Confidentiality & Ethics

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:

  1. A situation where the therapist is concerned that the client is in imminent danger or poses a threat of danger to another person

  2.  Statutory duty, where the therapist has sound reason to believe that a person is being subjected to sexual or physical abuse.

  3. Court orders, where the therapist may be obligated to disclose personal information through a subpoena.

  4.  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.  

  5. It should be noted that often third party funding often requires a 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. In terms of Work Cover and Open Arms, for example, the case manager is a person who coordinates treatment. Case managers are not employers and are part of the health management team.

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 I generally don't write online advice and there appears to be a few psychology based unpublished articles under the name Michelle Scott and these may not necessarily be written by me or representative of my views.

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