ACT Psychological Services: Compasionate, Creative Caring
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is central and crucial to the work of my Counselling Service. Personal information about myclients is kept confidential, which includes the receptionists. This means I do not disclose verbal or written information about you to others unless we have your permission to do so.
In rare cases, disclosure may occur without your consent if there is good reason to believe that you or others are at imminent risk and you are incapable or unwilling to take responsibility for your actions. Any decision to break confidentiality will normally be discussed with you first.
Exceptions to the rule of confidentiality occur when:
* the counsellor has the client’s consent to disclose personal information * the counsellor believes that the client or a third party is in danger of serious harm * the counsellor would be liable to civil or criminal court procedure if the information were not disclosed.
If you have been seen by other professionals or helping agencies, I may ask for your permission to contact them. Information from other professionals can help us decide whether or not counselling is appropriate. It can also be important to ensure that the services I provide do are compatible with the services provided by others.
The following are the Alberta College of Psychologist Guidlines on Confidentiality:
COLLEGE OF ALBERTA PSYCHOLOGISTS Guidelines of the Release of Confidential Information
In acquiring and maintaining personal information about clients, psychologists should adhere to the fundamental principle of privacy protection: that they collect from clients only that information they need to provide good service to the client. Furthermore, they should only use that information for the original purposes for which the client has agreed to its collection. In the following sections, we identify the guiding principle first and then offer commentary on it.
A Psychologists have a duty to protect the confidentiality of information that clients1 reveal to them in the context of a professional relationship.
B Psychologists should release confidential information about clients only with the express, specific consent of the client, except where required to do so by law.
C Even in instances where release of otherwise confidential client information is required by law, psychologists still have a duty to ensure that only the required information is released, that information is released only to persons authorized to receive it, and that clients are fully informed of the release and the reasons for it.
D Although psychologists are sometimes compelled to release psychological test information, such as client responses to particular test items, copies of test protocols, and raw or transformed scores of psychological tests, they should endeavour to release such materials only to other psychologists.