Many people are concerned that their employer or peers will find out that they are seeing a psychologist and that it will somehow negatively effect them or their reputation. Some of our clients are very high-profile in this community and one of the reasons that they feel comfortable seeing us is that we are extremely careful about protecting their confidentiality.
Your privacy is one of our top priorities. Our office is in a very low-traffic setting with parking in the rear. We have a separate waiting room with two doors so that no one sees anyone else coming or going from my office. For this reason, we ask that you close the door to the waiting room upon entering. If someone else calls our office and asks if we are seeing you, our response will be “I cannot discuss who I do or do not see.”
The ethical rules and laws governing our profession strictly prohibit us from sharing your information with anyone except for your insurance company without your permission. Our rules about confidentiality and legal privilege are stricter than the rules that attorneys have to follow with the following exceptions:
- Child or elder abuse
- If you are intending to seriously harm yourself or another person
- Court orders, which are very rare and generally only occur in very extreme circumstances involving violence or an ongoing crime