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I will treat with great care all the information
you share with me. It is your legal right that our sessions
and my records about you are kept private. That is why I ask
you to sign a "release-of-records" form before I
can talk about you or send my records about you to anyone else.
In general, I will tell no one what you tell me. I will not
even reveal that you are receiving treatment from me.
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In all but a few rare situations, your confidentiality
(that is, your privacy) is protected by state law and by the
rules of my profession.
Here are the most common cases in which confidentiality
is not protected:
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If you were sent to
me by a court for evaluation or treatment, the court expects
a report from me. If this is your situation, please talk with
me before you tell me anything you do not want the court to
know. You have a right to tell me only what you are comfortable
with telling.
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Are you suing someone or being
sued? Are you being charged with a crime? If so, and you tell
the court that you are seeing me, I may then be ordered to
show the court my records. Please consult your lawyer about
these issues.
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If you make a serious threat to
harm yourself or another person, the law requires me to try
to protect you or that other person. This usually means telling
others about the threat. I cannot promise never to tell others
about threats you make.
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If I believe a child has been or
will be abused or neglected, I am legally required to report
this to the authorities.
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In child custody or adoption cases,
the judge determines that the psychiatrist has information
bearing significantly on the client’s ability to provide
suitable care.
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The client initiates legal action
against the therapist. |
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When I provide treatment for minor, I have ethical
duty of confidentiality to the child and legal duty to the
parents. For children under 12, I tell their parents or guardians
whatever they ask me. As children grow older, they assume legal
rights. For those between the ages of 12 and 18, most of details
in things they tell me will be treated as confidential. However
parents or guardians do have the right to general information,
including how therapy is going. I will try my best to balance
the degree of confidentiality with your child’s needs
for privacy and trust in me. Therapy should be the safe place
for your child to share feelings and thoughts in order to be
effective. So, it is in your child best interest, that I will
be sharing information obtained during the session with her/his
permission and/or at my discretion. Your child will be informed
of all the limitation of confidentiality.
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There are two situations in which I might talk
about part of your case with another therapist. I ask now for
your understanding and agreement to let me do so in these two
situations.
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First, when I am away from the office for a few
days, I have a trusted fellow psychiatrist "cover" for
me. This psychiatrist will be available to you in emergencies.
Therefore, he or she needs to know about you. Generally, I
will tell this psychiatrist only what he or she would need
to know for an emergency. Of course, this therapist is bound
by the same laws and rules as I am to protect your confidentiality.
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Second, I sometimes consult other psychiatrist
or other professionals about my clients. This helps me in giving
high-quality treatment. These persons are also required to
keep your information private.
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Your name will never be given to them, and they
will be told only as much as they need to know to understand
your situation.
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For the purpose of these consultations, I may
want to make audio or video recordings of our sessions. I will
review the tape with my consultant to assist with your treatment.
I will ask your permission to make any recording. I promise
to destroy this recording as soon as I no longer need it, or,
at the latest, when I destroy your case records. You can refuse
to allow this recording, or can insist that the recording be
edited.
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Except for the situations I have described above,
I will always maintain your privacy. I also ask you not to
disclose the name or identity of any other client being seen
in this office.
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I make every effort to keep the names and records
of clients private. I will try never to use your name on the
telephone; other clients may be in the office and overhear
it.
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If your records need to be seen by another professional,
or anyone else, I will discuss it with you. If you agree to
share these records, you will need to sign a release form.
This form states exactly what information is to be shared,
with whom, and why, and it also sets time limits. You may read
this form at any time. If you have questions, please ask me.
We do not divulge the fact that you are a client or anything
about you or your sessions to anyone, unless you request us
(in writing) to do so.
It is my office policy to retain clients' records for 20 years
after the end of our therapy.
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If we do family or couple therapy (where there
is more than one client), and you want to have my records of
this therapy sent to anyone, all of the adults present will
have to sign a release.
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You can review your own records in my files at
any time. You may add to them or correct them, and you can
have copies of them. I ask you to understand and agree that
you may not examine records created by anyone else and sent
to me. I will keep your case records in a safe place.
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In some very rare situations, I may temporarily
remove parts of your records before you see them. This would
happen if I believe that the information will be harmful to
you, but I will discuss this with you. |
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