I'm not shaming anyone. I said that it is a moral issue for me, but to each his own--others are free to define their own moral codes for themselves. Due diligence is checking for sanctions and credentials--both of which can be accomplished in the US through a state's dept of health web-site, a professional assoc web-site, or maybe through an insurance provider. Such info is in the public interest.

But checking tax records, home value, FB, etc, has nothing to do with due diligence for treatment purposes. Beyond that, I think any info one gleans, especially about personal social life, is out of context, and so doesn't speak to trustworthiness. I think if someone has a concern of some sort, they should simply ask about it directly.

For me, therapy is about relationship. And this particular relationship allows for a level of directness and honesty not often possible in other relationships, and that is valuable. In many ways, trust in such a relationship goes both ways. I think it is a subversion of that trust to seek information of a personal nature behind the person's back. I would feel the same way about a T who behaves this way toward a client. Generally T's understand the behavior because they see it as reflective of other issues to be addressed; that doesn't mean they wouldn't prefer the behavior not occur.