Confidentiality and Its Discontents: Dilemmas of Privacy in Psychotherapy

Freud promised his patients absolute confidentiality, regardless of what they revealed, but privacy in psychotherapy began to erode a half-century ago. Psychotherapists now seem to serve as “double agents” with a dual and often conflicting allegiance to patient and society. Some therapists even go so far as to issue Miranda-type warnings, advising patients that what they say in therapy may be used against them.

Confidentiality and Its Discontents explores the human stories arising from this ...