[nottrustin]

Today EMDR T sent me a text which was totally fine but it got me thinking. In my phone contacts it has everybody listed by first and last name except for husband and kids. So my message alerts have the fill name of the person. It made me wonder how T's do it. Other people see my phone so could see who is messaging me. How does a T do it to insure confidentiality? Do the have first name and last initial, or firat initial and last name, or so they have some type of code for each client? Just curious

Hmm, I don't have any idea how my t does it. I do know, that her cell phone is the only number I have for her and every time I call it that she answers, she always answers saying "Hi, Art!" so somehow she knows it's me. She must have at least my first name in there. I dunno. I just have her listed as her first name. I don't think I have anybody in my phone with both first and last name. then again i don't have very many contacts in my phone, either...

[LonesomeTonight]

I'm not sure--I asked MC about this once, mostly to find out if he would know who I was if I texted him. His response suggested he doesn't have clients' names in the phone, since he said he could generally tell from past texts who it was. So I always sign my texts, "LT" so he knows who it is. Not sure if all T's operate that way.

[ScarletPimpernel]

I don't know how she does it for her phone, but her files are first and last initials.

[growlycat]

Originally Posted by nottrustin

Today EMDR T sent me a text which was totally fine but it got me thinking. In my phone contacts it has everybody listed by first and last name except for husband and kids. So my message alerts have the fill name of the person. It made me wonder how T's do it. Other people see my phone so could see who is messaging me. How does a T do it to insure confidentiality? Do the have first name and last initial, or firat initial and last name, or so they have some type of code for each client? Just curious

Great question. I know he has two phones one for work and one personal. But other than that I’m curious now

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

No idea, but I know my T knows that it's me texting even if I don't sign. So he must have some sort of system, since there's no way I believe he would just know from my style of writing.

[DP_2017]

he has my first name in there but it doesnt bother me, he has co workers and friends etc, no one is gonna know I'm a client cuz they see my name

The way to avoid confidentiality breaches is to have a seperate work phone and don't let others see It, have a pin on it etc. Many therapists have a code for each client too. As an example it might be initials plus month and year of beginning. Such as I might be RS1214. I have a mathematical brain so I would pretty quickly learn who was who.

[RaineD]

I'm not a therapist, but I'm a professional who has clients and confidentiality requirements. I have my clients' first and last names in my phone, and my phone is locked by a pass code. I don't expect anyone but me to be able to access my phone and read my text messages.

[nottrustin]

I have a fairly uncommon first name and last initial so i suspect T could have my first name and last initial and nobody would know who it was. I have met T's significant other he thinks I am T's friend. So if somehow he saw my name pop up on her phone it would not be an issue

[mostlylurking]

My phone locks automatically after a moment or two, has a passcode, and also has notifications set so that identifying information does not show up on the screen when someone texts.

Phone calls, though, do still say the person's name from my contacts while the phone is ringing; the name is not displayed after the ringing stops though.

I just have it set up that way because I opt for most privacy settings as a rule, but I assume the same things are available to T's.

my therapist has my first nickname

[velcro003]

interesting question! My T has her cell phone as her only phone, but I call/text and she knows it is me without me identifying myself, so I am guessing she has my name in there somehow. i also know other client's call and text her, and sometimes i am amazed she hasn't thrown her phone out a window yet. she did say once that she receives entirely too many texts, but she then said it was mainly group texts from friends in which she wasn't involved in.

that being said, i believe she completely turns her phone off at times when she is with her family, so maybe her family/friends contact her a different way.

[Fernwehxx]

Originally Posted by nottrustin

Today EMDR T sent me a text which was totally fine but it got me thinking. In my phone contacts it has everybody listed by first and last name except for husband and kids. So my message alerts have the fill name of the person. It made me wonder how T's do it. Other people see my phone so could see who is messaging me. How does a T do it to insure confidentiality? Do the have first name and last initial, or firat initial and last name, or so they have some type of code for each client? Just curious

I know my T uses a diff phone for work and private things. But ive never thought about it because im not worried about it. No obe sees my phone, so I never thought if others seeing my Rd.

[Sarah1985]

Mines sent me a screenshot before and it had my first and last name