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Camera In Therapist Office
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MisterCatLady
Gold Member
I wouldn't be too freaked out. Sounds like it is just a security camera which would probably be there for his protection. I highly doubt there is sound recording just video. He definitely should've mentioned it and you two should talk about future communication. If they're installing cameras I'm sure there had been a reason for it.
I'd echo @MisterCatLady -- it's highly unlikely that the camera records sound. Most CCTV systems, even highly advanced ones, don't record audio. If it does record audio, then hell yes he should have told you, and that seems illegal. But my guess it that it doesn't record audio and that's why he didn't think it was important to mention it.
MisterCatLady
Gold Member
@Links I think you might be feeling invalidated right now but please use this as an excellent opportunity to self-regulate and observe your emotions. Your reaction is VERY in line with PTSD and everyone here gets what you're feeling. Part of recovery is finding ways to process your emotions so that they don't overwhelm you. We're on your side.
lostforgottensoul
VIP Member
Agreed!
Police most likely. Even then, they must have a warrant to view the footage, as Canadian privacy laws apply. Just as your therapist cannot disclose your private information to random strangers.
They cannot hand footage of your private information to random strangers. The only exception being if a mandated reporting incident occurs.
It's a security camera, no one is watching it live. It's extremely unlikely to even be recording audio. The footage will sit on a hard drive somewhere for a while collecting dust, then eventually be deleted, never having been seen by anyone.
He definitely should have informed you though. I would suggest going in and talking about this with your T. I can imagine how upsetting this was for you, but I agree with @joeylittle about it being a mistake. Those kinds of cameras are everywhere these days, you can't walk through a shopping mall without being filmed by 20 different security cameras. I can't even remember the last time I saw a private business without at least one camera somewhere in it. I don't pay them a second thought anymore.
I'm by no means telling you to suck it up. It's obviously got you round the bend and just because I'm okay with it, doesn't mean you have to be. Good therapists are hard to find, it'd be a shame to give that up over a situation that could maybe be resolved amicably. imho
Justmehere
Sponsor
@Links - I crossposted with Joeylittle and you, and I want to echo what she and others have said. I don't think he means any harm but to keep you and him safe. Just has he has done all along.
Most people really have no idea how important it is to put up a notice or seek informed consent before putting up surveillance videos.
Something must have happened with someone that had him spooked enough to feel that more security was needed for his safety and the safety of his clients. He's a therapist and not a security expert. Maybe it wasn't even him, but someone else in the office.
I ride public transit with tons of security cameras (up to 10) on the buses, and when something weird happened, those cameras helped the police catch a really awful person. They are not CCTV and they do record audio, and that audio picked up on verbal threats and helped protect those on the bus. I go through stores with them all the time. They are super common. It doesn't rattle me to find them in any of those settings, or even the workplace. Heck, I have my own "nanny cams" in my own home and on my doorstep. (They were put there when home health came and someone was aggressive.) It was there to keep me and everyone else safe.
But despite my comfort with cameras in all those settings, even with audio, I'd be really uncomfortable with a camera in the therapy room without being told beforehand. Even when the therapist means no harm, like in this case, I'd still want to know if it was on during my sessions and who has access to any accidental footage of my sessions. I'd want to know who can see my face as I describe the worst trauma in my life. If it's someone more than just my therapist, I'd totally object. I would require it to not only be turned off, but for my therapist to cover up the camera every session. This is perhaps an overreaction, but it would help me feel safe again.
And it's extremely unlikely anyone but your therapist would ever see the footage, and that it does just sit in a hard drive until it is erased.
I have had my privacy breeched by a terrible therapist in a way that was very harmful and humiliating -- it was one of many horrible things the therapist did. The info went to one person who was not bound by privacy laws in the US, and they made it super public. The therapist was held accountable for their breech, and some much more serious criminal acts. But once the info went where it went, there was nothing that could be done to reign it back in. It was perfectly legal for a non-privacy law covered person to keep passing on the info. I did everything possible under the law and it was still impossible to stop them. The fact that I was in therapy was passed on and twisted, and it was awful. I won't go into the details as my situation was as very abnormal. I will say it did screw me up for some time and I can validate that someone with a history of any issues that bump up against this would naturally be worried. It's got to be disheartening that he overlooked that fact.
It's been important for me to maintain the therapy room as place where I'm totally sure that even my presence in the therapy room is totally confidential, something only the therapist and I know about, and the occasional person who walks by the waiting room. That privacy helps me feel safe.
Your concerns and discomfort are very reasonable. This is a mistake, a serious one, but likely a very unintentional one.
