Confidentiality

The Counseling Center knows how essential it is for those we serve to be able to trust that their privacy will be respected and honored when they interact with our staff. We are required by state law and the ethical principles held by counselors to keep written records of our services provided to students, faculty and staff. Moreover, keeping such records of interactions with our clients helps us provide high quality services to our clients. Only counselors, the Director of the department, and the Clinical Supervisor have access to these records, which are highly secured. Parents, police, administrators, faculty, coaches, secretarial staff, student workers, etc. do not have access to your records without your written consent. Also, client records are not part of one's academic records. Thus, when you apply for a job or graduate school, etc., your records here are not made known to prospective employers or graduate schools. There are rare circumstances where we would release information about a client without their permission in order to conform to state law and fulfill our duty to protect the client and/or others. The most likely situations include: (1) the client is assessed to be a danger to themselves or another person, (2) in legal proceedings, where the client's mental health is an issue, records are sometimes required to be released by court order, and/or (3) a minor’s safety is threatened by abuse/neglect from an adult.

If you have any concerns about confidentiality you can call and talk to a counselor anonymously. The overall goal of your counselor is to make this a place where you will feel safe to talk about personal concerns.