T breaking confidentiality regarding ED's.

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this has been discussed recently.

I wondered if anyone had any experience of seeing a therapist in private practice who had broken confidentially and spoken to your doctor or a family member (and you were over 18) about your ED? Especially in the UK?

I know there is the self harm element in an agreement, but it gets a bit grey when ED's are concerned.

This is a therapist I referred myself to and GP is not aware. My weight isn't dangerous, but not especially healthy.

Thank you.

Hi Rect0pathic,

i haven't specifically experienced this, however i have been told on 1 occasion by my T that unless i allow her to contact my GP, she will not be able to see me.

Although you say that your weight isn't 'dangerous', on previous posts you have said that you don't have your period/your period has only recently returned (i cant remember which), this indicates that you do have a dangerously low body weight.
Anyway, it's not always about weight, its about behaviours and your health. A bulimic who purges 10 times a day isn't necessarily 'thin', but is not healthy, and in danger.

In my contract with my T, she stipulates that if at any time she feels i am in danger, she has the right to contact my GP but will discuss this with me first (not necessarily to get my permission, but to prepare me and keep communication open).

Has your T done this or are you afraid they are going to?

I don't have any kind of agreement covering self-harm so am not sure what you mean by an agreement. But my T doesn't have contact info for my doctor or my family.

In my experience, (in the us) you would have to be in extreme medical danger for a T to break confidentiality because the burden of proof is so high and they could lose their license to practice if you chose to sue. I think most Ts would push and encourage you to do things but crossing that line with an adult ED almost never happens.

I self harm, binge /purge and have suicidal intentions. My therapist has never betrayed me to my husband or my PCP. The only time he stated he had a duty to break confidentiality was when I told him my husband wanted to buy a hand gun and we both went to th NRA Basic Pistol training class. He was and will contact my husband if I tell him we actually bought the gun because he feels I am not yet safe enough in regards to suicide.

Thank you for your replies.

My T told me last week that she thought I should get specialist ED help but I declined. She then said that my ana was a slow suicide and that I needed proper help for that because I was harming myself. I don't think she would break confidentiality, but I was secretly worrying inside.

That's the only reason I ask.

It sounds like your T cares and is concerned about you. Would you reconsider the specialist help? Why did you decline, if you want to say?