He should be willing to hear you out and take measures to help you feel comfortable again. Protected. Safe. And that your sessions are totally private in the way that you need them to be, so that you can continue to do good work with him. Don't give up on him. Talk this through with him.
Most people really have no idea how important it is to put up a notice or seek informed consent before putting up surveillance videos.
Something must have happened with someone that had him spooked enough to feel that more security was needed for his safety and the safety of his clients. He's a therapist and not a security expert. Maybe it wasn't even him, but someone else in the office.
I ride public transit with tons of security cameras (up to 10) on the buses, and when something weird happened, those cameras helped the police catch a really awful person. They are not CCTV and they do record audio, and that audio picked up on verbal threats and helped protect those on the bus. I go through stores with them all the time. They are super common. It doesn't rattle me to find them in any of those settings, or even the workplace. Heck, I have my own "nanny cams" in my own home and on my doorstep. (They were put there when home health came and someone was aggressive.) It was there to keep me and everyone else safe.
But despite my comfort with cameras in all those settings, even with audio, I'd be really uncomfortable with a camera in the therapy room without being told beforehand. Even when the therapist means no harm, like in this case, I'd still want to know if it was on during my sessions and who has access to any accidental footage of my sessions. I'd want to know who can see my face as I describe the worst trauma in my life. If it's someone more than just my therapist, I'd totally object. I would require it to not only be turned off, but for my therapist to cover up the camera every session. This is perhaps an overreaction, but it would help me feel safe again.
And it's extremely unlikely anyone but your therapist would ever see the footage, and that it does just sit in a hard drive until it is erased.
I have had my privacy breeched by a terrible therapist in a way that was very harmful and humiliating -- it was one of many horrible things the therapist did. The info went to one person who was not bound by privacy laws in the US, and they made it super public. The therapist was held accountable for their breech, and some much more serious criminal acts. But once the info went where it went, there was nothing that could be done to reign it back in. It was perfectly legal for a non-privacy law covered person to keep passing on the info. I did everything possible under the law and it was still impossible to stop them. The fact that I was in therapy was passed on and twisted, and it was awful. I won't go into the details as my situation was as very abnormal. I will say it did screw me up for some time and I can validate that someone with a history of any issues that bump up against this would naturally be worried. It's got to be disheartening that he overlooked that fact.
It's been important for me to maintain the therapy room as place where I'm totally sure that even my presence in the therapy room is totally confidential, something only the therapist and I know about, and the occasional person who walks by the waiting room. That privacy helps me feel safe.
Your concerns and discomfort are very reasonable. This is a mistake, a serious one, but likely a very unintentional one.
He should be willing to hear you out and take measures to help you feel comfortable again. Protected. Safe. And that your sessions are totally private in the way that you need them to be, so that you can continue to do good work with him. Don't give up on him. Talk this through with him.
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It is important for trauma therapists to take a bit more precaution, in my opinion it was a big oversight to not mention the camera was new and why it was there. Many folks get upset by the simple rearrangement of furniture by their T. Not our place to say they are over reacting. We are all in different places.
lostforgottensoul
VIP Member
I'm sorry, over reaction or not, I'd be totally freaked out. Not just me on camera but what I am saying. Who else would know my "secerts". I would feel violated even if I wasn't and, even an accident, I would feel some anger toward the therapist to not think of me before I came in there to talk about my secerts.
That's just me but I wanted to give some validation to what you are feeling @Links as I think I'd feel the same.
And I am sorry it happened! :hug:
That's just me but I wanted to give some validation to what you are feeling @Links as I think I'd feel the same.
And I am sorry it happened! :hug:
Recovery4Me
VIP Member
^^I am sorry that it happened to you too- links.
It is not possible to determine what your T 'may or may not' have intended with the camera. However, it is up to you to carefully negotiate your rights with your T. concerning this incident. Clearly defining one's self, rights and the professional's (T.) need of your consent (or mutual consent) if the sessions are being taped (in any form) is within healthy boundaries. Using this as a platform to revisit your acceptable boundaries may allow a positive outcome and a more discerning T.
Offering further support for resolutions that allow reestablishment of trust and mutual respect.:hug:'s if you accept
It is not possible to determine what your T 'may or may not' have intended with the camera. However, it is up to you to carefully negotiate your rights with your T. concerning this incident. Clearly defining one's self, rights and the professional's (T.) need of your consent (or mutual consent) if the sessions are being taped (in any form) is within healthy boundaries. Using this as a platform to revisit your acceptable boundaries may allow a positive outcome and a more discerning T.
Offering further support for resolutions that allow reestablishment of trust and mutual respect.:hug:'s if you accept
Not true.... Sound systems are quite common...
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