Counseling is Confidential

CONFIDENTIALITY

In accordance with state and federal law as well as professional and ethical guidelines for mental health providers, we maintain confidential records of all contacts with clients (students receiving counseling). This means that no identifying information - written or otherwise - about your contact with CAPS will be disclosed to anyone outside CAPS without your written authorization. This exclusion applies to academic departments, the registrar's office, student health services, and other campus entities; no one gets to know what you talk about (or even that you are coming here) unless you want them to know. There are some legal exceptions to this confidentiality; they rarely apply but we want you to know about them.

Counselors may need to disclose certain information in 4 general situations:

1. when you state intent to harm yourself or someone else.
2. when you report current abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult or child
3. as a result of a court order
4. when mental illness is used as a defense in a criminal or civil action.