Privacy and Confidentiality

Maintenance of records

Your name, contact information and transcripts will be maintained in a secured storage system under the control of the psychologist and will be saved for a period of ten years. You have access to your records during that time period, although will be responsible for costs of copying and transmitting if requesting a copy.

Confidentiality

Information about you and that you choose to share with your psychologist will not be disclosed or released to third parties without your written consent. There are, however, some exceptions. If the psychologist suspects that a client is going to harm himself or herself, or someone else, or that a child is being abused or neglected, then he or she has a legal and ethical obligation to report this information to the appropriate authorities. The courts also have the power to subpoena a psychologist’s files.

Privacy

Email is not a secure form of communication. It can be intercepted at several points. This includes during transmission, while saved on the therapist's computer, while saved on the client's computer and after being subpoenaed. Privacy in transit of any form of communication over the internet cannot be guaranteed. Clients are encouraged to safeguard their privacy by using private, not shared, email accounts and password protection. Email provided by an employer is considered the property of the employer. Use of work email for online therapy is strong discouraged.