Confidentiality
We understand that parents, and other concerned people naturally care about their student and are interested in if and what help they are receiving at the Counseling Center. Though we are available to consult with you and answer general questions, we must treat your student’s information with confidentiality. This means that we cannot release information to anyone outside of the Counseling Center, including parents, without written consent from the student. Our staff keenly recognizes that this may be difficult in many situations, however we are legally and ethically required to maintain these standards of confidentiality.
Some find it helpful to contact us to consult about a student’s issues and how they can best respond. Some students are more than willing to sign a release of information that would allow the therapist to directly discuss their situation with their parents or others.
However, for any number of personal reasons, there are students who are not willing to sign a release of information. In these cases, as difficult as it might be to accept, the main exceptions to breaking confidentiality arise only if the student is a danger to self or others, or other limited circumstanced allowed by law.
* thanks to University of Michigan Counseling Center (CAPS) for content contribution