Psychotherapy

[Page 833]This entry briefly describes the use of psychotherapy as it relates to surveillance, security, and privacy. It begins by providing a brief definition of psychotherapy as well as an overview of its use as a medical intervention. The entry then critically discusses psychotherapy, detailing three ways in which psychotherapy can be considered a form of surveillance and can potentially infringe on privacy. These include (1) psychotherapy in the context of formal state surveillance, (2) psychotherapists as agents of informal surveillance and facilitators of conformity, and (3) psychotherapy as encouraging and entrenching self-surveillance.