Confidentiality & Privacy Policy
Federal and State laws protect the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist, and information about you cannot be disclosed without written permission.
Exceptions include:
- Suspected child abuse or dependant adult or elder abuse, for which we are required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
- If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, we must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
- If a client intends to harm himself or herself, we will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in insuring their safety. If they do not or cannot cooperate, we will take measures without their permission that are legal under Federal and State law in order to ensure their safety.
- In rare circumstances a county, state, or federal judge may order mental health records to be released to the court. However, judges are keenly aware of the importance of confidentiality in the therapy relationship, and in most cases are reluctant to require records to be released. Attorneys do not have the authority to require records to be released, and an attorney's subpeona is typically insufficient to require release of confidential information.
If you have questions regarding the confidentiality of mental health records, please do not hesitate to ask your therapist for more information.