Therapy is meant to be something that helps you, whether it was with day-to-day issues or traumatic events from the past. As a client, you are meant to receive a certain kind of treatment from your therapist. However, many people often do not know how therapy works or what kinds of rights they are entitled to as clients.
Your Rights
As a client, you are entitled to many different rights –
Plan of Treatment. As a client, you have every right to be informed of the goals and objectives of your therapy. You have the right to know how your plan of treatment will flow.
Explanations. Any time there are things you feel that you do not understand quite so well, you have the right to ask your therapist about them and receive the explanations that feel sufficient to you.
Treatment is Voluntary. Remember that, not accounting for exceptional circumstances, you are going to therapy under your own will and at your own time. You have every right to consent to the type of treatment you are receiving or even request to change it. With that being said, you also have every right to terminate treatment if you see fit.
Safety. In therapy, you are meant to feel safe. If you feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unheard with your therapist, then you have every right to leave.
Ethics. Your therapist is meant to maintain ethics in everything that they do. They should not use your story for personal benefits. They should not ever discriminate against you. Most importantly, they should not be engaged sexually or romantically with you.
Privacy. As part of therapy ethics, you have the right to privacy. Everything you say to your therapist is meant to be confidential. No one else must know or hear anything.
Change in Therapists. At any moment, if you feel unsafe with your therapist or you simply do not feel like you are getting along, you can always change the therapist and find one that is better suited for you.
Second Opinions. As a client, you have every right to receive a second opinion on your case or treatment plan if that makes you feel more comfortable.
Exceptional Cases
The aforementioned are basic client rights. However, there are some cases in which confidentiality may perhaps be broken. Such cases include abuse, dangerous and serious self-harm or harm on others, and court orders. In other cases, if the client is a minor, the therapist may discuss certain things with their parents or guardians.
Every therapist is different, and every therapy experience is different. The same therapist may not provide every client with the same experience because every individual is unique in their own way, hence making the therapy unique and tailored only to them. However, it is always important to keep in mind what therapy ethics include in order to know what your rights are before even starting your therapy journey.