My heart is tight and my emotions right at the brim of tears. The one person who my daughter trusted after her revelation and attempted suicide, turns out to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Contingent upon my daughter’s release from the hospital/treatment program was the proof that she had an appointment with a therapist. They supplied her with a list of names and she chose a woman who was a Nurse practitioner. My daughter was delighted with her and the progress seemed to be coming forth. I had written in previous posts that I had even attended two sessions with my daughter and at both I was raked over the coals, but she was helping my daughter, so I put my feelings aside. I also wrote how I did not like the therapist as she made assumptions and offered stereotypical answers to challenges–we all fit into her neatly defined textbook explanations–but again, she was not for me and again I note my daughter felt she was the best and one who understood her.
Then one day my daughter said she could not get out of bed. The medications the therapist prescribed seemed to be dragging her down rather than helping her. Her anti-depressants were making her depressed and she was having thoughts of suicide again. This is a known side effect of some medications and especially in children/young adults. My daughter was neither, but her body size is petite and thus served as a factor. Alarmed, she talked to the therapist about stopping the medication. The therapist stated she did not support the move and would not treat her if she was not on the medication. The therapy sessions turned to battles and finally my daughter quit both the therapist and the medication.
She moved on with her medication free life and found a new therapist. She changes jobs, actually began accepting and connecting with family members again and moved on. Then the wolf came out of hiding and started e-mailing my daughter with bills. We found out that during the treatment, the therapist never filed a claim with the insurance that my daughter had through her dad. After my daughter left, she filed and then when the insurance did not pay, she started harassing my daughter.
During the 7 months of treatment, the therapist never once sent a bill or requested payment. Now she was e-mailing the bills and threatening to turn it over the a collection agency. We tried to intervene and discuss this with the therapist, but nothing seemed to matter but the money. Before we knew about the delay in billing we called and explained how my daughter’s dad was the one responsible for her coverage since she was student and therefore responsible for the bill. She told us that she would contact him. We never hear anymore for a couple of months and then my daughter received a notice from a collection agency. We followed the rules and filed a disclaimer and waited for an answer.
Today the answer came. My daughter called in tears as she received a summon about the claim. She is torn up over it. I talked to her about getting legal counseling. We will get all our ducks in a row to protest the charges, but the damages and toll this is taking on my daughter’s emotions right now cannot be fixed.
I too am sick… sick with worry… worried about my daughter and what she will or will not do… I am also worried about all other young women… all others who see this therapist… a wolf in sheep’s clothing causes greater damage because the sheep builds up trust and then once it is established, the wolf comes out and savagely tears it away… A wolf preys on the weakest of the herd… Is she any different than my daughter’s dad, the molester?
