Privacy policy Questions?

So as I've said in other posts, I'm really worried/can't tell my T about certain things that are going on in my life..they're difficult to talk about, and I told my T at the last session that I had things to tell him but was afraid of repercussions that would follow..And he said he can't make any promises about what would happen, but wished he could. Anyway, I didn't tell him anything but I felt better about things when I left. Cut to three days later and I'm back to freaking out again. I have another session tomorrow and I feel like my T knows too much now. I haven't even said much of anything and I feel like maybe I'm making too big of a deal about this now? I don't know. I really hope he doesn't bring it up. AH. Okay, so my question for you all is: if a T suspects something is happening to their client, can they take action without their client's will? Or does the client have to tell their T that something is happening first? And does age make a difference in this? I tried to find my T's confidentiality/privacy policy online, but I can't find it on his website to look for some better answers.

If you are a minor, my understanding (someone correct me if I'm wrong) is that if he suspects abuse, he is legally required to alert authorities. That is not optional. Is that the situation you are in?

It sounds like a lot of your problems are in your own head; your T will not do anything about anything where he does not know what is going on, including guess about what is going on. You have to pretty much say, "I'm going to kill myself this afternoon, 4:00 p.m., in the pantry, with the butter knife" for him to have a clue. Even then he may or may not take any "action" based on how serious he deems the situation. He will not second-guess you and you should not second-guess him. He's there to listen to you, not to judge you.

I agree with farmergirl. If you're a minor, there are different rules your T will have to follow.

Otherwise, could you ask your T for a copy of the policy or ask him to go over it with you? At the start of my sessions, my T took a good amount of time going over her privacy policy and was very clear about when she would have to report things such as a defined plan to harm self or others. It made me feel much better having her go over it with me in detail. She gave me a written copy to take home and I've referred to it a few times.

Another situation where your t would be required to take action would be if you are harming a child or vulnerable adult. A vulnerable adult would be someone who is elderly or disabled.

Of course, t also would be required to take action if YOU are a vulnerable adult being harmed.

EJ

When this came up at the begining of my therapy my T simply said he will report anything that puts my life or anothers in danger.

I agree with the others here---also, if you are harming yourself or he believes you will harm yourself he could take action. In any scenario, someone is being hurt, most likely you. Maybe you should let go and allow him to be your advocate?

Thanks everyone. I'm not harming myself or anyone else, there's just something that happened to me and I just can't seem to tell my T or anyone else. And I'm 21, so I'm not a minor so that makes the privacy laws different, I believe. I had a session today and my T and I talked about why I feel like I can't talk about what happened and whatnot, but I never brought up the privacy thing again. Stupid of me really, because I needed that information. Anyway, I think I'm just gonna forget the whole thing until I see my T again next week. Ay yi yi.

Well I was 21 when I told my T I was SA, and I was afraid he would have to report it. The answer was no, because I was not in present danger and the abuse had stopped and I didn't want to report. We danced around the topic for a few sessions to see if it was safe enough to tell him, where he wouldnt have to report. I'm just going to say it felt a lot better to tell him, then to keep it to myself. Good luck, telling your T what you need to.