My daughter and I have had the unfortunate experience of working with Kimberly Smith and Emily Rodriguez. I had researched local therapists to help my daughter process trauma that occurred while in her mother’s care, and K&E Therapy was the only practice that would be willing to appear in court to testify to their "professional opinions.”
I was concerned from the beginning when K&E Therapy did not collect any intake forms or attempt to determine why my daughter would be attending. I made numerous requests for a discussion about our experiences and court appearances that resulted in me having custody prior to my daughter's first session, but I received no response. After the first session, I emphasized to both therapists that communication was not only vital to me, but it was also court ordered that the therapists provide updates to both parents following every session. After six sessions and multiple ignored requests for updates, I finally learned they had violated the court order and were only providing updates to my child’s mother. They acknowledged the error and assured me I would receive updates moving forward. Not only did they continue to not provide updates to me, they also violated HIPAA by informing a third party about my daughter’s sessions without permission or “best interest” necessity.
Beyond their lack of communication and privacy violations, their professional misconduct and lack of boundaries was very concerning. They contacted my daughter’s mother via social media, questioning my salary/employment, and belittling me by calling me "stupid" and other inappropriate names. They informed my daughter’s mother that they had to “pretend to not be her friend” in an email that I was included in. They made jokes about our custody arrangements and advised her how to get more time with our daughter, against the court recommendations. Despite efforts to work as a team in my daughter’s care, the therapists continued to alienate me and try to allude to me as the source of my daughter’s problems.
After presenting the dialogue between Kimberly/Emily and my daughter’s mother to court, the judge was in disbelief in the lack of professional conduct and care for my daughter. He immediately allowed me to dismiss them and find a therapist that would provide the care my daughter needs and work professionally with both parents. I will also be going to the Board of Behavioral Sciences to provide the extensive evidence regarding their inappropriate conduct that could have had detrimental impact on my daughter and her well-being had she remained under their care. These therapists should not be allowed to continue to practice, based on our experience of violating court orders and unprofessional conduct, as well as their complete disregard for my daughter’s mental health and privacy.
Finding a therapist is difficult, finding one that's good with teens has proven to be even more so. Emily at K&E has been amazing and has helped our child make so much progress. We were starting to lose hope that we'd find someone who could connect with our child.