It’s important to be open and honest with a marriage counselor, but there may be some things that you should not reveal or discuss with them. These may include:
- Confidences shared by other people, such as family members or friends, unless it’s relevant to the issue at hand.
- Information that could be used to harm yourself or others, such as threats of violence, abuse or illegal activities.
- Information that is not relevant to the counseling process and may distract from addressing the issues in the relationship.
It’s also important to be mindful of your own boundaries and comfort level with sharing certain information. It’s okay to hold back information that you feel uncomfortable sharing, but this should be discussed with the counselor.
It’s important to consider that whatever you discuss with your counselor is confidential and it’s not shared with others unless you authorize it or if the counselor is mandated by law to report certain information such as child abuse or harm to self or others.