Confidentiality
Confidentiality can mean many different things depending on the agency and people involved. We define confidentiality referring to the therapist-client relationship. Generally speaking, confidentiality is like privacy. We believe you have a right to privacy and work hard to ensure your privacy is maintained.
Some Ways We Ensure Your Privacy
We endeavour to maintain your confidentiality in many different ways:
- We assign you a client number to avoid using your name. This is useful where there is a potential for others to see your name. For example, our session book has client numbers rather than names.
- At intake, we gather information about how you wish to be contacted. When we phone, we will not leave our name or number unless you have previously told us this is okay with you.
- We only send mail to you with your permission. One exception is if you are billed for sessions, we must be able to correspond with you at a mailing address.
- Information you share in therapy is kept private. We will only share information with family members or other professionals with your written permission. This includes children aged 12 and over.
- Your file remains locked in our office.
- We attempt to stagger the appointments to prevent people from meeting in the client waiting area.
Please note: if you are a professional in the community and require special considerations for privacy, please make this request when booking an appointment.
Exceptions to Confidentiality
In BC, only lawyers and in some jurisdictions doctors and clergy are immune from prosecution by withholding information from the court. If a court subpoena's your file, there is a possibility that information may have to be presented to the court. While these situations are rare, usually the client is aware of the subpoena before we are. If we do receive notification from a court, we will notify you.
In addition to a subpoena from court, there are three legal situations that do not allow any adult to keep information private:
- If you receive information that leads you to believe someone is at risk of harming them self, then you must take steps to protect that person.
- If you are suspicious of child sexual abuse or physical abuse, you must make a report to a Child Protection Social Worker at the Ministry for Children and Families.
- If you learn that someone is about to be harmed, you must report that information to the police.
Consultation and Supervision
Most professionals consult and receive supervision of their work. Some agencies require therapists to review their files in case management meetings with a team. At Walmsley & Associates, we consult with each other, but identifying information is not used.
The purpose of consulting is to focus on the therapist's work, to provide guidance and support, and to grow as therapists - resulting in better service to all clients.
Should identifying information be considered beneficial to consultation, then your therapist must receive specific written consent from you first.
A therapist at Walmsley and Associates may receive supervision from someone at our agency or go outside the agency for supervision. For example, all of our student interns receive weekly supervision of their work. Usually this is a condition of their practicum placement. Another example is an experienced therapist at our agency goes to Calgary to receive supervision of his supervision.
If a therapist receives supervision outside of our agency, you will be informed and will be invited to give your consent. It is always your choice and will not affect your therapy.