Long gone are the days when professional counselors could ethically speak publically about their clients simply by stripping away all of the identifying information.
These days, discussing a client at all – with or without identifying information – is not only unethical, it is also considered to be illegal unless you have your clients informed consent to do so.
Admittedly, not all mental health disciplines codes of ethics are this strict concerning a client’s right to confidentiality; however, the current trend appears to be moving in exactly this direction.
Mental health professionals who are active on social media seem to be particularly vulnerable to crossing this boundary.
That’s why I was tickled to talk about this with my colleague and friend, Rob Reinhardt as he prepared to write Technology Tutor: Thinking about Discussing Clients Online? Think Twice for Counseling Today.
I’m curious . . . .
Do you have examples of therapists going “over the line” that you can share with us here?
And, what do you take into consideration before you speak or write about a client in a public space?
I have a friend (NOT A CLIENT) who has had numerous bad experiences with therapists. Her stories make me worry for my profession 🙁
One of her therapists wrote about something my friend did in a therapy session. It was in a published book. It was specific enough she knew it was her and not something anyone would ever even guess was her. It did not list her name but she felt extremely violated. Many, many of the books we can read these days to help us become better therapists have case examples.
Jamie, thank you so much for taking time to share this actual example of how therapists with possibly good intentions can make bad choices.
I’m so very sorry that your friend experienced this.
While not making an excuse for this therapist in any way, I do want to note that until the recent past, many therapists (from Sigmund Freud on) did this very thing in an attempt to document their successes and challenges in doing therapy.
And, until the recent past, this was an accepted practice in every discipline of mental health.
Depending on when the book was written and which discipline your friend’s therapist belonged to, it may very well have been perfectly legal and considered ethical practice.
However, even when our practices are “legal” and “ethical” according to our own discipline’s code of ethics, that does not mean that we can or should engage in those practices without first considering the consequences.
That your frien feels “extremely violated” should be enough to give any therapist pause to consider, re-consider, and consult before acting.
And, for any therapist considering sharing case examples in a training or written format, I would encourage you to share composites of several clients or fictitious individuals rather than risk another client having an experience similar to Jamie’s friend.
I’m overly conscientious now. When I read a case example, I wonder if the clients would recognize themselves and how they would feel. Irvin Yalom’s “Fat Lady” essay…..it makes me cringe to think she might have come across that 🙁
If things are as strict as you say, isn’t it a slippery adrea for therapists to even “document” their thoughts / behaviors, in response to your query here?
Hi, Carol! Welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out!
I’m not quite sure what you are referring to or how you think a therapist sharing his / her thoughts / behaviors might be an ethical or legal issue.
I’m sorry.
Feel free to expound on this topic though.
I am a therapist in private practice and public practice (I work for the state). My rule is that I never post about clients or anything remotely close to client information. I might say I had a bad day but I keep it really brief and simple. I usually don’t like complaining on social media anyway!. This keeps me out of bad spots!
you are absolutely right Tamara! thanks again.