Psychologist busted for possession of a controlled substance!

[Orraccle]

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My psychologist gave me her personal phone number and told me to call her only in case of an emergency. I googled her phone number and found her address and date of birth. I googled her court records and found that she was busted for possession of a controlled substance 5 years ago. (Name, address, and date of birth listed in the court record match hers). According to the court record there was probable cause and she pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. I also googled her and discovered that she did not become a licensed psychologist until last year. Since she is in her early 30's, her problem with the law would have occurred when she was in her mid 20's and was not a psychologist, which means that she did not plead guilty to possession of a controlled substance because she got caught holding on to a patient's medication.

What I want to know is whether it would make sense for me to discuss this issue with the psychologist or go straight to her boss? My concern with discussing this issue with the psychologist is that she might not appreciate learning that I have googled her and discovered this information about her past. My concern discussing this issue with her boss and asking for another psychologist is that if the boss is not aware of the psychologist's past I might get her in trouble for something that's none of my business.

 

[Lisa44201]

Why did you Google her? Do you Google all your professors, too? How about your mechanic, MD, etc.? What does Google's version of previous history, which may or may not be accurate, have to do with her competence as a psychologist today?

 

[nononora]

My psychologist gave me her personal phone number and told me to call her only in case of an emergency. I googled her phone number and found her address and date of birth. I googled her court records and found that she was busted for possession of a controlled substance 5 years ago. (Name, address, and date of birth listed in the court record match hers). According to the court record there was probable cause and she pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. I also googled her and discovered that she did not become a licensed psychologist until last year. Since she is in her early 30's, her problem with the law would have occurred when she was in her mid 20's and was not a psychologist, which means that she did not plead guilty to possession of a controlled substance because she got caught holding on to a patient's medication.

What I want to know is whether it would make sense for me to discuss this issue with the psychologist or go straight to her boss? My concern with discussing this issue with the psychologist is that she might not appreciate learning that I have googled her and discovered this information about her past. My concern discussing this issue with her boss and asking for another psychologist is that if the boss is not aware of the psychologist's past I might get her in trouble for something that's none of my business.

It is a tricky situation for sure, and I'm not sure you will find a definitive answer here.

 

[busybusybusy]

My two cents...

If you felt she was a competent and reliable psychologist before googling her (with personal information that she entrusted you with), then I don't see why your opinion of her would have changed because of this new information. People make mistakes and grow from them. I'm sure everyone (including me and you) have done things in their past that they're not proud of, but that doesn't mean we should be punished for them forever.

 

[FuturePhD2]

I'm not really sure this is an appropriate discussion for the board. It seems akin to giving someone treatment advice, which we definitely don't do.

 

[bunderj]

It seems like this is a big deal for you. I personally really wouldn't care if my psychologist was busted for controlled subtances last night, so long as I felt we were doing good work together....but I recognize that as my own personal bias, and this is different for everyone. It is clear that this information is making it difficult for you to continue with treatment. I don't know that anyone on this forum can give you advice here, but my two cents is that you either talk to her about it (because if there is no way this won't impact your treatment if you keep quiet, pretending otherwise is silly), or else find a new therapist. And lay off the googling next time😉

My psychologist gave me her personal phone number and told me to call her only in case of an emergency. I googled her phone number and found her address and date of birth. I googled her court records and found that she was busted for possession of a controlled substance 5 years ago. (Name, address, and date of birth listed in the court record match hers). According to the court record there was probable cause and she pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. I also googled her and discovered that she did not become a licensed psychologist until last year. Since she is in her early 30's, her problem with the law would have occurred when she was in her mid 20's and was not a psychologist, which means that she did not plead guilty to possession of a controlled substance because she got caught holding on to a patient's medication.

What I want to know is whether it would make sense for me to discuss this issue with the psychologist or go straight to her boss? My concern with discussing this issue with the psychologist is that she might not appreciate learning that I have googled her and discovered this information about her past. My concern discussing this issue with her boss and asking for another psychologist is that if the boss is not aware of the psychologist's past I might get her in trouble for something that's none of my business.

 

[psich]

I'm not really sure this is an appropriate discussion for the board. It seems akin to giving someone treatment advice, which we definitely don't do.

I agree.

 

[pingouin]

Agreed, this is the equivalent of giving medical advice, which we do not permit on SDN. Closing.

Regulars: next time, please report the post so the mods can take action. Thanks.