Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

To Google Or Not To Google: Graduate Students’ Use Of The Internet To Access Personal Information About Clients, David K. Dilillo, Emily B. Gale

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The emergence of Internet search and social media sites now permits therapists to obtain a plethora of personal information about their clients online. These behaviors raise a number of ethical issues related to client privacy, self-determination, and informed consent. The purpose of this study is to examine student therapists’ opinions and behaviors in regard to the use these websites to search for information about their clients. A national sample of 854 psychology doctoral students was surveyed in regard to their online activities, attitudes, and frequency of searching for client information online. Results showed that Internet usage is pervasive in this …