Confidentiality
All counseling services provided by counselors are confidential. In general, no information is released to individuals outside the Integrated Student Health Center without your consent. There are certain exceptions to this rule, as permitted by law. Our experience is that these exceptions arise infrequently. They include:
a. We may disclose confidential information when we judge that disclosure is necessary to protect against a clear and substantial risk of serious harm being inflicted by you on yourself or another person.
b. Should you disclose information relating to probable child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse of a vulnerable adult (for example, someone who is mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or has a disabling illness), we may be required to notify state authorities. Also, should you be over the age of 18 and be engaging in sexual activities with someone under the age of 18, we may be required to report this matter to state authorities.
c. The Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners (or a similar state agency) may subpoena relevant records from our agency should our staff become the subject of a complaint. If a client files a complaint or lawsuit against the Counseling Service, we may disclose relevant information regarding that client-so that we may provide our side of the circumstances in dispute.
d. Should you be involved in legal proceedings which are related to your counseling concerns, the court might subpoena your records and/or our testimony could be required. In such cases, we will work to ensure your rights are protected.
e. If you file a workers compensation claim, this constitutes authorization for us to release your relevant mental health records to involved parties and officials. This would include a past history of complaints or treatment of a condition similar to that involved in the workers compensation claim.
f. We may be required to disclose your health information to authorized federal officials who are conducting national security and intelligence activities or providing protective services to the President or other important officials. By law we cannot reveal when we have disclosed such information to the government.
g. Additional limitations on confidentiality apply to students under the age of 18. If you are under 18, your counselor will discuss with you these limitations.
h. Counseling staff may consult with each other, or receive supervision on specific cases from other mental health professionals. All such consultations are conducted in an effort to improve the quality of services offered to you. Any mental health professional that provides us with consultation or supervision is obligated to hold information in confidence.
Records of your contacts with our office are maintained by your counselor. These records are held secure and confidential, and will only be released with your prior written consent (with the same exceptions as above). Please note that when two persons have been engaged in couples/marital counseling with one of our staff, the written consent of both parties is generally necessary for the record to be released. You generally have the right to access your own record. Requests to access information in your file should be directed to your counselor.