Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

 Privacy and Confidentiality (PACFA, 2017)

• Counsellors protect clients’ privacy and confidentiality. This is paramount to create a psychologically safe environment and to maintain the trust clients place in their counsellor.

• Counsellors inform clients of the confidential nature of counselling and psychotherapy services and explain the limits to confidentiality.

Limits of confidentiality

• Counsellors do not disclose personally identifiable and sensitive information about their clients and take steps to prevent unauthorised disclosure. Disclosure of your information may be authorised in the following circumstances: 

  • i) by client consent; 

  • ii) where there are risks to the safety of the client or 

  • iii) the safety of a third party (if the circumstances are serious enough to justify disclosure); or 

  • iV) when required by the law and Queensland Health or Australian Federal Government Directive . 

Exceptions and legal limits to privacy and confidentiality

• i) Where the counsellor believes you may be of significant harm to yourself or to others and you are unable to give informed consent;

• ii) When required by law 

• When making an authorised disclosure of a client’s personal information, counsellors inform their clients of the actions they will take, to the extent that this is practicable. If possible, they obtain consent in writing prior to making the disclosure. 

• Counsellors protect clients’ right to confidentiality during supervision by ensuring information that could enable personal identification of the client is appropriately disguised.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Therapy Worx Brisbane ensures that all personal information collected is securely stored and safe from misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.  Policies and procedures for information to be held confidentially meet National Privacy Principles and are in place.  The Counsellor is trained in the codes of conduct concerning your privacy and confidentiality.

USE AND DISCLOSURE

The use of your information will be used only with your consent, including permission to provide a letter of attendance.

Therapy Worx Brisbane

Casey Piper Kent BSocSc, BA, DipCH

Professional Counsellor – Australian Counselling Association Level 4