Social media has been abuzz with stories revolving around the mental health of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput after his alleged therapist, Susan Walker, gave an interview that many are saying breaches client confidentiality and is illegal.
Walker revealed to an Indian journalist that the actor was suffering from bipolar disorder and that actress Rhea Chakraborty was a huge support, even a mother figure, at the time.
This interview hasn't gone down well with majority of netizens, some of whom have even reported the original tweet featuring this talk.
Now, Sushant's brother-in-law Vishal Kirti - in his personal blog - has come forward to say that this disclosure of information by the therapist is not only unethical but illegal as well.
"Since there is an enormous amount of stigma today, mental health information is protected by the law of the land. Disclosing mental health information by a psychotherapist/psychologist is not only unethical but also illegal (except for certain circumstances which don't apply here). I leave it to my father-in-law to press charges on this matter," he writes in his blog.
He also questioned the validity of the therapist's claims, writing, "My third point is a question on the validity of Susan's claims. Diagnosing mental disorders is an arduous task and diagnosing someone Bipolar (I or II) is even more so. Not only do you have to observe the person very closely, but you also have to observe them over long periods of time (it takes six years on average to diagnose after the onset of symptoms). Susan very conveniently diagnoses Sushant in less than two months (perhaps over a couple of appointments), with a life-changing diagnosis. And then she has the audacity to disclose this information in the public domain. If we are to believe Susan, another thing which does become clear is that it was Rhea indeed who was seeking treatment for Sushant and not Sushant himself. Prior to October/November 2019 (and certainly prior to meeting Rhea), as far as I know, no one who has lived with Sushant has ever complained about his mental health, nor has Sushant himself."
He also questions Rhea's role in the whole matter. "I am not using any special information and I am quoting everything available in the public domain. The FIR claims that Sushant was perhaps given psychotropic drugs by Rhea (maybe even without his knowledge). Covert/Surreptitious medication is also perhaps illegal in the 21st century. There could be many explanations of this sudden onset of mental health issues in October/November of 2019. This could be a result of covert medication and withdrawal of psychotropic drugs (perhaps the covert medication stopped during their Europe trip in October 2019 - perhaps because of eating out mostly so no opportunity to covertly medicate him with food? - or perhaps intentionally not medicating? - which led to withdrawal symptoms)."
He ended the long post with a message for the journalist who conducted the interview with Walker. "Please understand again that this is not a personal attack but an expression of disappointment in the approach you took in the aftermath of our beloved Sushant's death."