Apparently Ts do look us up on social media

I know there have been lots of threads like this before, but I found this interesting. I just started an internship at a private therapy practice, and during a meeting my supervisor casually mentioned looking up a potential client on Facebook before having an initial session. None of the other therapists seemed phased by this. I was actually pretty surprised!

In my initial consent form I signed it stated he would be doing an internet search on clients. Well at least he was up front about it. It is public information.

Not all therapists do this and actually, as a therapist I'm really against it. I know I'm not alone and I have had many conversations with different therapists who agree with me. Also I know that my therapist would never, unless I sent him a link for a specific reason. I think the therapist should trust in the client to bring want they want to bring into the room and not go fishing around for extra information.

Yep... I would never do it, and I would not be okay with a supervisor saying that either.

My T is a prolific user of social media. I'd be very surprised if she didn't do a look up on clients.

For me I think it depends on the T. I use a fake name on facebook, but I still can't see R doing that.

I don't see how it matters one way or the other. Of course I also think it's a profession filled with people of questionable moral fiber who are not healthy themselves who don't do anything except sit there and take money from people.
But If something is really out there in the public realm, I don't see it as any different than anybody else looking stuff up. I more wish those guys would quit pretending and lying and holding themselves out as better than they are.

I’ve often thought, I wish my therapist would look me up online just so they know I have a life outside their office. But I can’t imagine my T being the type—as in, I don’t think she “cares” enough to know what’s on someone’s social media. Anyway- she gets so much juicy gossip in the office, a social media search won’t get her anything more interesting that that..

That is weird. However I have nothing on Facebook I would need to hide from t, in fact I sometimes post mental health awareness stuff so a t may actually like my Facebook page. But if a t was to look me up on here or something I'd be very upset, but there's no way they'd find me. Also if a t was to Google me they'd likely find petitions I signed, me mentioned in the newspaper for making the dean's list, and a stamp collecting newspaper article I was mentioned in, none of which would make me look bad.

My T says that many of the conflicts people bring to therapy begin in social media, which I have nothing to do with. I see some of my middle aged friends rather attached to their phones because they want to keep in touch with extended family or the like. I could see how it might possibly be relevant or helpful depending upon the person.

Public information is available for anyone, including a T. If a client is concerned about it, s/he can bring it up or ask about the T's policy or the specifics such as have you googled me? This would seem to me to just feed into general worries about the T's perception of them, but it's up to each person to handle it as they wished.

Personally, I'm not comfortable with getting looked up on facebook, even though I rarely put anything on facebook.

Surprises me that they look clients up on facebook.

I hope this makes sense.

I do not know any therapists who looks clients up on Facebook. The ones I have talked to (my own Ts and coworkers) say that Facebook is to screwed. They get the information from the client.

We have only looked up a Facebook page once. We had a patient who after discharge made some significant threats towards his Dr and T. I was asked for a description or if I could find a picture to give to security.

It's always interesting to me that people deliberately decide to put stuff on the public web (not talking about occasional impulsive posts that are regretted but whole social media profiles, websites etc) and then feel uncomfortable when others look at it. As a professional, I look up anyone and nearly everyone I get in contact with: colleagues, students, especially new job candidates and prospective clients. Also the service professionals I am thinking of hiring or am already working with. I don't see anything wrong with this at all and what surprises me is if a therapist truly does not do this. Personally, I am very skeptical when I hear that Ts (unless they are from the older generations) don't search for client info. I mean, not even spontaneously when something/someone intrigues them?! If this is something Ts really claim, I can't help but think it's one of those things to idealize and sell their images and businesses.

Can they access private stuff like private messages on facebook? Their client's private messages to and from other people I mean? idk if I'm making stuff up now.

I have no clue about FB as I don't use it. I doubt that they can access info in private profiles, especially private messages, unless the either system has glitches or someone hacks into it or something. The hacking is something I would not think many Ts do, especially just to have some client info. That I would consider unethical and intrusive. What I can imagine in some cases is creating fake profiles, just like many people, but even that way I doubt they can get info actual private conversations. I doubt many Ts would have serious web spy skills/resources anyway and probably most are wiser than risking their reputation and license with illegal spying maneuvers.

