Confidentiality & Privacy Policy
The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission. You have total control over your personal information including the content of therapy sessions.
However, there are some exceptions. These include:
- Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse, for which I am required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
- If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, I must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
- If a client intends to harm himself or herself, I will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, I will take further measures without their permission that are provided to me by law in order to ensure their safety.
- If a judge or a court orders me to divulge content from your therapy sessions, I might have to do so.
- Psychotherapeutic relationships of client and counselor are privileged under the law, as mentioned above. This means that. I work for your interests, not the court's.
- Know that if I were compelled to report or testify in a court hearing about our relationship, I would do so with great hesitation; this is why I retain a lawyer who not only looks out for my interests as a therapist, but the interest of the client-therapist relationship, its privilege of confidentiality.
- As well, know that if so ordered, I am only obligated to respond specifically to the exact question asked, to give the minimal information required to answer the question.
- We can talk more if you might be in this category of potential court involvement.