Anything you bring to therapy or share in a therapy session is considered confidential and privileged information. What this means simply is that your information cannot and will not be shared with a third party unless you have provided your written permission to do so. In fact, if you see Wendy out in public, your decision to acknowledge her will be completely up to you so as to respect your decision to share or not to share your participation in counseling.
For a copy of the “Notice of Privacy Practices” or to complete a “Release of Information” to provide permission for Wendy to speak with or share with third parties, please see the “FORMS” section of this website.
Confidentiality is something that is taken very seriously. Confidentiality is informed at both the legal and ethical level. Federal law protects your privacy through the HIPAA privacy act. The profession of Marriage and Family therapy is regulated at the state level through the 491 Board of Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, & Marriage and Family Therapy and the laws and rules governing confidentiality are clearly outlined. As well, Wendy is a Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and she abides by that code of ethics to guide her behavior as a therapist. Wendy will always act in the interest of protecting your privacy, unless the law creates an exception to that rule. The exceptions to confidentiality as mandated or implied by Florida law are as follows:
1) If there is good reason to believe that you are abusing or neglecting a child, adolescent, or elder, or if you disclose information about someone else that is doing this, the Department of Children and Families must be informed by calling the FL abuse hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE.
2) If there is good reason to believe that you are in imminent danger of harming yourself, confidentiality may be legally broken in order to call the police to have you taken to the local crisis stabilization unit. All other options will be explored with you before this step is taken.
3) If there is good reason to believe that you will harm another person, an attempt must be made to inform that person and warn them of your intentions. The police must also be contacted to request protection for your intended victim.
4) When there is a valid court order signed by a judge (not a subpoena signed by an attorney) compelling records or witness testimony. Written permission will be sought when possible regarding the release of these records and a protective order to help maintain confidentiality of records can also be discussed. Please inform Wendy if you are in this kind of situation so that she can take the utmost care in protecting your privacy.