Thank you Kate too. I had rushed in with questions and no thank you for a very good article. Sorry! Better late than never.

I don’t generally ask prior therapists to forward the entire chart. Part of that is that I like to learn about my client from my client rather than through someone else’s impressions. But there are circumstances in which it makes sense to speak to the former therapist. If I get a release of information, I’m generally having a 5-10 minute phone conversation with the other therapist in which I’m asking pointed questions about length of treatment, diagnostic impressions, and potential risk issues (suicide risk, etc.). I *always* discuss with the client the types of questions I’d like to ask, and I’d hope the client would let me know if s/he worried that a poor connection with the therapist might influence the information I’d receive.

When I’m in the position of being asked to give the same, I may mention it if I had a difficult time connecting with the client or if we had ongoing conflicts because this *may* be useful information diagnostically (about the client). But then, it could always simply just be about me or our personality match (or mismatch). What I’m trying to say is that I’d hope that any negative responses could be contained and directly communicated in this manner so as not to seep into diagnosis/interpretations that would be passed along more indirectly. I would also hope for the same from clinicians making referrals to me.

While it’s definitely possible to inherit someone else’s negative feelings about a client, I’ve had enough experiences getting a referral of a “difficult client,” who I found delightful, and referring my own “difficult” cases to others who were able to make a great connection. So I’d hope we would all feel free to allow that sometimes it’s just poor chemistry and not necessarily about the client and hopefully clinicians aren’t using the chart to act out in reaction to their clients! But I won’t deny that it’s possible for that to happen.

I hope that makes sense.

@Craig asked whether new therapists have contact with the old ones. Usually, if I see a new patient who has recently worked extensively with another therapist, I will ask the client if they are willing to sign a release of information to have me speak to the previous therapist, if they think it will be useful. We cannot speak to the other therapist without the written release of information.

Also, clients can always request their notes. Depending upon the laws of the state, therapists have a certain time period in which they must respond to this (written) request. Most therapists will prefer to release a summary of the records rather than a photocopy of the entire chart. Patients can be expected to have to pay any clerical fees for copying. (In CA, we have 10 days to provide a summary and 15 days to comply with request for the full record.)

California psychologists must maintain the chart for a minimum of 7 years following the termination of therapy.

Hope that’s helpful.

Thanks so much for your feedback, and good wishes for your upcoming sessions!

I want to know what happens to the case notes. Can you request them or a copy of them from the therapist when you terminate your contract?

I liked how you explained that, Kate. Thank you and well done to your friend.