It’s good that this mother is observant, but we are talking about a 17 year old person here, not a 7 year old child. I don’t think they were completely out of line to presume this 7 y/o could speak for themselves w/o Mommy hovering in her helicopter.
If 17 year old “persons” want that level of autonomy they can file for emancipation.
I would guess you aren’t a parent of a teenager. Nobody has private sessions with my kids, period.
Under 18 is under 18 period. They are under parental control.
My teenagers had the right (that I gave them) to request a private conversation with their doctor whenever they wished. At one point, the doctor wanted to speak to my daughter in private and *she* insisted that I remain in the room.
Another time, my son did pull the privacy card. After he spoke with the doctor, he opened up to me on things that had been bothering him for some time. He finally was comfortable to come out with it all.
Once they reach a certain age, I found that it’s best to give them some control. At 17, they’ll be doing this by themselves in less than a year and they’ve got to learn how to navigate the medical world. But that’s still between parent and child, not up to the doctor.