FAQs
Does what we talk about in therapy remain confidential?
Confidentiality is one of the most important components between a client and their therapist, and it is both an ethical and legal issue. Successful therapy requires a high degree of trust with extremely sensitive and private subject matter that is usually not discussed anywhere but the therapist's office. As a patient, you will be provided with a written copy of a confidential disclosure agreement, and you can expect that what you discuss in session will not be shared with anyone. Sometimes, however, you may want your therapist to share information or give an update to someone (i.e. your doctor, attorney, your child’s school, etc…), but by law your therapist cannot release this information without obtaining your written permission, so you will be ask to review and sign an Authorization to Release form in order to proceed with your request.
Confidentiality includes not just the contents of therapy, but often the fact that a client is in therapy. It is common that therapists, for example, will not acknowledge their clients if they run into them outside of therapy in an effort to protect client confidentiality.
State law and professional ethics require therapists to maintain confidentiality except for the following situations:
Confidentiality is one of the most important components between a client and their therapist, and it is both an ethical and legal issue. Successful therapy requires a high degree of trust with extremely sensitive and private subject matter that is usually not discussed anywhere but the therapist's office. As a patient, you will be provided with a written copy of a confidential disclosure agreement, and you can expect that what you discuss in session will not be shared with anyone. Sometimes, however, you may want your therapist to share information or give an update to someone (i.e. your doctor, attorney, your child’s school, etc…), but by law your therapist cannot release this information without obtaining your written permission, so you will be ask to review and sign an Authorization to Release form in order to proceed with your request.
Confidentiality includes not just the contents of therapy, but often the fact that a client is in therapy. It is common that therapists, for example, will not acknowledge their clients if they run into them outside of therapy in an effort to protect client confidentiality.
State law and professional ethics require therapists to maintain confidentiality except for the following situations:
- Suspected past or present abuse (physical, verbal, emotional and/or sexual) or neglect of a child, and/or elder, based on information provided by the patient or collateral sources.
- If the therapist has reason to suspect the patient is seriously in danger of harming him/herself
- If the patient has threatened to harm another person (i.e. a duty to warn)