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Can I tell my therapist about illegal things I’ve done?
Past Crimes In most cases, discussing a past crime is protected by confidentiality rules. This means that you should be able to discuss a crime you committed with your therapist, and your therapist is sworn to secrecy. Anything and everything you say in therapy is protected by law, and a court order is required to allow the therapist to break that confidentiality. Even then, judges are very reluctant to issue such an order. Therapists are required by law to disclose information to protect a client or a specific individual identified by the client from “serious and foreseeable harm.” That can include specific threats, disclosure of child abuse where a child is still in danger, or concerns about elder abuse. There are a few things that might contribute to this: you may not have developed the level of trust you need to feel safe with the therapist you are working with, you may be fearful of being judged by the therapist, or maybe you are afraid that opening the pain of the past might be too much to handle. The following situations typically legally obligate therapists to break confidentiality and seek outside assistance: Detailed planning of future suicide attempts. Other concrete signs of suicidal intent. Planned violence towards others. Don’t Tell Lies Or Half-Truths That can make it feel even harder when speaking with a mental health professional you’ve just met. If your therapist asks about something that’s difficult for you to discuss, you may resist telling the truth or fail to offer up the details of the situation.
Can you tell your therapist if you’ve done something illegal?
Anything and everything you say in therapy is protected by law, and a court order is required to allow the therapist to break that confidentiality. Even then, judges are very reluctant to issue such an order. Psychotherapy is, for the most part, confidential. Patients of mental health providers like psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers reasonably expect that their in-therapy disclosures will remain private. The short answer is that you can tell your therapist anything – and they hope that you do. It’s a good idea to share as much as possible, because that’s the only way they can help you. Therapists & counsellors expect trust in the sense that both parties understand and are committed to spend every session building it. The most critical component of trust is honesty, so consider being upfront about the fact that you do not trust a therapist 100% with certain information to be good practice at honesty.
Can my therapist report me for doing drugs?
Will my therapist report me for my drug use? No, this is unlikely. If you’re simply discussing your personal drug use, that information should be protected under therapist confidentiality laws and also under HIPAA, the Health Information Portability and Information Act. Can a therapist report a crime? Just as a therapist has the legal duty to reveal confidential information about self-harm or harming others to the police, therapists also must tell law enforcement about a potential future crime that a patient shares during a therapy session. All therapists are legally required to maintain confidentiality for their clients. Confidentiality means that a therapist cannot confirm or deny even treating the client if someone asks. Furthermore, they cannot discuss any revealing contact information, such as a client’s name or demographics, outside of the session. Any time when the client poses an imminent danger to themselves or others where breaking therapist confidentiality would be necessary to resolve the danger. Any time when the therapist suspects child, elder, or dependent adult abuse.
Is it OK to not tell your therapist everything?
Therapy is truly your safe space. Sometimes, you’ll need to guard that space from others. Well-meaning friends and family may ask what you’re talking about in therapy. Don’t feel obligated to divulge what happens in your therapy sessions, though. Therapists usually want to find ways to help you go deeper. When they respond with silence or a question, that’s usually what they’re trying to do: get you to hear yourself and reflect on what you just said. They want you to keep going. We walk a fine line of being on your side but making sure that you are grounded and can maintain proper boundaries. So yes, we as therapists do talk about our clients (clinically) and we do miss our clients because we have entered into this field because we remain hopeful for others. Legally speaking, people under the age of 18 do not typically have a right to confidentiality in therapy. However, some therapists ask parents to agree to the therapist’s confidentiality rules before they will treat the client.
Should I tell my therapist all my secrets?
The short answer is that you can tell your therapist anything – and they hope that you do. It’s a good idea to share as much as possible, because that’s the only way they can help you. After you unpack your feelings, your therapist might provide you with some insight in response or help you deconstruct and synthesize what you just shared. They also might give you a task or something to think about if they think it’s important for your process. Can I ask My Therapist What He/She Thinks of Me? Yes, you can, and yes you should. This is a reasonable question to ask a therapist, and any good therapist will be happy to answer. Your therapist’s relationship with you exists between sessions, even if you don’t communicate with each other. She thinks of your conversations, as well, continuing to reflect on key moments as the week unfolds. She may even reconsider an opinion she had or an intervention she made during a session. There is no law that prohibits therapists from seeing two people who know each other, or even two members of the same family. In some small communities, there may not even be a choice. For example, a high school or college may only have one mental health therapist on-site.