Essay About Confidentiality

Exceptions to the Rule

Although counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health clinicians or practitioners pledge to keep his or her client’s information confidential, it is a promise which can become a quite “difficult ethical” one to keep because “confidentiality is not absolute” (Remley & Herlihy, 2016, p. 112). In practice, there are certain to be occasions when confidentiality must be contravened. Some of these reasons include the essential need to respond to court-ordered subpoenas, which must not be ignored, take action when the presence of danger or harm to self and/or others is revealed, take defensive action on behalf of the child(ren) in cases of child abuse or neglect. Another exception is when the counselor needs

Firstly, breaking confidentiality presents a significant potential for damaging the therapeutic relationship. Once the trust has been broken, it can be quite difficult to repair relationships, if it is repairable at all. Revealing information which was not permitted by the client beforehand can be viewed as disrespectful and unprofessional. However, limitations for confidentiality place therapists or clinicians in a position which could elicit distrust. As a precaution, it is imperative for initial sessions and communication with clients to include the details surrounding confidentiality agreements and the limitations to those agreements, should an incident arise. These established codes of ethics designed for the mental health profession details mandated rules and regulations for therapists to adhere to as guidance for professionally, moral and ethical practice (Shallcross, 2011; Greene & Heilbrun, 2014; Remley & Herlihy,

Confidentiality can be viewed as the core ingredient in the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and client. Without this ingredient, it is highly probable that transformation and change would not be possible. Confidentiality is so important that it is detailed in various codes of ethics which mandates the professional conduct and procedures for professionally effective counselors. The following are a few of the briefly highlighted rules and guidelines of a few of the organizations legitimizing the mental health profession. Additionally included is a brief look at the codes of ethics formulated by the Michigan Certification Board for Addiction Professionals (MCBAP), the Michigan Legislature Public Health Acts and the Michigan’s Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors (CRCC), which are relevant and mandatorily essential to the mental health clinicians in practice in the state of Michigan. Finally, a short emphasis of the code of ethics designed by the HIPAA Act is included for a broader view of the priority given to safeguard the client’s rights and the professional obligation of the clinician to strive to provide the highest degree of protection to the best of his or her ability (ACA, 2014; MDHHS, 2017; The Michigan Legislature, 2017; MCBAP, 2017; The Michigan Legislature, 2017; AMHCA, 2015; Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor