A couple of posts in another thread got me thinking about this. T1 used to say PC wasn't good thing for me because I was basically allowing strangers' input on my therapy etc. I think what he really didn't like was his own fear of being criticised. Once, after I told him about posting here about something that had happened in therapy with him, he said to me "and I suppose all the responses were anti-me.". So I think it was his insecurity. Actually it was PC input that led me to leave him, so perhaps he knew it would be harder to be a crappy T when I was getting a reality check on here.
Current T thinks PC is good for me, in spite of the fact he knows people occasionally criticise his actions (I read one post out to him once). I think he knows that overall he's helpful to me, so he can take criticism when it might be due. I also get the sense he trusts me to make my own mind up and come to the right decisions.
Other Ts may have other reasons for thinking PC is a good or bad idea, this is just the sense I have had of my therapists.
So does your T know about PC? If so, are they positive, negative or neutral about it? If not, how do you think they would respond?

[captgut]

Yes, he knows.
He was very glad for me. I told him a lot about PC and he liked it very much. And he said "I wish I knew English! I'm sure this forum would be very helpful for me as a specialist".
I gave him the link. I doubt he will ever come here

[ScarletPimpernel]

My T knows that I'm on an online forum. She thinks it's great for me for added support. She does see there's a downside to it too. She doesn't care whether people criticize her. She only minds criticism of me or misunderstandings that happen. She knows I can be direct at times, but she also knows I mean well in everything I do and say. Whereas a lot of people here misunderstand me and think I'm being unsupportive, rude, or criticizing. But she also trusts me to know what's good for me and what's not.

[stopdog]

I do not tell the woman about it - I have no idea why I would - I don't tell her many things that have no bearing on why I hire her and this site is no different.
I can't imagine that she would care or why she would bother caring one way or the other or that I would care about her opinion.

[AllHeart]

New T would think that PC is a great outlet for me. She's all about me getting my needs met (in a healthy way of course).
Old T would have thought it a bad idea out of fear of being criticized and fear of me talking about her personal issues / lack of ethics.

Originally Posted by stopdog

I do not tell the woman about it - I have no idea why I would - I don't tell her many things that have no bearing on why I hire her and this site is no different.
I can't imagine that she would care or why she would bother caring one way or the other or that I would care about her opinion.

I did think about putting a "No, and why on earth should I care what they think?" option with you in mind!

[TishaBuv]

Yes, and he told me it is 'dangerous' because he is CBT and the nature of this is 'talk therapy', opening a dangerous can of worms and getting advice from 'people who don't know what they are talking about'.

I told him I was doing it anyway.

No, it never came up since PC had nothing to do with my therapy (which is why I suspect he'd be neutral about it.)

T isn't the least bit intrested in Internet forums.

[ruh roh]

Yes, but I put other because she hasn't said one way or the other what she thinks, except one time recently when I was bothered by a lot of negativity and she nodded and said she was surprised I was still in therapy after reading all of the stuff that gets posted. You could take from it that she's negative about it, but she has seemed very understanding of people here, so I don't really know.

I'm glad she is open to reading anything and is familiar with underground sites (not this one obviously) and is curious/open minded.

[LonesomeTonight]

Both T and marriage counselor know. My T seems fairly neutral. But MC was saying in session Monday (which I think inspired this thread) that he wished I didn't go on the boards so much. I said I get lots of support and validation here. And he said that he wanted me to not need that outside validation, to believe my thoughts/feelings are valid simply because I'm thinking/feeling them. I said it helped me get a different perspective on what I'm feeling, and he seemed to agree that could be helpful, but not to put too much stock in what people here said because they aren't part of our therapy and don't know what all is really going on. And don't know me--at least in real life!--H, or MC.

In the past, he also spoke out against PC because a thread I'd posted on here led me to think I was being really selfish and reluctant to ask him about a certain topic. When he was totally fine with it (and said so). Another time, I said I was afraid to ask him more about a related topic because some people on here said he'd probably be angry and might lash out at me. When that wasn't the case. I also was afraid he and T would take stuff away from me (like e-mail, etc.) because it had happened to people on the board--and he was like, "Don't read those things!"

[chihirochild]

My T is a total luddite and would not really understand the ways in which it could be bad. I told her about posting on reddit (she had never heard of it lol I had to say "it's like a chat room" and then she sort of understood) and she thought that was a good thing.

[nottrustin]

I have never told her about Pc. I have told her about a support group I belong to that is to support parents of children of ADHD. She thinks it is great. As far as PC I am sure she would be supportive of it but warn that everybody's situation so what is appropriate for one person may not for another.

[kecanoe]

I haven't told them. I am not sure how they would react, probably neutral or positive. I think they would be in favor of support, though possibly not in favor of the amount of time I spend here.

[satsuma]

My T once said to me that people find these kinds of forums useful. It was when I wanted to know something about other people who go to therapy - like what do other people come to therapy for, do other people also find certain things hard, etc. I guess I wanted to know if I was "normal" in the context of therapy, or to have some kind of context for my experiences. Because none of my friends and family go to therapy.
I listened to what he said, but we haven't spoken about it again and he doesn't know I have come here and posted.

[Yours_Truly]

The T and pdoc I told were both positive about it. It may be due to the fact that I mentioned I learned of breathing exercises and CBT for anxiety here. I also don't think they would like the amount of time I spend here.

[InnerPeace111]

No, I have never mentioned PC to my T and I most likely never will since my involvement on PC is pretty minimal. I do not post specific details of my own therapy on here and I do not seek input or feedback or advice from others here. PC, in my opinion, really has no bearing on my own therapy. PC is just for my own reading enjoyment and enrichment.

[WrkNPrgress]

I just realized I should have added this to my post in the "Confessions (you've never told T)" thread.

I have never told my therapist about this forum or about how much I think about her and therapy. I would be slightly horrified to think of her reading my posts here.

[Fuzzybear]

I was basically told.. either therapist or online support..

Uh...

I'm in the uk

And am not into being "controlled" like that by therapists (irl)

So I dumped the therapist..

Kind of a shame... as this t was less sub optimal than some I've consulted

[Out There]

They both know , in fact EMDR T asked me today what the forum I used was , he said as long as it's not to much for me , I think he wants to have a look. So , if he does read this - Hi EMDR T. Regular T I think knows I find it helpful and supportive and enjoys hearing about Stopdogs interactions with her T which he seems to find amusing.

[MobiusPsyche]

I have told her and she is supportive of my being less isolated even if it's in an online forum.

[junkDNA]

He does not know
I don't think it would bother him if he knew i posted here

I do suspect sometimes that he reads, but I can't imagine him wanting to do that . With that said there have been some strange coincidences

[LadyShadow]

My T knows about PC since the first day I joined 5 years ago. He has always been positive about this forum and shares the PC site with his other clients thanks to me. He feels that my online presence is a good thing as I impact the community in a positive way and people here do the same for me.

[growlycat]

My current t knows that I go on an online forum about therapy but not which one. I told last t about PC but I don't think he even remembered.

Long term t was the most negative about it. He thought it was an echo chamber of unhealthy people (btw I don't agree. You are all more self aware than most people). He thought it would be better if I sought out message boards about topics that I like or better yet see actual people in real life.

I'm not currently in therapy, but I told XT about it. She didn't have an opinion on it. I think she knew I wouldn't of cared what her opinion was one way or the other. She did say once she wanted to check it out, but she never did. I really wasn't expecting her to. I don't spend my free time on forums related to my line of work, either.