discussion
As the field of psychology and other disciplines has continued to expand, opportunities to engage in multiple professional activities have also increased. At the same time, this abundance of opportunities also presents ongoing challenges requiring an understanding of personal limits. To rise above these challenges, we as professionals need to understand their limits and apply this understanding to professional situations that we encounter. How would you make a referral and what you would say to your client?
There could be many situations in which a referral may be necessary. If a therapist feels like the patient has issues that they are not equipped to deal with, or the therapist has had a prior relationship with the patient in some manner. The proper way to deal with a situation of this sort would be to discuss the issue with the client so they completely understand why a referral must be made. It is important that the client understand they therapist is not just dumping them but that they would be better served under another therapist’s care.
I have been in a position where this occurred. Many years ago, I was seeing a therapist that referred me to a psychiatrist for medication. Arriving at the office of the Psychiatrist, I realized we had met before. I was an intake officer for a psychiatric unit of a hospital. This psychiatrist’s daughter came in for inpatient treatment at our hospital and I did the intake interview on her. It was a very volatile situation and the daughter was being forced into treatment. When I went into the office of the psychiatrist, we first discussed whether I was comfortable being treated by her or would I rather have a referral. She was afraid I would not be able to fully trust her because of what I witnessed between her and her daughter. I decided to remain with her and chose not to take a referral.
The ACA Code of Ethics, 2014 has specific guidelines for handling referrals. These guidelines are in place so that there is no harm done to the client when doing a referral. This would be especially important if it were a client you had been working with for a while and suddenly found yourself needing to refer them to another professional.
