CONFIDENTIALITY AND INFORMED CONSENT POLICY

Counselling Services recognizes that the information you provide is private and we are committed to keeping that information confidential.  However, there are a few facts about how your information will be collected, used, and retained that you should understand prior to entering our service.

As a Counselling Service, we are required to keep a record of each of your interactions with anyone in our service. That record will be retained for 3 years after your last contact with us.  

Your counselling record will be stored in a secure manner and its  contents cannot be directly accessed by anyone but your counsellor. No information will be released from your counselling record  without your consent; except in the circumstances described in the Coordination of Student Support Services and Limits of Confidentiality sections below.

When appropriate, your counsellor will consult with other mental health professionals and engage in clinical supervision in order to provide you with the best possible service. When discussing aspects of your case with a member of Counselling Services or a qualified expert, every effort will be made to exclude information that could identify you in order to protect your privacy.

Counselling Services is legally obligated to disclose information about you to the appropriate authorities, with or without your consent, in the following circumstances:

1. There are reasonable grounds to believe that you are likely to harm yourself or another person.
2. There are reasonable grounds to believe that a child under the age of 17 years is at risk of being abused or neglected.
3. Your counselling record has been subpoenaed by a court of law.
4. You disclose that you have been sexually abused by a regulated health professional.

In most cases, we may believe that it would be helpful to share information about you with someone outside of Counselling Services, such as your parents, or your family doctor. In these situations, we will discuss the benefits and risks of releasing this information and ask you to decide which information should and shouldn’t be released.

In those rare situations where we believe that it is necessary to disclose confidential information about you without your consent;

       a) we will only release information that we believe is relevant to the situation 

       b) only release information to those whom we believe need to receive it. 

When it is appropriate and safe to do so, we will notify you if we have released information without your explicit consent.

When you meet with a counsellor for your initial appointment, your counsellor will provide you with a copy of our Confidentiality and Informed Consent Form to review and sign. We may decline your request for “counselling”  services should you choose to withhold your consent to receiving  counselling services under these policies. In such a case, we will  provide you with a listing of available services not affiliated with Inner Peace Counselling to help you find a suitable service provider.