What to file

[gipsy]

 Dear Socrateaser :'
    Custodial Mom Has signed a release for  My son's counseling records :
   The counselor wrote me a letter that stated that Mom Released these records , And a release to communicate with me In writing only , And thats why 'she will not talk to me on the phone or respond to my calls or set an appointment with me' ,
   I disagree ,  I would like to dialog with the counselor ,
   My son is six Years old , there is no restrictions in the parenting plan .
    I called her atty and asked if He thought it would do any good to send him info And have it forwarded to her through him ,
  He said they "haven't talked for a Looong time ", with the extra   ooo's as written in long And said " I was talking to the choir " And that "you should talk to her "
   1: What do I file to get the Custodial Mom to give me a complete release of counseling records , And ability to talk to counselor in person About My son ?
 
Any other thoughts about the atty saying that. like maybe she didn't pay the bill ?
 
  any one that has filed this I wash state I also posted on general issues

[socrateaser]

>   1: What do I file to get the Custodial Mom to give me a
>complete release of counseling records , And ability to talk
>to counselor in person About My son ?

Under the federal HIPPA, a parent can protect his/her child's medical records from disclosure or release them to others. Once the parent has consented to releasing the records and permited communication re the child's condition, a restriction on the type of communication is merely contractual between the parent and the therapist, and federal law is no longer implicated.

So, you could file a motion with the court to clarify your custodial rights and order the parent to permit you to dialog with the therapist, on grounds that the other parent's actions are not in the child's best interests and unreasonably impair the child's opportunity to obtain the best possible use of the counseling services.

You could also simply serve a subpoena on the counselor and depose him/her on any questions you have, because the therapist-client privilege has been impliedly waived by the other parent. But, this is inefficient and expensive.

You may also want to consider not looking a gift horse in the mouth. Forced written communication may operate to your advantage, because you will have proof of everything that transpires.

>  
>Any other thoughts about the atty saying that. like maybe she
>didn't pay the bill ?

Opposing counsel is prohibited by the Rules of Professional Responsibility from giving you legal advice. It violates the attorney's duty to advance the interests of his/her own client because it creates a conflict of interest, and it violates the rule requiring attorneys to treat opposing parties fairly, because the attorney cannot possibly zealoulsy advance your interests as well as your own attorney could.

You shouldn't ask this attorney for any further advice and the attorney shouldn't be giving you any.

As far as the other parent not paying her legal fees, it's really irrelevant.

[gipsy]

OK The counselor left Me a message stateing that it is Her policy to only communicate in writing when this type of custody situation is involved with her as the counselor , And said how the situation is  full of conflicting views ,etc
   So My problem is this ,
  I have recieved some coiunseling info , But is is from approx 12/1/05 to 3/25/06
  My son has told me about counseling for some time using the nameof the counselor so I reasonably believ this is not all the records ,
     To Me There doesn't seem to be any issue with my son  ;
    I suspect the mother is trying to take my son to get the counselor to verify something against Me . There is nothing Period :
    Next ;It appears My son has benifited from this because Mom has stopped bad mouthing Me since aboutwhen the counseling started , I think this is likely to because he told the counselor Mom Hates Dad , Because he told me that also ,
   1; What would you advise ?
   
I certainly don't want to continue any thing that will be fruitless ;
   2 Has there been much ever derived from useing the court to
ask for ALL the records ,
   3 Should I modify the Parenting plan to say I should or. will be involved with counseling of my son including open conversations with the counselor ?
  4 Or should I just drop it ?

[socrateaser]

>   1; What would you advise ?

First, most therapists want to do a good job for their clients, and that includes the child's parents. So, don't go in thinking that there may be some sort of conspiracy to withhold info from you, because you will put the therapist on the defensive.

Second, like it or not, therapists don't get paid for telling their clients that they're "all better," and my experience is that a therapist will keep a person coming back as long as that person wants to return. In the case of the child, unfortunately, it may be the parent who wants to continue the therapy, when in fact the child is bored stiff with the whole deal and getting nothing out of it (but, you'll be getting the bill).

So, what I suggest is that you emphasize to the therapist that you are only interested in child's welfare, and then ask what the therapist views the child's original diagnosis, what specific evidence of progress has been achieved thus far, and at what point the therapist will be satisfied that the problem is remedied.

Also, ask if the therapist has any specific suggestions that either parent can do to facilitate the recovery, and ask if the therapist would like both parents to come to a session.

Don't expect a precise response, because therapists are frequently very vague about what's needed (mainly because most therapists don't actually know what's needed in my opinion, and they mostly hope that they can get the child to simply talk it out and feel better as a result).

What you're trying to do is get several responses from the therapist, so that you can reasonably argue to a court if necessary, that no progress has been made and that nothing further is to be gained by the therapy.

You can't do this without several correspondences which demnstrate no progress.

Just make certain that when you write to the therapist that you are continuing to emphasize the child's welfare, rather than your own or the cost of the therapy, etc., because you don't want to be viewed as hostile to the situation -- or cheap (even though you may not be able to afford the therapy).

>  
>I certainly don't want to continue any thing that will be
>fruitless ;
>   2 Has there been much ever derived from useing the court
>to
>ask for ALL the records?

I don't think it's necessary at the moment, because you should be able to get a dialog going and find out what you need to know.

>   3 Should I modify the Parenting plan to say I should or.
>will be involved with counseling of my son including open
>conversations with the counselor ?

Try my suggestions first.

>  4 Or should I just drop it ?

See above.