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Should a therapist tell the client their diagnosis?
Initiating disclosure of a mental health diagnosis can be challenging and feel like a test of one’s clinical skills. Nevertheless, we believe that these conversations are essential to the therapeutic process, and ultimately, in clients’ best interests. They understand that clients need a safe place to disclose their most private thoughts and feelings. In almost all cases, your personal information is held in strict confidence. Only in extreme cases will your therapist need to break confidentiality to keep you or others safe. If a therapist talks excessively about themselves or overly discloses personal information, cannot accept constructive criticism, or refuses to discuss what the process will be like and what kind of progress can reasonably be expected, they are likely not the best choice for most clients. Your first session will probably involve your therapist asking you a lot of questions about you, how you cope, and your symptoms (it’s basically an interview). You may also chat about goals for therapy, expectations, and more. They may be required to give a diagnosis if you are using insurance; however, you have a right to be a part of that discussion. You have a right to ask how the therapist will use the diagnosis. A psychologist and certain other mental health professionals can diagnose anxiety and provide counseling (psychotherapy).
What is a therapist allowed to tell?
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. 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. If your therapist tries to give you a diagnosis in the first session or makes you feel uncomfortable for any reason, it might be a good idea to find someone else. Therapy is an incredibly individualized process, so not every therapist is going to be the right fit for you. After all, your therapist is a trained listener, not advice-giver. That does not mean your therapist is merely looking at you and listening while you talk. Any skilled therapist will be listening acutely for specific signals, which they then use to guide the direction of the conversation over time.
Can you tell your therapist too much?
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. Let the therapist know that you are interested in an assessment and treatment. Describe some of your symptoms. You can even mention that you think you may have BPD. Take the opportunity to ask some initial questions. You want to see a therapist who you trust, respect, and believe has a good understanding of you and your symptoms, and you also want to get along with this person on an interpersonal level. 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. Why are you seeking therapy at this time? People go to therapy for a variety of reasons. You’ll be asked to explain why you’re seeking therapy to give the therapist an idea of your goals. 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.
Can a therapist say what you told them?
Is Therapy Confidential? In almost every instance, therapy is absolutely confidential. You therapist is required to maintain confidentiality about everything said in sessions between the two of you, just like a doctor is required to keep your records private. 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. 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. Starting therapy can be especially awkward if you’ve not been in therapy before. If you feel weird at first when you’re talking to your therapist, don’t worry. It takes a while to get used to therapy, but you’ll eventually get the hang of it. There are four people you should never lie to—your doctor, your accountant, your lawyer, and your therapist. You’re paying these professionals for their expertise. They can’t help you if they don’t know the whole story. But as a therapist, I know a lot of people don’t tell me the truth.
Do therapists get upset over clients?
Therapists do get frustrated with clients from time to time, but some can handle difficult clients better than others. This may be due to training or inherent personality traits. A person who is a rigid thinker might be resistant to making the appropriate behavioral changes because she doesn’t agree with them. A person who has issues with unrealistic expectations and impatience might believe therapy isn’t helpful because he thinks he should make much faster progress than he is. Individuals fear judgment, change, the unknown, and what they might discover in therapy; additionally, they’re too prideful to admit they need help. Additionally, some people doubt the efficacy of mental health treatment: They’re uncertain it will work or misunderstand how it works. 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.
What can a therapist disclose?
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. 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. Such efforts may include but are not limited to: facilitating the client’s hospitalization, consulting with their psychiatrist, increasing the intensity of the client’s treatment, asking the client to sign a no-self-harm agreement, attempting to increase the degree of social support available to the client, and … 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.
Is it OK to tell your therapist everything?
What can I tell my therapist? 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. The therapist will ask questions about your presenting concerns, as well as your history and background. Most likely, you’ll find yourself talking about your current symptoms or struggles, as well saying a bit about your relationships, your interests, your strengths, and your goals. 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. A look can communicate so many things: compassion, caring, warmth. Your therapist’s hope is that if you meet their eyes, you’ll feel their positive regard for you. They want you to know you’re with someone who cares. They want you to know that how you feel and what you say matter to them. If you are not coping the way you usually do, it can be helpful to go to therapy to get things back on track. It is really never too early to go to therapy if you are experiencing anxiety or depression.
Do you have to ask your therapist to diagnose you?
Some clients push for an official diagnosis, and others don’t. And some therapists feel a diagnosis is an important part of the treatment process, while others view putting a name to the symptoms as unnecessary or, in some cases, harmful. In some situations, therapists won’t provide a diagnosis because they don’t think it’s essential to the recovery process. Many professionals believe that labels can cause clients to concentrate on the wrong aspects of their mental health condition. They typically include information about the presenting symptoms and diagnosis, observations and assessment of the individual’s presentation, treatment interventions used by the therapist (including modality and frequency of treatment), results of any tests that were administered, any medication that was prescribed, … They typically include information about the presenting symptoms and diagnosis, observations and assessment of the individual’s presentation, treatment interventions used by the therapist (including modality and frequency of treatment), results of any tests that were administered, any medication that was prescribed, …