# Is this therapist suspicious?



## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

A licensed speech language therapist I found online on her website I contacted about setting up an appointment through the telephone for next week. I will be paying for a 1 hour session on paypal, but this is what she wrote, she says to protect herself for billing purposes. All that is needed for paypal is her email. But she wants to know more to protect herself she says. We live in different states. 

"I need to have your name and address so that I can know with whom I'm dealing, and, since these lessons will not be in person, rather over the telephone, I need to have as much information about you as I can in order to protect myself for billing and payment purposes. I cannot have any "mystery of identity" here; you have information about me from my web site, and I, in turn, need some information about you so I can determine what your goals are and how to proceed. Your name, address and telephone no. are the usual and customary way to identify someone. I can't work with an anonymous, mysterious student - there has to be mutual trust."


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## colder (Oct 5, 2012)

.


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## DiceOfDiscord (Sep 9, 2012)

She might be, or she may have had a bad experience in dealing with a previous patient and is therefore _very_ untrusting. Either way, I probably wouldn't go along with it.


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## MrWibblyWobbly (Mar 2, 2012)

I am actually in school for speech language therapy. I've never heard of paying for something like this through Paypal. For online payments, a therapist usually would have a private, secure section where you can pay via credit card.

Also, you probably don't need to go looking for a therapist in another state. There are speech language therapists all over the place. Go to ASHA's website (http://www.asha.org/proserv/) and search for a therapist closer to you, whom you can pay in person.


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## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

MrWibblyWobbly said:


> I am actually in school for speech language therapy. I've never heard of paying for something like this through Paypal. For online payments, a therapist usually would have a private, secure section where you can pay via credit card.
> 
> Also, you probably don't need to go looking for a therapist in another state. There are speech language therapists all over the place. Go to ASHA's website (http://www.asha.org/proserv/) and search for a therapist closer to you, whom you can pay in person.


on the top of this site it leads to therapists who accept paypal.... i choose another state because that state is where I'm from and I don't want to end up with the accent of the state where I'm currently living


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## Just Lurking (Feb 8, 2007)

It's tough to say without seeing the actual site.

I would look for official certification (is she registered with any reputable national or state organizations?), business registration information (any association with the Better Business Bureau or anyone like that), a privacy policy, etc.


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## MrWibblyWobbly (Mar 2, 2012)

MobiusX said:


> on the top of this site it leads to therapists who accept paypal.... i choose another state because that state is where I'm from and I don't want to end up with the accent of the state where I'm currently living


Hm... what is the problem you're seeking treatment for? Unless it's specifically for accent reduction, you aren't likely to end up talking like a therapist, with whom you only really talk about once or twice a week for an hour. Most people end up working in a different place from where they grew up. Have you talked to this therapist by phone or in person before? You could end up someone from Long Island, or Chicago, or Texas, or anywhere really.

I just realized you seem to be talking about getting speech therapy over telephone... that isn't really a good idea. Over Skype or something, sure. But the phone has limitations. You sometimes have to be able to see the therapist demonstrate something -- like a specific vowel placement or part of the anatomy. Also, if this is the case, it actually makes sense that this person is asking for an address and contact information. Speech therapy by phone isn't really standard, so she probably is making sure she's not being ripped off.

At any rate, like Just Lurking mentioned, just make sure she's ASHA certified and has her CCC (Certificate of Clinical Competence).


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## MobiusX (Nov 14, 2008)

MrWibblyWobbly said:


> Hm... what is the problem you're seeking treatment for? Unless it's specifically for accent reduction, you aren't likely to end up talking like a therapist, with whom you only really talk about once or twice a week for an hour. Most people end up working in a different place from where they grew up. Have you talked to this therapist by phone or in person before? You could end up someone from Long Island, or Chicago, or Texas, or anywhere really.
> 
> I just realized you seem to be talking about getting speech therapy over telephone... that isn't really a good idea. Over Skype or something, sure. But the phone has limitations. You sometimes have to be able to see the therapist demonstrate something -- like a specific vowel placement or part of the anatomy. Also, if this is the case, it actually makes sense that this person is asking for an address and contact information. Speech therapy by phone isn't really standard, so she probably is making sure she's not being ripped off.
> 
> At any rate, like Just Lurking mentioned, just make sure she's ASHA certified and has her CCC (Certificate of Clinical Competence).


i dont have privacy for skype and plus i dont feel comfortable being on cam, i would probably try it if i had privacy, but i dont, so the phone is what i chose, and its to make sure the region where i am living doesnt influence my spanish/ny accent, 9 years in another state ive been living, sibling talk like people from this region, not like they did when living in ny, i maintained it but feel its not as strong


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## Sierpinski (Jun 17, 2012)

I'm not sure what the big deal is. She isn't asking for much.


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## MrWibblyWobbly (Mar 2, 2012)

MobiusX said:


> i dont have privacy for skype and plus i dont feel comfortable being on cam, i would probably try it if i had privacy, but i dont, so the phone is what i chose, and its to make sure the region where i am living doesnt influence my spanish/ny accent, 9 years in another state ive been living, sibling talk like people from this region, not like they did when living in ny, i maintained it but feel its not as strong


Hm... to be honest, this seems like a waste of time and money. Speech-language pathologists/therapists are mostly trained to work with actual medical issues, like delayed language development in children, people who have aphasia (loss of language due to a brain damage), autism, phonological problems like vocal nodules/polyps, etc. I mean, many speech therapists _do_ work with clients who want accent modification, but it's not something they really receive a lot of training in. Someone who works with actors, like a dialect coach, would probably be better at this.


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