[thawing]

Just something I've been wondering about/paranoid about... What if your t read this forum?

It's fairly easy to find and it comes up as one of the top results 90% of the time I google anything about therapists.

Especially because a lot of situations are quite specific to individual circumstances... I mean I would love to start a thread and get some stuff about t off my chest but what if they found it and figured out it was you?

[stopdog]

First, I don't think any one is all that unique and people tend have certain types of issues which makes it harder for one to be picked out of a crowd of others. Second, i doubt the therapist I see cares enough to look or try to figure it out. Third, I have not said anything here I would not tell her about if asked. Fourth I doubt if they would care even if they could pick out a client.

[bamapsych]

There was a thread here a few months ago like this. I agree with everything stopdog said. If T did figure me out, it would just give her more info on how to help me. There's not much that I hold back in therapy, so she knows most everything about me that's of any importance/significance.

[Miswimmy1]

I worry about this as well. I told her that I am on here, but... yeah

I tell myself that she doesn't hav time to go through and look for me, and look for enough clues to be sure that it is me... but i dont know.

[Sila]

I doubt they'd bother trying to pinpoint clients on a large forum like this. So many people sound alike, and as long as the T's full name isn't put out on the forum I don't think they'd have any clue who is talking about who.

Funny enough, to a slightly related topic, I follow my T's husband on twitter and he follows me back. I've always wondered if maybe he'd put the 'pieces together' but I don't think about it too much. We never talk other than when he apologized for keeping my T late by a few minutes. (They work together in the same office).

[sconnie892]

I am guessing many t's don't have the time to filter through threads looking for clients. Personally, I wouldn't care if my t read my posts and figured out it was me. I also doubt if she did that she would bring it up in a session.

[Wren_]

sometimes things t says, I think he does. could be paranoia though

[mixedup_emotions]

I cringe at the thought....but I'd imagine that it would ultimately be helpful. If he did find me here, I would hope that he wouldn't tell me.

[critterlady]

After working with clients all day, I think that reading PC forums is pretty far down the list of things he'd want to do in his spare time.

If he did and somehow recognized me, I would welcome his thoughts on what I post. There's very little about me that he doesn't already know.

[skysblue]

I agree with critterlady. I can't imagine my T wanting to take the time or energy to read through the ton of threads that get started on this forum. Really, now? I suspect after a day of helping people with their emotional issues, adding more hours to that kind of workload would not be very appealing to them. They need to decompress too.

AND, whatever is discussed here on PC are topics and issues they get to face regularly. Why would they want to face more of it - without compensation?

So, I'd say not to worry. The odds would seem very slim indeed that our T's even visit this forum and then come on the day/ week that our comments are posted AND recognize us also? Nah...

[nicoleb2]

If my t read this site, it would make her job a lot easier, because sometimes it's a whole lot easier to talk about stuff to complete strangers than it is my t. This would give her a lot of info

I agree with most. I personally do not think my T (or many T's) wants to read a psychotherapy forum after working all day. I told her I'm here. I don't post about my sessions though so her finding who I am is not likely. But if she does somehow know me if she reads here...well....then....so be it. I got nothing to hide.

[Victoria'smom]

I know T has looked up some things on-line that I mentioned. Including things that were interesting to me and things that slipped. Does she read PC ? I doubt it but I've gave her my username if she was ever interested.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by Sila

So many people sound alike, and as long as the T's full name isn't put out on the forum I don't think they'd have any clue who is talking about who.

well, if they read 'T and I shared cupcakes for my birthday this week' or 'T and I went for a walk by the lake' etc, they might have a leetle clue...

I've never mentioned PC to my T (it just doesn't have any bearing on what we discuss in therapy), so that's one reason I don't worry about it. But even if he knew I was here, my T has a very busy, active life outside his office and going on a psychotherapy forum and reading MORE about patients and psychotherapy just wouldn't be part of his own self care.

He's active in reading and researching psychotherapy materials, he runs workshops and groups in the evening, etc., but if he wants to learn more about psychotherapy (and he's always furthering his knowledge-base), he'll does it through professional means rather than a patient forum.

I agree with the others, I doubt my t would want to spend time reading a psychology forum after working with clients all day. But it wouldn't bother me if she did see things I post here. She already knows everything I've said here anyway and then some!!

I think underneath the 'fear' is a desire.

You hired them, you are free to roam about the country and post your face off... they have a confidentiality they must keep, you however do not.

[LoneWolfie]

This question has come up before and I mentioned it to my t and she told me "she hasn't got time to snoop on clients."

[struggling2]

(in case T is reading this and knows its me)

HI T! Can you read my stuff so you will then know everything i dont tell you so i dont have to tell you

Thanks,
Struggling

In all seriousness though, I dont think they have the time nor the desire to dig to figure out if a post they found is indeed a client of theirs. I think you're safe

[Dreamy01]

I used to worry a lot about my T identifying me but I think if she did spot a post and suspect it's written by me I suspect she would stop reading immediately. In the UK it could be considered an ethical breach of some kind especially as it would give her information about me that didn't come from source. It's my right to post here and obviously her right to read what she wants, but when it comes to knowing more about me than she should, I think my rights to confidentiality would come into play. So I try not to worry about it.

[skysblue]

Originally Posted by artemis-within

But it wouldn't bother me if she did see things I post here. She already knows everything I've said here anyway and then some!!

Same here. I try my darndest to be completely honest with my T including any issues I have with her. So, it wouldn't be a worry for me at all if she saw any of my posts or threads. In fact, I would welcome it because then I would save time/money by having to repeat it in session. We could move more quickly along.

I do not want to hide anything from T. She is the one I go to for help and if I'm not being forthright with her, she is less able to guide me.