Confidentiality Confidentiality And Confidentiality

Understanding Confidentiality Brooke S Bentley Liberty University Abstract Confidentiality is one of the most important, complicated and expected parts of counseling. Counselors and clients view confidentiality as an unspoken given, it is sometimes not discussed but expected. Counselors should always explain to a client reasons in which they may be required to break confidentiality. Confidentiality laws can vary from state to state so a counselor should always be aware and up to date on those laws depending on which state they are practicing in. Some states, like South Carolina, have adopted the ACA Code of Ethics as their own code. Counselors are deemed mandated reporters, which means they are required by law to report certain†¦show more content†¦Another type of duty a counselor should be aware of is the duty to protect, which is when the counselor is not only protecting a potential victim but the public, this may also require going to the police. There is no one set of rules regarding duty to warn or duty to protect for all states. Some s tates have adopted one exception, both or neither. Some states, like Florida, have adopted a law that allows the counselor the option of choosing to warn but not required to do so (Sommers, 2008). Although duty to warn can change from state to state, mandatory reporting is the same in most every state. Mandatory reporting is the responsibility a counselor has to protect those that can not protect themselves, for instance children and the elderly. The vignette presentation explains other situations in which confidentiality can be broken including; suing someone for compensation, malpractice suits against counselors, some custody battles are a few or when there is no expectation of confidentiality (Sommers, 2008). Discovery ACA Code of Ethics Confidentiality should not be a complicated subject for a counselor, simply keep your clients information to yourself, however it is anything but that simple. A client seeking counseling will have a high expectation of privacy regarding the personal information they choose to share in sessions. It is and should always