Confidentiality

According to the American Counseling Association, National Association of Social Workers, and American Psychological Association Codes of Ethics and federal law regarding client/counselor relationships, each counselor must respect the client's right to privacy and avoid illegal or unwarranted disclosure of confidential information without specific written consent of the client.  Disclosure to parents, faculty or staff or to any unauthorized person requesting information about the student or the counseling relationship is both illegal and unethical.

The right to privacy may be waived by the student or, in cases of minors, the client's guardian if client is under the age of 18. The state of Connecticut allows for clients under the age of 18 to be seen for confidential counseling for a minimum of 6 sessions in cases which consent from the minor’s guardian may be unattainable or cause more harm. In all other cases, confidentiality must ethically and legally be secured except for the following reasons:

• The counselor is legally and ethically bound to disclose confidential information in order to prevent clear and imminent danger to the client or to others. 
• When clients disclose that they have a disease commonly known to be both communicable and life threatening, counselors may be justified in disclosing information to identifiable third parties, if the parties are known to be at serious and foreseeable risk of contracting the disease. Prior to making a disclosure, counselors assess the intent of clients to inform the third parties about their disease or to engage in any behaviors that may be harmful to an identifiable third party. Counselors adhere to relevant state laws concerning disclosure about disease status.
• When a court orders confidential information to be disclosed without the signed consent of the client, the counselor must follow legal and ethical guidelines outlined by their respective licensing bodies.
• Counselors are ethically permitted to discuss a client case in supervision or treatment teams. 
• With group counseling there is less control over confidentiality than in traditional individual counseling relationships.  While there is great therapeutic opportunity within group work, one must consider the risks pertaining to confidentiality.

If you have any questions about confidentiality and its limits, you may talk to your counselor further.