The counselling and therapy service at LIFE IN HAND are accredited to the NCPS Code of Ethics and also adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. Confidentiality is one of the most fundamental ethical obligations owed by counsellors, and psychotherapists, to their clients. Counsellors and psychotherapists require a considerable degree of personal frankness on the part of those who seek their services in order for their help to be effective, and those using the services of counsellors, and psychotherapists need some reassurance that their personal information will be respected and protected from unauthorised disclosure wherever possible.
At LIFE IN HAND, what clients speak about with their counsellor or psychotherapist in their sessions is private and is treated as confidential. Clients have the right to expect all LIFE IN HAND staff to respect their right to privacy and confidentiality as far as possible and not to pass on information about them to individuals or organisations that have no right to that information. However, obviously there are limitations to confidentiality arising from the constraints of legal and statutory requirements with regard to the safety of clients and other people, and these are discussed at the outset of counselling, therapy. A confidentiality policy is necessary to protect clients, employees from the possibility of information about them being passed on to people who have no right to that information. It is also important to provide guidance to employees on the extent to which confidentiality is to be preserved, circumstances in which it may be breached, and measures to be taken in either eventuality.
2.1. All LIFE IN HAND staff are expected to respect the right of clients and of other employees to privacy and confidentiality as far as possible within the constraints of legal requirements and the safety of other people.2.2. It is a basic right of a client to know the extent and limitations of the confidentiality that they are being offered by their therapist, and to be told the circumstances in which the therapist may wish to breach confidentiality. This information is given at the outset as part of the Introductory Information given to clients. The client should be given the opportunity to discuss this at their assessment meeting and later with the therapist at the outset of the work together.
2.3. This policy covers not only information given deliberately by the person concerned, or by other people about the person, but also information acquired accidentally or through observation.
2.4. All information about a client is held digitally on the LIFE IN HAND Client Management System (CMS). No other information, other than records of payment, may be held in any other format by any member of LIFE IN HAND staff. Where recording of a therapy session is obtained, this must follow the guidance contained in the Data Protection Policy and written permission to record obtained from the client and uploaded onto the CMS.
2.6. It is LIFE IN HAND’s policy NOT to reveal information about clients or their counselling and therapy to other professional agencies or third parties that they may be involved with. Exceptionally, when an external organisation (such as the police or solicitors) requests the release of counselling and therapy records and produce a copy of a Release Consent Form signed by the client, the client then consents to a meeting with LIFE IN HAND. This is because, in most cases, the client has consented to the counselling and therapy records being released without knowing exactly what information LIFE IN HAND owns and holds, and the purpose of the meeting is to show the client what would be released and then to hand a copy of the documentation over to them for onward distribution, if they so wish, emphasising that LIFE IN HAND has no further responsibility to protect client confidentiality. As far as LIFE IN HAND is concerned, we follow the NCPS & BACP’s guidance. There is no general obligation to answer police questions about a client unless the client has consented, or the police officer has a court order or statutory authority to require the information. The Clinical Director will usually offer a polite refusal on the grounds of confidentiality if this is considered appropriate.
LIFE IN HAND owes a duty of care to the users of its services. It may therefore be necessary to consider breaching confidentiality where a client is acting, or likely to act in a way that could cause serious harm to themselves or put others at risk of harm. Responding appropriately to suicidal clients presents one of the most challenging situations encountered by counsellors, psychologists, and psychotherapists. The ethical management of confidentiality is inextricably linked to decisions around structured clinical judgement about when to intervene to attempt to preserve life and when to remain silent out of respect for a client’s autonomy, especially if the client will not give consent for referral. Therapists must carefully consider the ethics of going against the client’s known wishes, by balancing the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and judgement.
LIFE IN HAND also owes a more general duty of care towards members of the public. It may be necessary to inform the police or statutory authorities where there is the possibility of serious risk to a particular person or persons, or to the public in general.
LIFE IN HAND employees share with all citizens a duty of care towards minors and people whose mental or physical condition makes them particularly vulnerable. If LIFE IN HAND staff know or suspect that a child or vulnerable adult is being sexually or physically abused, the Child Protection Unit of social services (or NSPCC, or other social services team in the case of an older person, or person with learning difficulties) must be informed. This is the law.
This should preferably be achieved with the knowledge of the person concerned and where possible, their co-operation, and LIFE IN HAND will endeavour to implement any safeguarding responsibilities in ways that respect a client’s known wishes, protect their interests, and supports them in what follows. It is expected that the issue will be discussed beforehand with a Director at LIFE IN HAND especially in circumstances where the person concerned is unwilling to co-operate or where the risk to others is too great for this to be advisable or possible.
