As someone who just finished grad school to be a therapist, I can say this is a much debated topic amongst therapists themselves. In my experience the majority of potential Ts agree with stopdog: internet searching is a fact of modern life and does not constitute any kind of boundary violation (a therapist snooping on a client, however, may be). The internet is public and the info found for free online should be treated as such. The only problem here is the need to tell your T as other posters have already said. I get it, I've been there before and agonized over telling them before finally deciding not to. I wanted to tell because I felt guilty and was afraid he knew and was upset with me. He did know and wasn't upset but that was all that came of my knowing. Nothing was said beyond don't worry about it since he's not allowed to discuss her personal life - that would have been the boundary violation. Try to remember that and maybe the issue will be deflated a bit. You don't need to be so hard on yourself since it's human nature to be curious about people. Especially when you know the information is so easily available with the click of a mouse.

I've found that my internet searching is fueled by boredom and the accessibility of looking up an endless array of topics online, people included. It's a new pastime and a huge time killer. It's also very common. When I am too busy to engage in internet searching I honestly feel a lot better emotionally and otherwise. Maybe your T can help you find ways to control your impulses so you can direct your energy toward something that causes less distress. That's the only reason to stop though- you are not hurting you T. Therapists who demand clients not google them or other people baffle me since it is a ridiculous request. It should be assumed that people google each other and professionals should take appropriate measures to maintain privacy. If you can find a lot of info about your Ts private life on social media then that is on the T to control, not the client. What is in your control is how you use any information you find and what you focus on in session.