ok, will try this in here -need some advice about therapy, confidentiality and whether things can be used against you at a later date... please.

[lalalalala]

c&p from a thread i put in chat so it would disappear, but am getting no response for:

am going for the assesment for cbt.
am unsure what i should and shouldnt say... i do not want anything on file anywhere that may ever be used against me in, say, a custody battle or to prevent fostering or something.

things im thinking of are past recreational drug use and a one off episode which lasted for an hour or two where i felt that another 'person' was in charge of my body and i was inside , powerless iyswim. would that count as a psychotic episode? was a good decade ago.

social workers et al, your advice appreciated.

please help me, i dont know what i can feel comfortable saying.

[lalalalala]

absolutely for sure? - theres no chance that anytime in the future, if, say, i was having a custody battle or i wanted to adopt and someone wanted to get in my way, they could call on my records and use it in court?

[lalalalala]

and fio, THANK you for responding

[VictorianSqualor]

AFAIK Patient/doctor/therapist confidentiality is the same as client/lawyer. It can only be broken if the person is going to harm either themselves or others and the therapist/doctor/lawyer etc is aware of this.

[GooseyLoosey]

I have explicitly asked someone I have seen not to record one of the things I said in any notes as I was concerned about this. He said confidential blah, blah, blah but then so were all the records that DWP lost. I agree with Fio that it should all be confidential, but if you have any concerns at all, say that you are telling them to give them the whole story but ask them not to record it, if they won't agree, don't tell them.

[lalalalala]

oh yeah? you think that would work? they wouldnt then go and write it down anyway? are you 'allowed' to see all notes regarding yourself?

[berolina]

my dh is a psychologist. It would be an extremely serious breach of professional ethics for a therapist to reveal anything said in therapy without consent, unless in cases of imminent danger to yourself or others.

It is important in therapy to be able to discuss very personal things freely, hence the strict rules on confidentiality.

[lalalalala]

ok. but didnt that girl who had her baby taken (or they threatened to or something), didnt she have a past history dragged up by a family court for no apparent reason?

[lalalalala]

i am feeling slightly more confident about this so far... thanks for your answers.

[antartica]

You're entitled to see all notes about yourself but most therapists are tending towards making very few notes (maybe two or three sentences for an hour's session), so it may not be wholly descriptive, likely just to be for their benefit.

It's true that counsellors can only break their confidentiality with you if you're going to harm yourself or others BUT if a court wants to, they can demand to see a therapists notes if it is relevant to the case. However, this is pretty rare, the therapist I work with (prof capacity, not as a client) for instance has only had her notes asked for twice in 8 years (so that's hundreds of clients). They wouldn't be asked for as a matter of course for custody battles etc, there would have to be pretty solid suspicion that they'd 'prove' something first.

Don't let the worry put you off being honest with the therapist because they really are there to help. If you share your concerns about the information they can be sensitive in their note taking, but a therapist shouldn't be recording facts and figures about your past, they should be making notes on whether you feel the therapy is working and major issues you want to talk about next time.

Also, unlike the DWP, if a therapist accidentally lets their notes get out they are personally in VERY deep trouble, even if they're with an agency they can't hide behind them, especially if they're registered with the BACP or similar so they will be very careful it doesn't happen.

[antartica]

And the girl with the baby had medical records dragged up as far as I can remember, rather than counsellor's records. Medical records seem to be far easier to get dished out, right or wrong as that may be.

[lalalalala]

thank you.

whats the DWP?

and does all that apply to, say, a social worker, working within the community mental helath team, who is filling the f=background form (or whatever it is) prior to actually seeing the therapist?

it would, wouldnt it?

thank you so much for reassuring me. i really really appreciate it.

[lalalalala]

antarctica, re your last post, but if the gp sent me there, and they have said that they would share info with them... would that not be a medical record?

[antartica]

The DWP is Department of Work and Pensions, someone mentioned them in an earlier post, referring to the muck-up they made in losing data, where no-one responsible was actually held accountable.

A social worker will have different regulations and take different notes/forms, and I'm sorry but I haven't got a clue about the procedures or rules governing social work, but being the one to refer would hold immensely less weight than actually being the therapist you were referred to, if in the worst case scenario they were ever pitted against each other.

The gp would be able to record anything you told them in your medical notes, and the fact you were referred (and who to) but would hear nothing back from the therapist (apart from the confirmation they had recieved the refferal - ie, you).

[antartica]

Also forgot to say (my memory is shutting down tonight!) that IF a counsellor's records were called upon, you would have just as much right to refer to the counsellor as anyone trying to use them against you. Ie, you would be within your rights to ask the counsellor to sum up what their opinion was of your mental state when you left counselling, which would presumably be in your favour.

[Kaz1967]

Therapy counselling is confidential as said they may discuss things with their supervisor but even this is normally done without names. The only time it can be broken is if you are a risk to your self or others or it comes out you have committed an act that has harmed someone else.

Before you get into the counselling session you should be told this by the counsellor.

As a nurse I was bound by confidentiality and could legally give out no information without the patients agreement Psyc doctors nurses social workers are particularly hot on confidentiality mine would only send a letter to my GP that I had read and approved.

[lalalalala]

right ok.
feel safe enough to bring up my concerns and probably say the lot then.

thank you all.

[FranLyon]

Hi,

I'm the woman I think you've referred to earlier in the thread (re: removing children etc.)

If you were ever involved in child protection proceedings (in court or otherwise) then, from my experience, your confidentiality would no longer stand as it would involve, theoretically, the safety of another. Everything at this point is made available to all rightful parties to the case - this can include "process notes", the notes regarding each individual session rather than just the overall summary or discharge letter.

Otherwise, the confidentiality around therapy is pretty strict.

Your local authority would be able to tell you whether the issues you're concerned about would impact on your prospects as a potential foster carer/adoptive parent though. Maybe give them a call and just see what they say - they might be more accepting than you think.

Fran

[scottishmummy]

therapy/counseling is not always confidential, if client discloses a child care risk issue then that info will be only be shared with MDT on need to know

counsellors and psychologists are registered and bound by code of ethics to protect client confidentiality yes.but not to detriment of another and esp not a minor. a court order can be obtained to petition the therapist. indeed the therapist could face sanction for not disclosing

[scottishmummy]

sorry!multi-disciplinary team eg SW, Medics etc

[lalalalala]

oh buggery bollocks, blown my cover.
have asked for last post to be deleted.

thanks SM

[scottishmummy]

as Fran says info re minors/childcare is shared on a need to know basis, case conference etc

the client needs to know their disclosed info is being discussed, but cannot prevent its disclosure

[lalalalala]

O
K

so does anyone know whether me doing this all privately, rather than via the gp/community mental health team, with its social workers and whatnot, would that afford me more confidence in the lack of likelihood that someone could hound me/use my therapy or admittance of problems against me??

if i quite now and never went back...

ive already said that i had been suicidal as a teen... that i sometimes, when thinking in the abstract, found the fact im a mother slightly surreal... if someone decided that made me a dnager to my dc, they could vindictively (or well meaningly) get my kids taken away, could they not?

[scottishmummy]

ok deep breath!clearly this is distressing

in reality, you and many ,many others have had difficulties, spoken candidly and overcome them.but you are speculating the worst case scenario, resulting in abducted children. many women see CMHT, GP or get admitted to mental health facility.does not necessarily mean lose your precious child.

a balanced mh assessment would look at your mental state in the here and now, and be aware of past status

irrespective of whether a therapist is private or NHS they are bound by code of ethics and if need be must reveal information potentially harmful to others