Importance Of Confidentiality In Counseling

Ethical along with confidentiality issues are always a concern when you are dealing with clients in a counseling center. It could be a couple therapists engaging in seemingly harmless chit chat at the water cooler, sensitive topics brought up in a group which brings about personal discussions within a group or mishandling of client records. Although all the staff at the agencies know or should know about good ethical practices and confidentiality the subject of confidentiality should also be brought up with the clients within the group reminding them of the importance of each other’s confidentiality once outside of the group setting. When agencies have staff meetings the importance of ethics and confidentiality should be brought up so it is

For instance, if the person comes in and needs to do Domestic Violence classes and a substance abuse class the person is going to be seeing two different therapists at the agency. I can understand the two therapists collaborating on what is best for the client as long as they are not disclosing what is being talked about in each of their individual group settings. Another issue that I have noticed at the agency that is of concern is at times there will be a group going in the large group room and the door will be open and people (usually staff) that walk past going to the kitchen area. The clients that are in the room are visible to whoever might pass by and what they are saying can be overheard. There has been a couple times where I have witnessed a therapist giving advice to a client. Then another time where one of the therapists was getting feedback in a situation with a client from their supervisor Marcela, and she told them they cannot give them advice, and the client knows what they need to do in their situation. One evening while one of therapists and I were facilitating a group and one client expressed they had just before arriving were situation they were not comfortable with, and they didn’t want to have contact with this person because the situation could escalate. By the end of the session the person that the client was avoiding having showed up at the agency and was sitting outside waiting for them. This was the last group of the night and the person came into the facility asking about the client, and the person working the front desk informed the person that that could not disclose any information regarding clients. Eventually the person outside left and the client ended up calling a cab; the therapist explained to the client that she or I being their therapist