Your counselor will make every effort to keep your personal information private. If you wish to have information released, you will be required to sign a Release of Information (ROI) form before such information will be released. There are some limitations to confidentiality; however, to which you need to be aware. Counselors are required by law to release information when the client poses a risk to themselves or others and in cases of abuse to children or the elderly. If your counselor receives a court order or subpoena, he or she may be required to release some information. In such a case, your counselor will consult with other professionals and limit the release to only what is necessary by law.
Your counselor may consult with a supervisor or other professional counselor in order to give you the best service. In the event that your counselor consults with another counselor, no identifying information such as your name would be released.
Coastal Counseling Center is a training and education center for counselors working toward their license. When a client is assigned to an intern, you will have the benefit of having two counselors working together to provide the hope and help you need. Information about you remains between your counselor and his or her clinical supervisor.
Confidentiality and Group Therapy
The nature of group counseling makes it difficult to maintain confidentiality. In a group context, be aware that your counselor cannot guarantee that other group members will maintain your confidentiality. However, your counselor will make every effort to maintain your confidentiality by reminding group members frequently of the importance of keeping what is said in group confidential. Your counselor also has the right to remove any group member from the group should he or she discovers that a group member has violated the confidentiality rule.
Confidentiality and Online Counseling
We take confidentiality seriously – especially when it comes to the use of technology. Our phone and fax lines are dedicated to their specific use and our voice mail is passcode protected. Email is often used to communicate information related to session times and other information related to your treatment. Your counselor will take every precaution to safeguard your information but cannot guarantee that unauthorized access to electronic communications could not occur.
The Center is exploring the use of technology for counseling. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances where a client cannot be physically present in a session (i.e., distance, illness, etc). Therefore, online counseling may be a consideration. HIPAA-compliant, secure platforms may be used to accomplish this. Please be advised to take precautions with regard to authorized and unauthorized access to any technology used in counseling sessions. Be aware of any friends, family members, significant others or co-workers who may have access to your computer, phone or other technology used in your counseling sessions.