Is this odd for a psychologist to do?

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I am supposed to be going for my screening tomorrow. I have never met the psychologist I am supposed to see, and I booked this appointment about a week and a half ago. So, we set up a time, then she called yesterday and asked if we could meet later in the day. I said ok. Then tonight at 9:30, she called and asked to move the appointment to an even later time. She also told me that I have to bring cash or a check as her office cannot take credit or debit cards. I am unsure how a place can charge well over 100$ an hour and not have a credit card machine. Anyway, do you think these are signs of bad things to come? Should I keep the appointment I have at the other office or go to this one? My current counsellor told me awhile ago I should not go to this place, but I was going to anyway. Now I am not so sure....

Well, it seems like you should stay away. if this counselor recommended staying away and this person has odd behavior it's probably best not to. it may be nothing, but surely you can find better.

what kinda place is this?

and no doc has ever called me at night. so that's real strange too.

I agree you should stay away! There is something fishy there..

Yeah, that sounds way too strange, not to mention it's unethical on the psychologist's part to call at such an odd time.

I'd stay the hell away. There's absolutely no obligation to go anywhere that you're uncomfortable with.

I'm going into psychology- maybe academic, maybe clinical practice.
If the latter, it will be *ME* working for *MY PATIENTS*.
That it requires a degree doesn't change that someone will be *paying me* for a *service*,
meaning they are officially my employers, no different in the slightest than you'd pay a house cleaner or a tutor or a cabinet installer.
They're not subject to my schedule, *I'm* subject to *theirs*.

Now that that rant's out of the way,
I recently parted ways myself with an endocrinologist who I was seeing for problems losing weight-
it was $60 a visit, supposedly not covered by insurance, and had to be paid in cash only.
That's in addition to the cost of the prescription I was basically going to all this trouble to get my hands on.
The man was quite creepy, and had a horrible bedside manner. I'm truly-relieved my gen-practitioner recommended someone else.

The person you're (twice re-)scheduled to see might be perfectly-lovely, or might have a practice weary of credit cards because they are in an area where credit card theft or other problems of that nature are quite prevalent. Depending on the nature of who they treat, they might have a tumultuous schedule governed by schizophrenics' crises, severely-depressed patients at facilities who act out against themselves, etc.

Whether this person is "fishy", malicious, unprofessional, or simply indifferent to patients such as yourself, I can't say-
but it's not really an issue of "fault"-
the things you described in conjunction add up to not good,
and I'd say it's simply not worth seeing this person if that's how the practice is run-
you deserve better.

I agree with others that this is sounding off. I have had therapists change appointments but only after I had seen them a while and then only once... not twice in the same day.

Thank you all for your comments.

I guess I just have such horrible analytical skills when it comes to people, I always find myself second guessing myself (because I usually jump to the wrong conclusions).

Anyway, I thought it odd that the appointment was changed in the first place, but I thought anything could have happened. But then, calling at nearly 10 to talk about money and another time slot instead, I just thought that was really odd. The counsellor I have now at school, I have been with for more than a year, and she has never steered me wrong. I should have listened to her in the first place. I guess I will call and cancel the appointment in the morning. Thanks again!

You need to do two things: break the appointment, and report him to the board. Psychologists need a license to practice and it sounds like he needs to lose his.

If you feel something is not right then it probably isn't. Even if it is, it doesn't hurt to be on the safe side.

I recently decided to start therapy myself, and I found a psychiatrist online who was very well-credentialed- top of his class, well-known university, competent in several conditions I have related to Aspergers. This info was on a health-professional ratings site, and something in me made me click the link to his more-detailed page before calling.

He'd had his license suspended.
In two states.
For f*cking his female patients while they were undergoing treatment.

Yeah, no.

You'll find that that kind of misconduct is far more common in male therapists than female, although it's not entirely above female therapists. I'm not saying that all male therapists are bad (I'm currently working to become one myself) but you do need to pay close attention, such as taking the steps that you did.

I had a therapist that took only cash/check and called at odd hours then demanded pay for her calling in her off time. She was useless and really creepy, she was more interested in changing my seizure medicine than she was doing her job as a psychatric nurse practisioner. Her changing my seizure medicine would have been really bad since I have life threatning seizures and as of now, I am stable.
She was supposed to have a supervising doctor on the floor by law, but she never did and she had this really cultish music playing in the waiting room. I am glad I found a real doctor when I did.
I find that these therapists that work alone outside of a combined pratice are usually really crappy. Plus they have very little quality control.

so you made the right choice by calling it off.

Jojo

People with a private practice tend not to have credit card machines. The only time I've ever been able to pay with credit card was when somebody was a member of a group practice, and sometimes not even then.

It isn't just doctors. I have never been able to pay plumbers, electricians, carpenters or painters with a credit card. There isn't any connection to how much somebody charges. The tendency is that if somebody is in business just for themself, they don't have a credit card machine.

Buriness owners are charged a fee every time somebody pays them with a credit card. That might have something to do with it.

Calling this late is totally unproffesionnal, stay away from there, I would not report him you got more important things to do with your time