- Joined
- Sep 8, 2010
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A friend is begging me to ask you guys so I thought I would do her a favor. She is applying for volunteer hotline counseling and they require a Personal Reference. The personal reference can't be a relative. My friend asks if it is adequate to provide her psychotherapist as reference. She has already contacted the therapist and the therapist has agreed. She finished her therapy with success. I told her it was a big NO NO to provide her psychotherapist as reference for graduate admissions but I am not sure for circumstances involving hotline counseling.
What do you guys think?
I have been a hotline counsellor for three years now and also have been in charge of training new volunteers and I have to say I would find it odd if someone provided their psychotherapists as a "personal reference" - not necessarily what I'm looking for from a reference.
The therapist is a pathetic example of what not to be like. Anyone with a backbone would just try to understand the patient's reason for presenting this reference request. Instead, we see a classic example of a therapist afraid to hurt the client; afraid to do anything but please.
Internal conflicts over the use of aggression is one of the most problematic characteristics of our ilk.
The situation may be more complicated than that.