“Aren’t you my psych?” Woman “matches” with her psychologist on dating app
Bored at home, swiping left or right on potential dates, an Australian woman was shocked to find that her psychologist allegedly matched with her on a dating app.
The woman from Byron Bay was on the dating app Hinge and claims to have “matched unintentionally” with the mental health professional.
She took to Facebook for advice on what to do, supported with screenshots of the alleged message exchange.
“I need a bit of help and don't know what to do,” the young woman started.
“My psychologist, who I haven't seen in a few months but have been in contact with, messaged me on Hinge.
“I matched with him unintentionally and didn’t realise it was him until he messaged me.”
The man reached out first writing, “Hey,” along with a heart eye emoji. “I feel like we’ve matched before.”
The woman did not hesitate to ask him, “Aren’t you my psych?”
Upon realising the “gross” nature of the situation, the psychologist immediately apologised to the woman, but continued the conversation and asked her how she was.
She admitted to feeling “scared and violated” and wanted advice on how to approach the alleged situation.
“A part of me wants to do something about it because I worry about other patients of his who he might do this to. Any help and advice on whether I should do something or not would be appreciated,” she said.
She also shared a screenshot of a previous text message from the psychologist informing her that it’s been “months” since her last appointment.
The woman explained that the reason she “matched” with him is because he was using a different name on the app.
The psychologist eventually found out that the woman had shared screenshots of their interaction and threatened to sue her for defamation.
“Hello, I believe you have been spreading slander about me on social media. Please expect to be hearing from a lawyer in regard to defamation over the next week or so,’ the psychologist allegedly texted the woman.
“How is it defamation when everything is true?” she responded.
“What you’ve done is grossly inappropriate and violates ethical codes. You’re not allowed to approach me in public 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. I will be reporting to AHPRA.”
“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 have had a session,” he concluded.
The Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) is understood to be investigating the alleged matter, according to news.com.au.
Image: Facebook