Pay it forward
Why is it that no one ever calls me back? This is a statement that I hear nearly every day from people searching for mental health services. I’m in agreement. It is mystifying that phone calls from people searching for clinicians go unanswered. If psychologists could do one thing to improve public perception, it should be to assist people who ask us how to access a therapist.
Full disclosure, there have been times when I have not returned phone calls from potential new clients or dropped the ball in answering an email inquiry. I get so overloaded with work at times that I’m not able to effectively do my job. Part of that job is to ensure that potential clients who reach out to me get the courtesy of a return phone call.
Everyone faces time constraints, and this is particularly true for solo practitioners who see patients and function as their own scheduler, receptionist, and bookkeeper. Being busy is the common reason for not returning phone calls from potential clients. One therapist told me that she doesn’t call people back and assumes that the caller will realize that she isn’t taking new patients.
How many days, I wondered, does it take for the would-be client to realize that no one will be calling her back? Often, I want to rationalize to myself that I simply don’t have the staff to follow up on every inquiry. But when I was searching for help for a family member, I remember how discouraged I was by the process.
If it is difficult for psychologists to find help for our own families, imagine the difficulties faced by the person who is completely unfamiliar with the field of mental health? Worse yet, imagine how demoralizing it is for the client who is depressed to be ignored by those from whom he seeks help?
I have reached out to colleagues on the Psychology Today directory website periodically. In general, about one-third of people that I email do not respond back at all. Others graciously write back to let me know that they are not taking on new clients. It is a hard truth that our field lacks the workforce to meet the demand of people seeking treatment. Yet, we don’t need to make it harder by being unhelpful to people who contact us looking for help.
It is humbling to be searching for a mental health provider. Sometimes therapists give the impression that it is near impossible to find a decent psychologist who accepts insurance. Many excellent psychologists do not accept insurance reimbursement and with good reason. But when a would-be client is looking for a psychologist on their panel, it is not helpful to be unsympathetic nor is there educational benefit to suggest that there are few psychologists on insurance panels.
Redirecting the caller to their insurance panel or online directory is a courtesy that takes little effort.
Jonathan Raskin, PhD, argues in a 2021 Psychology Today column that not calling potential clients back violates all six of American Psychological Association’s ethical principles of beneficence and maleficence; fidelity and responsibility; integrity; justice as well as respect for people’s rights and dignity. I had not explicitly thought of the need to return phone calls to potential new clients as an ethical issue but agree that this should be the minimum standard for our profession.
Personally, I find that rather than lack of time, my biggest challenge in calling back potential new patients is the difficulty of knowing that the person is in need and being limited in my ability to be of help.
But far better to wish I could do more than to let the person’s inquiry go unanswered. It feels good to set another person on the right path to finding a provider. If the only thing I can do is empathize and provide encouragement, it is still better than silence. It is a tiny act of kindness that serves as a way of paying it forward.
We have a unique opportunity to serve as good ambassadors when we return a phone call or help a person to navigate the complex terrain of outpatient mental health. It takes only a few extra minutes to provide referral information to other sources, be it a publication, a directory, or other source and point the person in the right direction.