Counselling & psychotherapy - FAQ's

A cornerstone of counselling and psychotherapy, the confidentiality of your sessions is paramount.

My session notes are archived anonymously and protected in line with the latest European directives on data protection.

Should I see you for individual counselling or psychotherapy, I will not be able to receive individually in the near or distant future a close family member or a person from your immediate entourage.

My handling of confidential material between sessions is rigorously bound by the Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy published by BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy).

Issues of confidentiality are for me a matter of:

1. Being trustworthy: honouring the trust you place in me (also referred to as fidelity):
   Practitioners who adopt the fundamental principle of being trustworthy regard confidentiality as an obligation arising from their client’s trust.

2. Autonomy: respecting your right to self-govern:
   Practitioners who respect the autonomy of their client protect privacy and confidentiality. They normally make any disclosures of confidential information conditional on client consent; they inform their client in advance of foreseeable conflicts of interest, or as soon as possible after such become apparent.

3. Providing a good standard of practice and care:
   You are entitled to good standards of practice and care from me. Good standards of practice and care require my professional competence in counselling and psychotherapy, good relationships with clients and colleagues, and my commitment to being ethically mindful through the observance of professional ethics.

4. Keeping trust: The practice of counselling and psychotherapy depends on gaining and honouring the trust of clients. Keeping trust requires my careful attention to your consent and confidentiality.

5. Respecting privacy and confidentiality:
   Respecting your privacy and confidentiality are fundamental requirements for keeping trust and respecting your autonomy. Professional management of confidentiality concerns the protection of personally identifiable and sensitive information from unauthorised disclosure. Disclosure may be authorised by your consent or the law. Any disclosures of your material will be undertaken in ways that best protect your trust and respect your autonomy.

• Communications made upon your consent do not constitute a breach of confidentiality. Ethically, consent is the preferred way to resolving any dilemmas over confidentiality.
• Exceptional circumstances may prevent me from seeking your consent due to the urgency and seriousness of the situation, for example, preventing you causing serious harm to self or others. In such circumstances, I have an ethical responsibility to act in ways which balance your right to confidentiality against the need to communicate with others. I understand that I am ethically accountable for any breach of confidentiality.
• I am accountable to you and my profession for the management of confidentiality in general and particularly for any disclosures made without your consent. To assist ethical accountability I will keep good records of existing policy and practice and of situations where I must breach confidentiality without consent. In situations where the law forbids me from informing you that confidential information has been passed on to the authorities, I will nonetheless remain ethically accountable to colleagues and the profession.

For further details, please consult the Professional Standards of Good Practice to which I adhere:

• FF2P (Fédération Française de Psychanalyse et Psychothérapie);
• BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) ;·
• UKCP (United Kingdom Council of Psychotherapists).

I will do my best to answer any questions you may have regarding confidentiality and ethics during our initial session.