Can a parent or faculty member be kept informed of a student’s attendance or progress in counseling?
By law, and according to ethical principles, information about counseling is strictly confidential except in extenuating circumstances. Counseling Center staff have a legal obligation to disclose client information, even without consent, in the following situations: 1) when a student is under the age of 18, parental permission is required, 2) when doing so is necessary to protect you or someone else from imminent physical and life-threatening harm, 3) when a client lacks the capacity to care for himself/herself, 4) when the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a child, elder adult, or dependent adult is suspected, or 5) when release is otherwise required by law (e.g., court order, reporting of medical errors, Patriot Act). Otherwise, no information can be released, including whether or not a student is attending counseling, without written consent from the student. If it seems that there would be some therapeutic benefit to release information to a third party, the counselor and student
