Do You Ever Think Your Therapist Might Read Your Posts And Recognise You?

[p-no]

I doubt it! :)

I think what my therapist does at the end of the day is go home, kiss her hubby hello, fix supper, maybe call one of her grown kids and fall asleep on the sofa in front of the tv. :D

Therapists are people and if they spent too much time dealing with their clients and/or clients' issues, they might soon become clients of other therapists! Plus, seriously, to me that would be close to "online stalking" and I expect of my therapist to not abuse my trust.

 

[RussH]

p-no said therapist are people too. . . . too much time with clients and client issues they might soon become clients themselves

I agree. I think the therapist spend so much time with their clients that the last thing the would want to do on their off time is spend it reading the forum.

 

[Hashi]

I don't think she would have any interest in browsing what PTSD sufferers post, deliberately trying to find me or continuing to read if she realised it was me. It's about her accidentally coming across a post and what I said in it that she might read before she realised.

I only think of it in terms of her wanting to do some research. For example, I work with Jungian archetypes and trauma, which not a huge amount of people do. So what if she googled that to see what else was out there about it and got something I'd written?

Around the time I first joined the forum, I was searching for a DBT therapist online and one of the search results I got was my own PTSDForum post about DBT, asking for advice. That's why it worries me!

 

[Abstract]

I realised that Hashi and I do think its possible - especially when we have less common thoughts, experiences or ways of expressing ourselves - but I would hope that a therapist with good boundaries would realise that it was possible she would come across her client and therefore not go into search results on a support site. That is easy to do. I would also hope that if they did that they would immediately leave on recognising something and therefore not see much.

continuing

Like this.

That's the rational brain at work of course! Not saying what the paranoid brain thinks! :bag: The second possibility would also still sit very uncomfortably. :meh:

On a personal note I must admit that I am just plain shocked at how many people wouldn't mind. Every single word I speak about highly personal thoughts, experiences or emotions is something I am very territorial about and is only said after great effort. It would feel way worse that someone sneaking into my house and rifling through my most personal belongings without my consent. Or like @p-no said it would feel slightly stalker-ish.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

My therapist knows I am on this site. He knows I am a staff member. He will even ask me "So how is the forum?" :D

I did have a dream once that he signed up on the forum and started doing really strange things. I was really frantic in the dream, trying to get him to stop and I thought I was going to have to ban him. :O_o:

 

[Abstract]

I was going to have to ban him.

:roflmao:

 

[RussH]

Please do not take this as condemnatory or even critical; it really is just a question:
Why would you post something on a public forum that is so private that you cannot share it with your therapist? I would think anything relevant to your PTSD, and the resolution of it, would be something you would discuss with him, or her.

 

[p-no]

I truly believe that no matter what, if they don't know your user name they can never be sure it is you who wrote the post(s), @Hashi

It can well feel like they would be able to tell, but they can not be sure. I think, if they ever approached you about it, it would be on you to keep your boundaries up and just not confirm.

Another thing that has come to mind is that I have been using the "anonymous" function most often (lately) not to remain anonymous for people on the forum, but for people who might end up here and come across a post involving them and I wanted to make sure they don't even get to the point of considering it's them I wrote about. It might be an idea to anonymously post posts that you feel could give you away e.g. for reasons you have mentioned above; if you feel it would help.

 

[BloomInWinter]

I know my therapist is healthy enough to decide for herself how she wants to spend her time. Looking for me on the web just wouldn't appeal to her most of the time but even if it did, she's welcome to read it if she thinks it would help in some way.

 

[Chincho]

Up until this morning I thought there was no way my therapist would visit this forum, even though she knows I'm here almost every day. Especially because we speak Spanish, and she has tons of patients besides me. I still feel that way, but...

Today I saw my psychiatrist and she told me that she would rather I didn't spend so much time here because she doesn't want me to dwell on my trauma so much. I told her that she didn't know what she was saying, that this place is great and it's the only place where I find people who know why I feel the way I do, etc. She responded: "I know, I've visited the forum several times".

Now I find myself feeling vulnerable! :facepalm: And I didn't even start a diary yet!

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

@Abstract Yeah, it's funny now. :D But it wasn't then. I was freaked out when I woke up! :x3::cautious::hilarious:

Why would you post something on a public forum that is so private that you cannot share it with your therapist?

JMHO, maybe it's more like they aren't ready to share it with their therapist?

She responded: "I know, I've visited the forum several times".

Hmmm...Now on the forum a non-member can only view ( I think ) about 5 posts before they are told that too keep viewing that they need to register. I think that started a few months ago.

 

[Britt.f7]

I don't think of anyone reading my posts or finding me on here until someone on here mentions something like that. I trust my husband not to read it, same with my therapist. I think she has better things to do. I hope she does. Besides I share with her what's going on with me, like I do on here, so it wouldn't be any different.

There are other's I hope don't find out and read my posts. So far my sister only knows that it is a forum for depression. I think she would have a hard time finding this particular one. No one else really knows.