Confidentiality & Privacy Policy
For therapy to be successful, a client must have a high degree of trust in his or her therapist, considering the sensitive subject matter that is usually discussed.
You can expect that what you and I discuss in our work together will not be shared with anyone without your consent, unless required by law (see exceptions below).
More specifically, I adhere to the HIPAA law that protects the confidentiality of anything you share with me in any form (written, spoken, electronic) as well as any information shared with me by your healthcare providers about you.
However, if you do want me to share information with or give an update to someone on your healthcare team (your physician, naturopath, attorney, etc.), I can release this information but only with your written permission.
Exceptions include:
- Suspected abuse of a child, dependent adult, or elder by anyone. I am required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
- A client’s threats of serious bodily harm to another person or persons.
I will inform the appropriate authorities.
- A client’s intent to harm himself or herself. I will make every effort to elicit my client’s cooperation to ensure his or her safety. If my client does not cooperate, I will take additional measures without my client’s permission that are afforded me by law in order to ensure his or her safety.
- Legal proceedings and court orders.
- Medical emergencies.
- Worker’s compensation claim(s) if the information is relevant to the claim.
- Couple and family therapy. Confidentiality and privilege do not apply between the couple or among family members who are my clients, unless otherwise agreed on by all parties.
- Government health oversight. If a government agency requests protected health information for health oversight activities, I am required to provide it.
Please refer to the form Notice of Privacy Practices for more information and in-depth descriptions.
