Should you be able to review your psychotherapist on Yelp?
That’s the question psychologist Keely Kolmes asks in The New York Times the other day, and the answer is — yes, but.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with the idea behind having public reviews of health care professionals, including psychologists and therapists. But as Dr. Kolmes notes, what makes sense for a housekeeper, plumber or restaurant review becomes a bit difficult when dealing with confidential health information — which includes a person’s relationship with a therapist.
A psychotherapy relationship is a very unique relationship. A person can have a bad therapy experience with a perfectly good therapist, and vice-a-versa. The current set of review websites, like Yelp, really aren’t very good when it comes to understanding the unique and complex relationship people have with their therapist.