Can the psychologist tell others what you explain to him/her?

The principle of confidentiality is one of the ethical foundations of psychotherapy.

One of the aspects of psychotherapy that generates the most misgivings is the issue of confidentiality. Can the psychologist explain to a third party what the patient or client tells him/her?

As we will see, except in an exceptional case, the answer is a resounding "no". And no, this is not a simple moral rule that psychologists tend to follow because they all think alike. As we will see, behind the profession there is a code of ethics of obligatory fulfillment for a series of very important reasons.

Is what is told to the psychologist confidential?

In the course of a series of psychotherapy sessions, it is inevitable that sensitive topics will be discussed: traumatic experiences, family conflicts, feelings that are not understood or are socially frowned upon, etc. This is part of the reason why therapy has a raison d'être; even disorders with more limited effects, such as certain specific phobias, give rise to moments that we would not explain to just anyone. moments that we would not explain to anyone and that it is in our interest that they do not come to light..

The same thing happens if the problems to be treated are not disorders per se; if there is something that makes us feel bad and motivates us to go to a psychologist's office, that is still confidential information.

And what happens if what we are looking for is not to treat a personal problem, but to address a new need (such as learning a new skill for which we must train with a professional who advises us)? In these cases it is also very likely that personal issues will be discussed. Since cognitive restructuring related to self-esteem and self-concept, for example, requires delving into the client's most deeply held feelings and beliefs, requires delving into the client's deep-seated feelings and beliefs..

Now, these are the reasons why it is in the interest of clients and patients for there to be a rigid discipline of confidentiality regarding what goes on in the psychologist's office.

Its existence in itself would justify that the professional feels the moral obligation not to tell anything to the rest of the people, since although he is offering a service, he does not cease to empathize at any time. However, this is not the only reason why psychologists self-impose psychologists self-impose an obligation on themselves to keep information from leaving their practice.. The other half of this obligation is deontological and professional, not individual, but collective.

The principle of confidentiality in therapy

These sessions exist because they create a therapeutic bond based on trust. A good part of the added value of this kind of services consists of having a place where all the reasons for fear, shame and anguish can be expressed, so that based on this information, we can work to solve the situation.

That is why, if the stability of this dynamic relationship between the professional and the patient or client were not respected beforehand, the work of psychologists would lose the foundation on which it is based. Not only would this entail losing clients, but it would also would spread a vision of psychology according to which it makes sense to try to deceive the therapist or to hide things from him or her, showing him or her only or to hide things from him or her, showing only that information that is considered uncompromising.

In something like this, a few cases of therapists spreading data would cause very serious damage to the profession as a whole. Therefore, the principle of confidentiality is no longer a commitment of the therapist to himself/herself, the principle of confidentiality is not only a commitment of the therapist to himself/herself and to the patient he/she works with, but also to the patient. and to the patient with whom he or she works, but also to other colleagues who are engaged in the same work.

But confidentiality is not limited to what the patient explains in the sessions. Psychotherapists also treat as confidential specific data and documentation related to their clients and patients, everything that is considered sensitive information. People do not even have to know the names of the people with whom they are working to improve their well-being.

On the other hand, respecting the privacy of the information clients provide is a way of demonstrating that you are not judging the person you are offering the service to. ¿Why else would a therapist disclose confidential information?Why else? Either because the topics discussed seem sufficiently trivial to him to tell them, or because he finds certain anecdotes amusing, or because he respects the client sufficiently little to give private information to those who ask for it. In any case, these situations would be symptoms of a lack of commitment to one's own professional career.

In what cases is confidentiality breached?

The psychologists' code of ethics states that the priority is the well-being of patients and the people around them. Thus, the only situation in which a psychologist should be able to disclose to third parties private information of patients is if they have solid evidence that either someone is going to be directly harmed, or someone's life is in danger. That is, a context in which that which is to be improved is in danger that is beyond the scope of the therapist's intervention.

In the case of suicide risk, the problem to be treated may be related to this, so that confidentiality will be broken if it is considered that there is an immediate and concrete danger.