How do parents stay involved when a 15-year-old starts therapy but doesn't want every conversation reported back at home?
My 15-year-old is willing to meet a therapist, which I'm glad about, but keeps asking whether I'll hear everything afterward. I want them to have room to talk and I also want to know how to support them. What would you discuss together at the first appointment?
I'd ask the clinician to explain confidentiality and its limits to both of you at the start, including how parent updates and safety concerns are handled. AACAP's ethics guidance specifically calls for explaining those boundaries early. I'd get the actual arrangement from the clinician, not promise secrecy myself: https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Member_Resources/Ethics/Foundation/AACAP_Code_of_Ethical_Principles.aspx
I'd ask for guidance about what I can do at home without asking for a transcript of the session. Those feel like different requests. I want help with my part, not every private thought my teen has said out loud.
Let your teen hear you say that in the appointment. I'd want mine to know I'm not nodding along and then planning a separate phone call to get the real story afterward.