Woman ‘Violated’ After Therapist Messages Her on Dating App
An Australian woman says she felt "incredibly violated" after matching with her psychologist on a dating app. He even allegedly sent her "grossly inappropriate" messages.
Hinge claims to have a 90 percent success rate for users, but this one was not a successful love story.
As reported by news.com.au, the psychologist liked a photo of the woman wearing swimwear and sent her a private message saying, "Hey, I feel like we've matched before," alongside a heart-eyes emoji.
At first glance, the woman had no idea who he was, but she soon realized she was her psychologist after looking at his profile.
Feeling awkward, she responded by saying, "Aren't you my psych?"
Her hope that the conversation would fizzle out was met by the man allegedly attempting to continue the chat, claiming he didn't recognize her due to an expanded client list.
"Oh, that's why you look familiar," he responded. "Sorry, I deal with lots of clients, and it's hard to keep up. How have you been?"
The woman felt he was violating client-patient privilege.
She turned to social media and shared screenshots of their encounter in a private women-only Facebook group, asking for advice.
In her post, the woman said she felt "incredibly violated" because he knew "deeply personal" details about her past and had access to her personal information, such as her address and phone number.
She shared screenshots of their conversation, looking for advice.
Instead of insight, however, the woman is now looking for legal counsel after the screenshots were "leaked" to the psychologist.
Upset, the psychologist apparently found her on Instagram and threatened to sue her for defamation. Via DM, he warned her that she would be hearing from his lawyer "over the next week or so."
The woman claimed that she responded by questioning the validity of his defamation threat, reminding him that he had violated ethical codes.
"You're not allowed to approach me in public," she reportedly said. "Let alone instigate contact on a dating app. Even after I said, 'Aren't you my psych?,' you still tried to continue the conversation, knowing full well my status as a patient of yours."
The psychologist reportedly claimed his initial contact on the dating app was completely innocent. "I genuinely did not know that you were a client before you told me. I'm sure you can appreciate that I see a lot of clients, and it's been months since you had a session."
Unimpressed by his response, the woman stood her ground, saying, "I'm not afraid of whatever legal action he may take because I've spoken the truth."
News.com.au reports that the woman's complaint will be handled by the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) of Australia, which investigates matters involving practitioners in the New South Wales area.