Who I am...

· Confidentiality in General: I protect the confidentiality of the communications and contacts with all of my clients, including online clients. I will not release information about our work to others without your written permission, or if I am required to do so by a court order or legal subpoena. In addition, there are some situations in which I am legally obligated to breach your confidentiality and contact local law enforcement and/or social services authorities in order to protect you or other people from harm. These situations include the following: (1) If, in the course of our work together, I learn that a child, elderly person, or disabled person is being abused or is at risk for being abused, I am required to notify the appropriate protective services; (2) If, in the course of our work together, you tell me that you are considering suicide or any serious self-injurious behavior, or are considering violence against another person, I am required to notify the appropriate authorities to prevent such actions from taking place. These situations rarely occur, but if such a situation did occur, I would make every effort to discuss it with you before taking any action. 

· Confidentiality Online: It is never possible to guarantee 100% protection of the confidentiality of either email transmissions or phone calls. I will do everything possible to protect against any intrusions. It is my belief that the single biggest threat to confidentiality is a result of sending messages where the confidentiality of your own messages sent to me, or mine sent to you, is not secure. If you send/receive emails from your work computer, your supervisor or superior may be able to or be entitled to view these emails. In terms of confidentiality problems with telephone sessions, please understand that if you choose to use a cordless or cell phone during a phone session with me, someone with a scanner or other electronic equipment could possibly hear us converse. To summarize, there are risks to your confidentiality online, just as there are in an office setting. However, I believe these risks to be extremely small assuming common sense is used and appropriate precautions are taken to protect emails sent and received.