By Divija Bhasin
The past decade has been a game changer when it comes to mental health, with many in society accepting that mental well-being is as crucial as physical well-being. While conversations around mental illness have changed for the better, there is still some form of stigma that remains which makes confidentiality the very foundation of therapy.
The relationship between a person and their therapist is extremely personal at many levels. The healing process of any therapy session demands vulnerability, where individuals share their innermost thoughts, beliefs, fears and concerns openly. Knowing that your therapy sessions are private and confidential helps in building a trusting, open psychologist-client relationship, making it imperative that any information shared in these sessions always remains private.
During the pandemic when many mental health professionals shifted their practice online, privacy became a larger concern. While online sessions ensured accessibility, psychologists became extremely wary of using platforms that were not end-to-end encrypted. End-to-end encrypted private messaging apps offer a safe haven for those who choose to discuss their personal trauma, deepest insecurities with their mental health professional or even loved ones. It made private and secure messaging platforms such as WhatsApp a necessity in today’s digital world.
The number of people seeking professional help in India is increasing but therapy and mental health problems are still seen with scepticism and people suffering from them are more often than not judged by society. People not only seek therapy for mental illness, but also for other reasons such as sexual abuse, divorce and other issues that are still considered taboo in India. Given that all the conversations in the sessions now often happen on private messaging platforms, and are restricted between the therapist and the client, the big question that comes to my mind is – what happens in a situation where these conversations are not protected with end-to-end encryption?
A breach of privacy could lead to discrimination in the life of the individual seeking therapy. There have been thousands of cases where people have lost their jobs and haven’t been given access to the same opportunities professionally. Personally, mental disorders have often been used as a ground for divorce. This can potentially worsen the emotional suffering of these individuals and the people around them. What exists as a solution for their mental health struggles, can turn into the very thing that makes it worse if this confidentiality is breached. The idea that something like this can potentially take place anytime and to anyone can be nerve-wracking for clients who already find it hard to seek therapy due to the social stigma. Many clients choose to keep their therapy sessions and treatment for mental health issues a secret even from their friends and family.
There has been enough time devoted to the benefits and limitations of encryption in public discourse and whether the ask from governments across the world to build backdoors to access specific information for safeguarding national security is justified. The move albeit well-intentioned is likely to do more harm than good. There are multiple other long-term consequences of breaking encryption such as identity theft, cyber hacking, and putting people’s personal data and information at risk, to name just a few.
As a mental health professional, what concerns me the most is that a breach in data privacy will act as a deterrent to those seeking the help they need. It can also create space for third parties including bad actors, and hackers to unlawfully get access to this sensitive data, leading to the unethical usage of that data by third parties for selling products to people undergoing treatment and will take advantage of their vulnerabilities without their consent. Knowledge of this would make any person weary of online therapy. This can result in reduced access to good quality help, especially for people who live in areas where mental health professionals aren’t readily available for offline sessions.
Privacy is an institutional right and deeply connected with the psyche of an individual which allows them to establish healthy relationships with oneself and others around them. It is crucial to the psychological needs of individuals, as they recover from their trauma, heal and start afresh, and privacy in one’s life, online or offline is no longer an accessory but a necessity for all citizens for their holistic welfare and wellbeing.
In today’s ‘always on’ digital world, the need to protect and safeguard privacy becomes even more crucial, which is where end-to-end encrypted platforms like WhatsApp have a critical role to play – by ensuring conversations remain private between you and your therapist, and no one in between.
(The author is Founder, Counselling Psychologist at The Friendly Couch. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of FinancialExpress.com.)
