Therapy is a professional relationship that is bound by confidentiality. There are laws in place to protect the information that you share in therapy. You have the right to confidentiality and privacy. I take this very seriously.
No Secrets Policy: Privacy is more complex in family and couples therapy because there are multiple people in the therapy sessions. In family and couples therapy, any information that you share privately with the therapist may be shared with the other family members consenting to treatment. This is at the discretion of the therapist.
Your therapist will not share identifying details about you to anyone outside of the treatment unit without your express written consent.
Exceptions:
- 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.
Balancing the Benefits and Risks of Counseling
Choosing to engage in counseling will have benefits
Benefits may Include:
- Feeling better about yourself
- Understanding yourself and others better
- Learning new skills
- Improving your relationships
- Altering troubling behaviors
- And more
AND it will also involve risks.
Risks may include:
- Trusting another enough to share honestly & openly about yourself
- Uncovering of unpleasant memories
- Dealing with uncomfortable feelings (sadness, guilt, anger) that may arise prior to resolving issues
- Your changes may initially confuse and negatively affect close relationships
- And more
Please discuss any concerns you may have about either risks or benefits with me during our sessions.