Knowing this will help you decide whether you are willing to proceed with treating the child under those circumstances. Articulating your position before therapy begins and eliciting a reaction lets you identify at the outset those parents who are not willing to limit their access to information about the child’s treatment.A written agreement offers a vehicle to impress upon parents your view of the importance of confidentiality to successful therapy.You may wish to discuss with a knowledgeable local attorney whether and under what circumstances written agreements governing confidentiality may be revoked.Įven if an agreement with the parents is revocable in your state, it may still be worth considering for several reasons: If they become involved in divorce proceedings, for example, a parent might try to revoke the agreement in order to get information from the child to use against the spouse. Future circumstances may cause one or both parents to rethink the agreement. Accordingly, the parents may agree, for example, that they will only be notified in the event of an emergency, or will only receive general reports on goals for the therapy and their child’s progress.īe aware, however, that parents may later be able to revoke agreements that limit their access to information.

Some parents recognize or can be persuaded that their child is more likely to open up in psychotherapy and develop a better patient-psychologist relationship if there are clear limits on what information can be shared with parents.

Your minor client’s privacy rights may be affected by written agreements you make with the parents and minor to set the parameters of how confidentiality will be handled in treating the minor child.

Judicial consent minors