Confidentiality and Therapy

Counselling therapists (aka psychotherapists) are bound to client confidentiality in the same way as doctor or a lawyer. Confidential information is protected in most circumstances, and will not be shared with anyone besides the therapist themself.

There are only a few cases in which a therapist is obligated (ethically and legally) to break confidentiality and disclose information. These circumstances are outlined in the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association’s (CCPA) standards of practice:

Counsellors/therapists have a fundamental ethical responsibility to take every reasonable precaution to respect and to safeguard their clients’ right to confidentiality, and to protect from inappropriate disclosure, any information generated within the counselling/therapy relationship. This responsibility begins during the initial informed consent process before commencing work with the client, continues after a client’s death, and extends to disclosing whether or not a particular individual is in fact a client.

This general requirement for counsellors/therapists to keep all information confidential is not absolute since disclosure may be required in any of the following circumstances:

1. there is an imminent danger to an identifiable third party or to self;

2. when a counsellor/therapist has reasonable cause to suspect abuse or neglect of a child;

3. when a disclosure is ordered by a court;

4. when a client requests disclosure; or,

5. when a client files a complaint or claims professional liability by the counsellor/therapist in a lawsuit.

Source: Standards of Practice for Counsellors

Confidentiality with minors follow the same rules, with some added considerations:

1. Parents and guardians do not have an absolute right to know all the details of their child’s counselling/therapy, but rather, each request should be evaluated on a ‘need to know’ basis.

2. As a child grows and matures, the parent’s right to know will diminish and may even terminate when the child achieves the capacity and sufficient understanding to give informed consent.

Source: Standards of Practice for Counsellors

Children and teens have the same right to confidentiality as adults. This confidentiality even extends to their parents. As with adults, this confidentiality does not apply if the minor discloses an immediate danger to themself or others, active abuse or neglect.