Confidentiality in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment
Confidentiality and privacy are critical elements of the therapy process. In traditional therapy and in e-therapy, clients may have concerns about confidentiality and privacy. There are legitimate concerns for both types of therapy; however, it does not appear that one carries more risk than another. In office therapy, there is a chance that someone would see you entering or leaving the office; that someone on the office staff might have unauthorized access to your records; or there might be conversations that occur between staff members that do not protect your privacy. In e-therapy, there is a chance that an e-mail might not be received; a chance that the e-mail will be read by someone other than the person that it was intended for; the potential that computer hackers could read an e-mail sent by a client or obtain the transcript of a chat session with a therapist; or that someone could access either the therapist’s or the client’s computer without their consent. Although there are no guarantees for complete confidentiality in the world of e-therapy, we go to great lengths to ensure your privacy and confidentiality. Please read our Privacy Policy or our HIPAA Policy for further details.
In the therapy process, information regarding your care is protected by two federal laws: the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), 42 U.S.C. & 1320d et seq., 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 & 164, and the Confidentiality Law, 42 U.S.C & 290dd-2, 42 C.F.R. Part 2. Therapists are prohibited from disclosing any information to an individual or agency without the client’s express permission in writing. There are several exceptions to the regulations which we are happy to discuss with you.