Psychotherapy can only be effective if the process occurs in a confidential, ethical and neutral space. As a practitioner registered with AHPRA and HPCSA, I am bound by a code of ethics which I find extremely valuable and essential to good practice and this includes maintaining confidentiality. The essence of confidentiality is that the therapist will not share your information with others.
As a psychologist and person I am aware that it can be quite difficult to share personal and sometimes painful aspects of your life with someone you don't know on a personal level and therefore the process requires trust and confidentiality. There are a few exceptions to confidentiality that are sanctioned by law and I need to inform you of this. These are listed in the four points below:
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A situation where the therapist is concerned that the client is in imminent danger or poses a threat of danger to another person
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Statutory duty, where the therapist has sound reason to believe that a person is being subjected to sexual or physical abuse.
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Court orders, where the therapist may be obligated to disclose personal information through a subpoena.
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At some times during the treatment process it becomes necessary to consult with other professionals involved in a client's life such as doctors or other health care professionals. This will only be done with the written consent of the client or the client's parent or guardian.
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It should be noted that often third party funding often requires some kind of treatment plan and progress report. You will be informed if this is the case and you will need to sign consent for me to write a treatment plan or provide a progress report to access this funding. In terms of medicare, this would be your GP.
I will at all times try my best to safeguard confidentiality as far as possible.
NOTE
Please note that I am aware that some clients may want to research their therapists online. I generally don't write online advice and there appears to be a few psychology based unpublished articles under the name Michelle Scott and these may not necessarily be written by me or representative of my views.