is listed for that licensing board, to obtain further information about the procedures in that jurisdiction.

File a Complaint

The licensing boards can give you detailed information about the complaint filing process and discuss your situation with you. To file a complaint, you can either request a complaint form or write a letter. Be sure to include your name, address, and telephone number; the psychologist’s name, address, and telephone number; a description of your complaint; copies of any documentation available (for example, letters, bill receipts, cancelled checks, or pictures); and names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witnesses.

Each complaint is evaluated and investigated, and you and the psychologist will be notified if the board has sufficient evidence to initiate disciplinary action. You and the psychologist will each be interviewed separately. The licensing boards can give you detailed information about the complaint filing process and discuss your situation with you. To file a complaint, you can either request a complaint form or write a letter to your state/province psychology licensing board. Be sure to include your name, address, and telephone number; the psychologist’s name, address, and telephone number; a description of your complaint; copies of any documentation available (for example, letters, bill receipts, cancelled checks, or pictures); and names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witnesses.

Jurisdictions have varying procedures to identify patients in public documents as well as whether hearings are open to the public. There may be a possibility that confidentiality may be jeopardized during the investigation process or at the hearing itself. If you are concerned about this, discuss it with the licensing board or their investigator.

The disciplinary process may take a long time from the time a complaint is received to the time a final decision is made. Please keep in mind that you cannot receive monetary compensation from the psychologist by using this option, but you may affect the psychologist’s ability to practice and thereby protect other potential patients from similar misconduct.

Civil Action

Generally, civil lawsuits are filed to seek money for damages or injuries to a patient who has been harmed by the psychologist. A patient may want to sue the psychologist for injuries suffered and for the cost of future therapy sessions. Under most state and provincial laws, you may file a lawsuit against either the psychologist or the psychologist’s employer if you believe the employer knew or should have known about the psychologist’s behavior. You may also sue the local or state public mental health agency for which the psychologist works, but you must file a complaint with the agency in a timely manner.

Time limits
If you think you want to file a lawsuit, it is important to consult an attorney as soon as possible, since there are different time limits for filing civil lawsuits.

Media attention
Once a legal suit is filed, there is the possibility of media coverage, especially if the patient or psychologist is well known. While many cases are settled out of court, some do go to trial, and it can take years before your case is actually tried.

Patients don't always win
You should also be aware that some cases end up being decided in favor of the psychologist, rather than the patient.

Finding An Attorney

Take some time to choose an attorney to represent you. You may need to interview several. Here are some points to consider:

Get a list of attorneys from the State Bar or your County Bar Association’s referral service. Also, check with your local legal aid society for legal assistance. Look in the telephone book yellow pages under "attorney."
While some attorneys are willing to wait to be paid based on the outcome of the suit (contingency basis), some will not.
Be sure that the attorney has civil litigation experience in the area of medical and/or psychological malpractice.
Check with the State Bar Association to make sure that the attorney has a clear license.
Make sure that you feel comfortable with your attorney and can trust and confide in him or her.

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