Privacy & Technology

I take your right to privacy very seriously

No identifying information about you will ever be sold, rented or given to anyone, at any time, for any reason without your written consent.

Ethics and the law

As a counselor, I am bound by a code of ethics that dictates how I must handle your private information.

Confidentiality is a vital part of the therapeutic experience in counseling and it is every counselor’s sacred duty to do everything possible to maintain it. In adhering to the American Counseling Association and National Board of Certified Counselors codes, I maintain the highest professional standards.

Having said that, it is important for you to know that under certain circumstances, I am mandated by law to breach confidentiality. Because of my status as a counselor, these legal and ethical standards hold true whether or not our work together expressly includes therapy.
I must report to authorities:

1. If I suspect that you are a danger to yourself or another
2. If I suspect child or elder abuse
3. If a judge subpoenas my records in the execution of case against you

Exceptions specific to my practice

In choosing to work with me, you commit to paying fees in full and on time so this should never be a problem, but if for any reason I have to go to collections with a bill, it will be necessary to share financial and contact information. But even in that case, no information about what we worked on will ever be shared.

Conversely, when I discuss my work in supervision or peer consultation, I only disclose my methods and outcomes. No personal, identifying information about you is ever shared.

Privacy in the age of technology

We must be realistic about the limitations of electronic communication. While I take every precaution to protect your privacy, I cannot guarantee confidentiality 100% when computers and phones are part of the equation.

You must safeguard your privacy on your end. Never send me sensitive emails from your work computer. Your employer is entitled to monitor anything you write in the work environment.

If others in your home have access to the computer on which you write to me, consider using password protection on your email account.

It is extremely unlikely that any email exchange will be intercepted in transit, but if you are concerned about this possibility, install a personal firewall on your computer. See McAfee™ or the Norton™ products by Symantec™ for examples. In addition, I would be willing to use an encrypting service like Ziplip but be advised that encryption can be cumbersome and expensive.

If you have particular concerns about privacy, send me an email and we will talk them through.

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