Complaint Review: Mary Perdue LPC Tucson

Like the first reviewer, I also met with Mary Perdue and found her to be unprofessional at best. Like the other reviewer, she was unavailable for appointments, needed to use a timer to let her know when our appointments were finished (!), left clients waiting outside in the hot sun, and would not remove from her Consent to Treatment Form the sentences indicating that, by signing, she would have my permission to speak with her "colleagues" whenever she wanted. After searching, I found out the reason for this, as well as the reason for why her rates are so "accommodating." It's not because she's trying to be kind.

Here's what I say:

Would you have therapy with someone who is frequently treated for mental illness, has substance abuse problems, and admits that her substance abuse interferes with her ability to work as a therapist? (This can be verified by requesting a copy of her licensure file, approximately $9.00, by clicking here: http://www.bbhe.state.az.us/Forms/pubinfo.pdf, selecting "certification file," and mailing it to the address indicated.) Or, would you stay away from such a therapist? Also, would you have therapy with someone if you knew you also had to:

Ask her to cross out the sentences in her Consent to Treatment form that say that, by signing, you give her permission to speak with her colleagues about you whenever she wants? This is unethical and unprofessional. Qualified, professional therapists ask for your written permission each time they want to discuss your case with their colleagues. Not so with Ms. Perdue. Because of her alcohol and drug abuse, she is very forgetful and is required to speak with her colleagues about you before making any therapeutic recommendations. In effect, you're paying her to have people you don't know diagnose and treat you, as well as learn everything about you. Not a good situation.

Ask her at the beginning of each session whether she is abusing any drugs that may interfere with her ability to work with you during your session. (She admits this in her licensure file. You have a right to ask her, the person you're seeing for therapy, whether she is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs during your session. You also have a right to know that she might be. How can you trust a therapist's statements about your mental health if/when she's abusing substances while you're seeing her?)

Ask her, after every 2-3 sessions, for a copy of your therapy notes, to make sure both that she has taken notes and that she can't later falsify them (which she'll do because, if any further complaints are made against her, she'll lose her job and, essentially, be unemployable because of her mental health and substance abuse problems).

Make sure that your treatment plan is written out, has Ms. Perdue's signature, that you have read through it and agree with what it says, and that you have a written copy.

There are many therapists in Tucson. This is the one to avoid. I learned the hard way by meeting with her and wasting my money. Perhaps this message will help you avoid making the same mistake.

Dan
Tucson, Arizona
U.S.A.