By Royce Jalazo, Psy.D.

Before beginning therapy with any mental health professional, you should know a little bit about their credentials and what is considered inappropriate in therapy.

1) Verify the licensure of anyone claiming to practice as a mental health professional.

First and foremost, your provider should have a clear and active license to practice his or her profession.  The Florida Department of Health governs the practice of all mental health professionals in the State of Florida.  You may visit the FDOH online verification Web page to look up the practitioner’s license. 

The FDOH Web site will give you their practicing profession (e.g., psychologist, mental health counselor, etc.) and whether there is or has been any discipline on file.  If he or she has been disciplined there will be a link containing the exact nature of the violation and what their governing board has done about it.  Some violations can result in suspension of a license temporarily or removal of it altogether. 

Be wary of those practitioners whose licenses do not match their education and training.  For example, if someone has a Ph.D. and is practicing with a license for a master’s level clinician, then you need to investigate the reason for this as it could mean that this individual could not pass the licensing examination at the doctoral-level or his or her training as a Ph.D. was not in a mental health related field. 

2) Conduct a Google Search.

Nowadays Google can pretty much tell you anything that you want to know about anyone.  Taking a moment to conduct a Google search on a therapist can really pay off.  Reputable mental health practitioners will be listed on only upstanding sites (e.g., their own Web or other respected mental health Web sites).

I once received a telephone call from a very distressed individual who had a terrible session with a therapist.  Immediately after the session, he went home, Googled the therapist and got quite a shock.  The Internet search revealed that not only was that practitioner’s license suspended for drug abuse, he was also listed on several sexually tinged Web sites.

3) Trust your gut. 

Just as the client in the above example was able to do… trust your gut instincts about the therapist.  The most important healing aspect of any therapy experience is the positive rapport that one feels with the therapist.  If you feel heard, validated, and understood, then you are probably with the right therapist for you.  Alternatively, if you feel uncomfortable, then it may be a sign that you are not with the right therapist or that something may be wrong with the therapy. 

You should know, though, that within psychotherapies there is usually a period of time in which discomfort may arise as you begin to process difficult material.  However, this usually occurs after you have established a safe and trusting relationship with your therapist and you have begun to let down your walls (defenses) enough to get to more painful aspects of your life.  Feeling immediate discomfort with a therapist may be a bad sign.

4) Sexual activity (touching) in therapy is never appropriate. 

Even when seeking therapy for sexual dysfunction (with or without your partner) sexual touch does not take place in therapy.  In the State of Florida it is a third degree felony to have sexual relations with a current or former client/patient.   If you are being asked to participate in such behavior with a therapist or partner in the therapy session, then he or she should be reported to the Florida Department of Health immediately and you should terminate therapy and seek assistance from another qualified mental health practitioner.

You also need to know that therapists are never allowed to have sex with their clients/patients, even after the therapy service has concluded.  This is punishable by removing the therapist’s license to practice (usually permanently) and in some instances there may be jail time.

5) Be wary of any mental health professional who promises a cure or claims to have all the answers.

No treatment is failproof and some people actually experience a worsening of symptoms after beginning treatment!  For these reasons, psychologists are prevented from making statements that suggest a guarenteed positive outcome (see Florida Statute 490.009, Discipline: Section (d)).

6) When in doubt check the ethical code of the practitioner’s discipline.

All mental health practitioners are bound by a code of conduct that is defined by their discipline of practice.  Below are some useful links that will provide you with additional information about the proper practice of several disciplines:

Marriage and Family Therapists: American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)

Mental Health Counselors: American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA)

Psychoanalysts: American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA)

Psychologists: Ethical Principals of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Social Workers: National Association of Social Workers (NASW)