Our great responsibility and great advantage is the guarantee of maintaining confidentiality of the details of conversations with the client. Without this, our work has no meaning, and we pledge to abide by the code of ethics. We not only help the person cope with their experience, but also respect and protect the confidentiality of information about them. Sometimes client stories can be so meaningful that there is a great temptation to share them with others, as if in childhood, when you were the first to learn about some significant fact. We remember that this is strictly forbidden. Decency is highly valued by clients, therefore, in conversations with colleagues, friends and relatives, we always watch our speech so as not to give away other people's secrets. We pretend that we do not notice the client when we meet by chance in a public place, unless he himself greets us first. We do not give away our acquaintance if the client’s name comes up in a conversation with someone. We create a schedule so that clients do not meet each other at our office. We provide security for them, but create inconvenience for ourselves, as if we were conducting secret business with a hundred people at the same time! We are strongly separated from the outside world. We do not answer the phone, do not let anyone in, and do not allow any outside interference during sessions. And between sessions we often read and write something. It’s as if we are leaving this world for a while, locking ourselves in the office. This can lead to a feeling of special value in the specialist: he worries privately so that others can cope with their suffering. Or a closeness, mystery and a tendency to avoid direct answers to questions outside the office may develop, but sincerity will remain with clients. It’s easier for us to withdraw into ourselves and praise them for demonstrating high professionalism, but in reality we feel like victims. In restaurants and public places, where there is always the possibility of bumping into current or former customers, we need to control our behavior and alcohol consumption so as not to tarnish our reputation. On social networks, we must carefully select our words so as not to be misunderstood and not receive a dose of aggression. People around us are watching our relatives to confirm the belief about “a psychologist who himself, apparently, escaped from a mental hospital.” Someone easily asks for advice from us to solve their problems, but many people are afraid of us because of their own beliefs, as if we see right through everyone: “Oh, you’re a psychologist! Perhaps I should talk less.” As a result, the life of a psychotherapist becomes very isolated. Our potential clients can ask our friends about our reputation. Naturally, we want to be represented not only as professionals, but also as simply good people. We are always visible, so we choose and maintain a certain style of behavior so as not to disappoint others. We listen and see, we answer when asked, but we try not to say too much. Take part in the online master class of the Balint supervision group Or subscribe to the telegram channel Igor Alferov | Balint groups: supervision, webinars, checklists