Therapists and information confidentiality (I'm still in shock about this)

I thought therapists and councillors were bound by doctor/patient confidentiality??

Yesterday, after spending three days staring at the phone number of a local "Gender Identity Therapist" (or so I thought), I finally got the nerve up to call them and see if I could make an appointment.

He answered the phone and seemed very polite and professional to begin with, and I thought great, I won't have to travel 2 hours and pay through the nose to talk to someone about my problems.

Then he started inquiring as to what exactly I would like to see him for; I explained that I thought/knew I was genderfluid/genderqueer, and I'd only just come out to myself and a few others, but needed a few sensitive things cleared up and discussed with a professional, as I was still really new to everything I was feeling,and having trouble accepting myself and being comfortable.

Then, no word of a lie, he launched into a minute long tirade about a patient he sees regularly, who is in the exact same situation as me, who is a lesbian and lives in the same town (which isn't very big) like it was no big deal and told me about all of her issues as though it was the most casual thing in the world.

He even said just before finishing our coversation, "I look forward to meeting with you at some stage, GLBT issues are my passion,and also the reason why I got into councilling, I will tell you a bit about my story when we meet" (He's a catholic primary school teacher with a large family. . .?)

Your story? You're supposed to be giving me advice?

Very quickly after I told him I'd put more thought into coming to see him and ended the call.

I felt sick; this man is not only a councillor he is also a school teacher who lives not even a kilometer away from me, who knows alot of the local families. Before I called him I emailed him asking if he worked weekends, he has my full name and my contact details now

Needless to say I won't be going to see him - but his unprofessional and carless attitude just really shook me up, when you go to a doctor for help about sensitive matters, confidentiality is a right, not a privellage.

 

In retrospect - I could tell it was obviously an issue that he was really passionate about; and he seemed completely kind and genuine - I guess when I realized that he was involved in the same network as almost all of my old school teachers and a lot of my friends families, that sort of spooked me a little too, I come from such a tiny and narrow minded area, even if he never disclosed my identity to anyone, the odds of someone else finding out what I would be there for are high. I think that maybe travelling even just a little out of my way to see someone about this kind of matter would probably make me relax more too. I know for a fact that right now if any of my family members found out about this it wouldn't go down to well at all