The Wellness Center follows strict guidelines regarding confidentiality. Counseling and Psychological Services adheres to the ethical guidelines of the American Counseling Association, including strictly respecting the right to confidentiality of records and information shared by students in a counseling session. All records, computerized and written, will be stored, retrieved and maintained according to acceptable ethical guidelines. CAPS staff will generally release records only to other mental health care providers; however, students should be aware that there are certain circumstances under which their right to confidentiality may be outweighed by a conflicting legal or ethical duty of the therapist to disclose confidential information. For example, if the CAPS staff determines that a student is potentially harmful to themselves or others, learns of child neglect or abuse, or is ordered by a court of law or otherwise required by law to surrender its records, then the staff member may have to disclose information that the student shared on a confidential basis. In all other circumstances, the CAPS staff member will obtain the student’s written permission before disclosing the confidential information to anyone.
Information is shared between CAPS and Health Services on a strict “need to know” basis. An example of when limited information may be shared is in the event that you are being treated by both departments and information regarding your mental health would be important for Health Services staff to know for safety reasons or when devising a treatment plan.