I have
been seeing a therapist for three years and really disclosed a lot to her
and I trusted her. She bought a home in another part of the state (500 miles
away) and moved there. I asked her if I could continue to see her once a
month (I would go there to meet with her); however, she said that she wanted
me to see someone here in town because this was unethical on her part to
continue to see me if she wasn’t living here locally. Is there a law
that governs this (that therapists can not see clients that live hundreds
of miles away)? I mean I hear of online therapy so why wouldn’t I be
able to continue my therapy once a month long distance?
There are many things in life that are unethical even if
they aren’t illegal. From the way you describe things, it sounds as
if your psychotherapist is referring to the fact that long-distance psychotherapy
cannot really provide all the immediate support and regular monitoring that
good psychotherapy should provide. It may be possible, therefore, that your
psychotherapist believes you still need more frequent treatment than once
a month. Thus, to see you only once a month could, in her eyes, be unethical.
There is nothing inherently wrong, however, in a client traveling a long
distance for psychotherapy.
Your psychotherapist
ethically owes you a clear and
honest explanation
of her reasons for not wanting to continue treatment long-distance. It could
be that she just wants to get rid of you, so she is being vague in the hope
that you will let the issue drop.
In good psychotherapy
everything should be discussed up-front and you shouldn’t be left wondering
what is going on. But some bad psychotherapists are as afraid of their own
emotional lives as they are of their clients’ emotions.
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