Therapist Googling Client

This seems like a very extreme view regarding firing the client and possibly getting a restraining order. If T's fired all their clients who googled them, I doubt they'd have too many clients left... I think it's natural to be curious about someone to whom you tell your deepest, darkest secrets. Sure, many, possibly even most, clients might not care, but others do. I don't think they should automatically be punished for that curiosity unless they cross a major line.

I've googled quite a bit about my T (he knows much of it, and he's said some bothers him a little bit, but he certainly hasn't fired me for it), but I don't feel I pose any sort of threat to him, and he seems to agree. I think it's a natural curiosity. I'm not going to figure out where he lives and then show up at his house and spy on him (incidentally, many T's work out of their homes, though mine doesn't). I'm not going to figure out where his wife works or his son goes to school and then show up there.

I think if a client talks about Googling their T (beyond, say, checking their license or CV/resume), then that should just lead to a conversation about why the client felt the desire to Google. And if they wanted to talk about anything they found, ask questions (of course the T is not obligated to answer). Maybe some discussion about boundaries, like, "I understand your desire to google me, and that's OK, but I ask you not to look up anything about my spouse or children because I want to protect their privacy." I also think it's a T's responsibility to lock down any social media they have (like if they have a Facebook page, keeping it private) to the best they can, if they don't want any clients seeing it.

[climbs down off of soapbox]

But I still don't think T's should Google their clients.

well, here where I live, they dont actually go to court. We set up a teleconference call with the court house. The DA and lawyer come to our facility. We have a large conference room set up.

It is a double standard. A therapist can't check you out but you can have access to the names of her children and where she lives? That's just wrong. In my opinion no one should Google anyone in a therapeutic relationship. It's a breech of boundaries. If I were a therapist and I found out a client was looking for personal information about me and my family, I'd fire the client and depending on the client get a restraining order. It's a safety issue among other concerns. Likewise, therapists shouldn't Google clients. If a client wants a therapist to know something the client will tell the therapist. Anything else is private.

I know they do this in some jurisdictions but I (and many others )have fought against it in mine. mds have to come to court just like every other litigant.

I suspect many Ts expect it on some level. My T told me she googled here providers. She googled to find if there any licensing issues, frequent complaints by clients etc. She didnt look for things like their children, person lives. etc. So I suspect clients would do that.

I agree that people just need to respect basic boundaries on both ends.

There are clients as seen right here on PC who bypass security measures, finding roundabout ways to get into their therapist’s social media anyway. That’s not okay and really becomes stalkerish. It is ridiculously intrusive and I don’t buy the excuses of helplessness and excuses that we just can’t help ourselves so the therapist just should put up with it.

If you behave, for whatever reason, in a manner that leaves a person, any person — client or therapist— feeling intruded upon and even victimized by boundary crossing, you — client or therapist— has the right to expect that behavior to stop and to dissolve that relationship if they no longer feel emotionally or physically safe because of that behavior. The person’s excuses, be they “professional” or due to mental/emotional state don’t change the fact that the person on the receiving end has been left feeling uncomfortable or unsafe.

MM, if this has left you feeling unable to work with this therapist, you are perfectly within your rights to get another therapist. I still personally believe it is a double standard to condemn another person for behavior we display ourselves, but the bottom line is it bothers you. So, find a different therapist if you feel this is a red flag for you.

I might have missed this getting clarified somewhere, but my initial read of the OP was more "where I'm from" as maybe meaning ethnic or national background. Like if the client had a name that was typically (just grabbing out of the air here) Korean or something. That seems like a more personal issue than, "OP lives in Sunnydale" or whatever. But I could be mixed up about this.

This was my understanding as well, because the T said she only googled the last name.

If I were a therapist and I found out a client was looking for personal information about me and my family, I'd fire the client and depending on the client get a restraining order. It's a safety issue among other concerns. Likewise, therapists shouldn't Google clients. If a client wants a therapist to know something the client will tell the therapist. Anything else is private.

If you have a client you know is a stalker, has antisocial personality disorder, a history of harrassing other therapists, violence and so on...the therapist has got good grounds to be worried for her safety. There are some very dangerous people seeking therapy. You wouldn't know it if its not you, but your psychiatrist and psychologist certainly know who they are.

If you have a client you know is a stalker, has antisocial personality disorder, a history of harrassing other therapists, violence and so on...the therapist has got good grounds to be worried for her safety. There are some very dangerous people seeking therapy. You wouldn't know it if its not you, but your psychiatrist and psychologist certainly know who they are.

I think the T acknowledged she messed up and won't do it again. Is it to be (for therapists): one mistake and they are fired? Isn't anyone allowed a second chance?

What if clients make many such mistakes? Are they to be given chance after chance?

There needs to be some perspective here. The T admitted what she did and held herself accountable. By all means, address the upset of T googling you if that is the case but yes, there needs to be some perspective. Is her blunder enough to get her fired? Or is she allowed to be human and as such, fallible