It is pretty easy to trace perfectly legal, publicly available info, scan people's connections, put pieces together especially if someone has a knack for research and connecting the dots. I sometimes read here in PC therapy clients assuming that Ts are not interested or are way too busy and would not have time for this. Well, I am a very busy person and still do this whenever I have the interest. It does not require much spare time and can do it wherever with a device and internet access - between meetings, while traveling, just as a personal break from a project I am working on, as entertainment - it really is easy. I don't think there is anything unprofessional or unethical about it as long as the info is public and they keep their findings to themselves. Questioning a client with it or otherwise using it in indiscreet ways would be a whole different issue, that I think is very wrong.

If a client suspects that a T accessed truly private, secured info on the web based on what the T says, I would imagine perhaps it's much more likely to be coincidence. Or the client gives away hints in direct interactions without wanting or even noticing, and the T just puts it together as intuitive guesses.

Nope. Not at all and never. There is no benefit to me saying that if it wasn't true, since I am anonymous here (and I'm not in private practice anyway) but it is my personal integrity and belief that the client would tell me about something if they wanted me to know (my basic respect for the client and their right to be in charge of what I know about them) that means I never will.

Okay, what I said is mostly speculative and probably infused with projections given that I do the internet searches all the time. And because I personally see no professional integrity issues about it, it is hard for me to imagine why someone would not do it. Different values I guess.

No.

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I have just assumed she did so.

I guess maybe some therapists do this, but I think most don't. The ones I worked with (not as a client) did not do this as far as I know. They wouldn't have wanted to spend their free time doing work stuff. And as someone else said, they already knew the "juicy" information. I doubt they would have found it very interesting to look up a client on Facebook or other social media.

As for the attitude of the other therapists who didn't seem phased, I don't think that's necessarily indicative of anything. If they felt it was wrong, what could they do? Take their supervisor to task?

I'm not sure if I would care or not if a potential new T looked me up on Facebook. Because of my privacy settings, all they could really see are all the times I've changed my profile and cover pictures. Plus, I would have the ability to do the same to them so it would be hypocritical of me to mind if they returned the favor.

i dont use facebook and don't really understand what is appealing about it the times I have seen it. Therapists are no different from anyone else and the idea that they across the board would not look clients up is, to me, just a completely silly idea. I don't see it as having anything to do with ethics in any realm.
The idea that therapists are busier, more ethical or more anything than any other working person is, to me, simply ridiculous.
I have never looked up a student or a client, but it is not for any manufactured "I am so very noble" reason - it is simply because I am not all that interested in them outside of my job. I have no reason to care what they posted or was on the internet about them.

Not sure, but I guess when Ts claim it is better not to look at client info anywhere else but what the client shares themselves is less about ethics strictly, more the idea to give the client the freedom to choose what they want to share? The Ts may also just don't want to complicate it for themselves. I heard this once from a therapist who has been in private practice for >20 years. I can easily imagine many people are just not that interested in their clients to spend extra time researching them.

For me, when I do the web searches on people, most of the time it's just my own curiosity, which I do not inhibit when I see no reason to do so. Less often it is because I think the info I could find would be important for my decisions, although that also applies for job candidates in particular and sometimes also my (non-therapy) clients. I don't necessarily want to work for/with someone whose choices/strategies/values very radically differ from mine or there are clear indications they would use (misuse) our cooperation in ways I don't want to deal with. Based on responses on these kinds of threads, I guess my attitude around these things are less common then. But I do research for living as well, so it's pretty much my natural and habitual way of being.

Beyond believing that it would be disrespectful to and unhelpful for clients (which I do believe), there are other very good reasons for therapists not to do it.

If I knew information about a client that they hadn't told me themselves, I would find that awkward and difficult and it would interfere with my work with them in a way that I would not appreciate. So it's also for my own benefit that I don't do it. I've been curious before, but it's not that difficult to refrain.

My lord. Apart from whether this is professional behaviour (I don't think it is, I agree with Echos Myron, the client has to bring stuff up in their own way/time), I wonder at Ts who have so much time on their hands that they can just look up clients. It seems a bit unhealthy. Like if you want to up your game as a therapist maybe spend that time in supervision or reading or something. This just seems lazy.