HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability) Privacy

The HIPAA law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist and this means that your information cannot be disclosed to others without your written permission. In addition, I run my practice with the highest level of confidentiality.

By law, there are exceptions that require me to report issues such as the ones below to the relevant authorities and in some cases the victim:

• Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse.

• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to a person or to persons

• If a client intends to harm himself or herself, my approach would be to make all possible effort to get their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, I will need to take further actions without their permission that are required by law in order to ensure their safety.

On occasion, you may want your therapist to provide a report about your sessions to someone; in this case, you will request this and provide the necessary contact details. There is a nominal fee for this type of report.