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Confidentiality

Your personal information regarding services and treatment is confidential and will not be released without your written consent. There are, however, several important legal exceptions:

If you pose an imminent harm to yourself or to others.

I am mandated to report abuse or neglect of a child, vulnerable adult, or developmentally disabled person.

In these circumstances, I am obligated to inform the appropriate family, friends, police, and/or state protective services to insure the safety of involved parties. If you provide information that you were abused as a child and the abuser still has access to other children, this too requires mandated reporting to child protective services.

Records must be released in the event of a specific court order.

According the Washington law, I do not require written consent to confer with current, prior, or future health care providers for purposes of continuity of care, or to confer with a member of your immediate family. My policy is to have written releases for these contacts and operate without them only in the case of emergencies.

To maintain the highest standards of care, I consult with other licensed mental health professionals. Should this consultation regard your treatment, identifying information such as name, address, school, etc., will be omitted to protect your rights to confidentiality.

It is important to note that using insurance or managed care to pay for services, your rights and confidentiality are subject to specific terms and conditions. Your insurance provider will often determine the number of assessment sessions, duration of treatment, or choice of provider. Insurance providers and HMOs require the doctor to provide personal information about you before reimbursing charges. This information typically includes diagnoses and treatment plan. Insurance providers companies also require periodic progress reports and copies of other treatment records. If you wish to use insurance to cover the expenses of assessment or therapy, you must sign a release of information for your insurance company.


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