Confidentiality in Therapy - NCE & CPCE Study Guide

In the category of Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice on the National Counselor Examination (NCE), the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE), or another counseling exam, having a good understanding of confidentiality will be important.
Confidentiality is a vital part of therapy. Our clients need to feel safe telling us whatever they need to, and being able to do so without worry that we’ll tell others. But, confidentiality isn’t as simple as that. Instead, there are exceptions and other more complicated situations we need to understand. Check out the video for more on this!
CHAPTERS
0:00 - Introduction
0:20 - What is confidentiality?
0:56 - What is privacy?
1:26 - What’s the difference between confidentiality and privacy?
1:41 - What are the limits of confidentiality?
3:10 - Is confidentiality gone if someone dies?
5:09 - How does confidentiality work in groups?
6:35 - What are other things to consider with confidentiality?
8:05 - How can you better understand confidentiality?
REFERENCES
American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. www.counseling.org/resources/...
Confidentiality. (2023, November 15). APA Dictionary of Psychology. dictionary.apa.org/confidenti...
Privacy. (2018, April 19). APA Dictionary of Psychology. dictionary.apa.org/privacy
Rosenthal, H. (2017). Encyclopedia of Counseling (4th edition). Routledge.
Rosenthal, H. (2024). Master Lecture Series for the NCE, CPCE, CECE, and State Counseling Exams. Routledge.
NOTE
Keep in mind that this video is for educational purposes. It is meant as an aid for you in studying for the NCE, CPCE, or other counseling exam. This video should not be used as your only form of studying. It is also important to note that this is my understanding of the content. Best of luck, and I hope this video helped!

[@hillsbirdllc9086]

Thank you for sharing this helpful piece of content. Just a quick question. Can a counselor share everything, including therapy notes, with a third party after a client has signed consent? Or does the counselor have the right to withhold some information?

[@PsychwithKeegan]

Hi there! This is a great question, and the answer is a bit tricky as it will change based on the context of why the information is being released. As a general statement, even when we have the client's permission to share information, sharing less is best seems to be the approach many professionals take. For example, we might have a client who we are assessing for an autism diagnosis. As part of this, it's not unusual to talk to the teacher to gather information about what's happening at school from the teacher's perspective. Once the client has given permission for us to talk to the teacher, and when we talk to them, we would not have to say anything to the teacher about how we are assessing for autism or any other information related to treatment. Instead, we could simply ask the teacher to share what they've noticed. That said, it's not impossible to imagine times where we might need to share more information, such as notes. An example of this might be if we have had to assess the client as part of a court ruling. It's important to keep in mind that the information (and confidentiality) belongs to the client, and that they can make choices about what information we do or don't provide. At the same time, we should be prepared to help the client make informed decisions about their information. I feel this question also highlights the importance of good informed consent at the beginning of treatment. I hope this helps!