Confidentiality in Psychotherapy
Your confidence in the privacy of psychotherapy will be a critical aspect of our relationship. This relationship, as client and psychologist, is protected by California law. I will not disclose that you are my client, or any information at all about you, without your written permission, except in certain very specific situations. These situations primarily involve safety.
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In the event of a clear and imminent threat to your life or the life of another person, I may be compelled to breach confidentiality in order to ensure safety.
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If I learn that a child may be in danger of abuse or neglect, I am legally required to report this to Child Protective Services.
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If I have substantial cause to believe that a dependent adult is in need of protective services because of abuse, neglect or exploitation by you or anyone else, I am legally required to report this to appropriate authorities.
In rare cases, I may receive a final court order instructing me to disclose information about our work together. In most cases, courts recognize the importance of protecting the therapeutic relationship, and I will vigorously assert the psychotherapist-client privilege should I ever receive a request for disclosure in a legal proceeding.
In any situation in which one of these exceptions to confidentiality arises, I will only disclose the minimum necessary to achieve the purpose of the exception (for instance, the minimum information necessary to protect your life, or that of another, should there be an immediate danger).
These situations are extremely rare in my practice. In most instances, I anticipate you also would want to take action to protect yourself or others, and I would work with you to identify the best way to take such action. I will always make every effort to discuss the options with you in detail before taking any action that might breach confidentiality.
On a slightly different subject, my clients' online privacy is of great importance to me as well. I will never solicit any client to provide online ratings, post review comments, or give testimonials—though anyone may, of course, do so of their own choosing. I welcome your feedback during our sessions together so that we can build upon what is working well for you in conseling, or we can address any areas for improvement.