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Privacy Policy

The law protects the relationship between a client and therapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission from the client. Exceptions are listed below.

Danger to Self

If a therapist has cause to believe that you are at risk of harming yourself, such as suicidal thoughts and a plan to attempt suicide, the therapist has an ethical obligation to break confidentiality in order to help protect you from harm.

Danger to Others

If you tell your therapist of a plan to harm another person or group of people, the therapist has a legal obligation called Duty to Warn. This involves attempts to contact the individual or group who are being threatened, and contacting law enforcement or other appropriate agencies in order to ensure that harm does not occur.

Abuse

If a client discloses abuse that has been perpetrated against a child, someone with a developmental delay, or an elderly individual, or if the therapist reasonably suspects that abuse has occurred, the therapist must immediately report the abuse to the appropriate agency, such as child welfare.

Court Order

Therapists can be ordered by a judge to appear at court hearings for cases that may involve the client, such as criminal cases where the client is a child who has been abused. Therapists can also be required to submit documents such as therapy notes to the court in some instances.