Confidentiality & Privacy Policy




The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist.  All information disclosed within sessions and the written records pertaining to those sessions are confidential and may not be revealed to anyone without your (client’s) written permission, except as described in the Notice of Privacy Practice . Please refer to the Notice of Privacy Practice that you receive during your initial visit for details.

 

When Disclosure Is Required By Law: Some of the circumstances where disclosure is required by the law are: where there is a reasonable suspicion of child, dependent or elder, abuse or neglect; and where a client presents a danger to self, to others, to property, or is gravely disabled (for more details see also Notice of Privacy Practices form).

When Disclosure May Be Required: Disclosure may be required when a child is a witness of domestic violence. Disclosure may be required pursuant to a legal proceeding. If you place your mental status at issue in litigation initiated by you, the defendant may have the right to obtain the psychotherapy records and/or testimony by Mrs. Morgan.

Couples and Family therapy: In couple and family therapy, or when different family members are seen individually, confidentiality and privilege do not apply between the couple or among family members Mrs. Morgan will use her clinical judgment when revealing such information. Mrs. Morgan will not release records to any outside party unless she is authorized to do so by all adult family members who were part of the treatment.

 

Emergencies : If there is an emergency during our work together, or in the future after termination, where Rakeshia Morgan becomes concerned about your personal safety, the possibility of you injuring someone else, or about you receiving proper psychiatric care, she will do whatever she can within the limits of the law, to prevent you from injuring yourself or others and to ensure that you receive the proper medical care. For this purpose, she may also contact the person whose name you have provided on the Face Sheet.

 

Health Insurance & Confidentiality of Records: Disclosure of confidential information may be required by your health insurance carrier or HMO/PPO/MCO/EAP in order to process the claims. If you so instruct Mrs. Morgan, only the minimum necessary information will be communicated to the carrier. However, unless prohibited by you explicitly, the Psychotherapy Notes may be disclosed to your insurance carrier if required for billing purposes. Mrs. Morgan has no control or knowledge over what insurance companies do with the information she submits or who has access to this information. You must be aware that submitting a mental health invoice for reimbursement carries a certain amount of risk to confidentiality, privacy, or to future eligibility to obtain health or life insurance. The risk stems from the fact that mental health information is entered into insurance companies’ computers and soon will also be reported to the, congress-approved, National Medical Data Bank. Accessibility to companies’ computers or to the National Medical Data Bank database is always in question, as computers are inherently vulnerable to break-ins and unauthorized access. Medical data has been reported to have been sold, stolen, or accessed by enforcement agencies; therefore, you are in a vulnerable position.

 

Confidentiality of E-mail, Cell Phone and Faxes Communication: It is very important to be aware that e-mail and cell phone communication can be relatively easily accessed by unauthorized people and hence, the privacy and confidentiality of such communication can be compromised. E-mails, in particular, are vulnerable to such unauthorized access due to the fact that servers have unlimited and direct access to all e-mails that go through them. Faxes or texts can easily be sent erroneously to the wrong phone number. Please notify Mrs. Morgan at the beginning of treatment if you decide to avoid or limit in any way the use of any or all of the above-mentioned communication devices. Please do not use e-mail, faxes or texts for emergencies.

 

Litigation Limitation: Due to the nature of the therapeutic process and the fact that it often involves making a full disclosure with regard to many matters which may be of a confidential nature, it is agreed that should there be legal proceedings (such as, but not limited to divorce and custody disputes, injuries, lawsuits, etc.), neither you (client) nor your attorney, nor anyone else acting on your behalf will call on Rakeshia Morgan, LMFT to testify in court or at any other proceeding, nor will a disclosure of the psychotherapy records be requested.

 

Consultation : Rakeshia Morgan consults regularly with other professionals regarding her clients; however, the client’s name or other identifying information is never mentioned. The client’s identity remains completely anonymous, and confidentiality is fully maintained.

 

Minors: If you are under eighteen years of age, please be aware that the law may provide your parents with the right to examine your treatment records. It is Mrs. Morgan's policy to request an agreement from parents that they will not ask what you are specifically saying in therapy. If they agree, Mrs. Morgan will provide them only with general information on how your treatment is proceeding unless she feels that there is a high risk that you will seriously harm yourself or another, in which case she will notify them of her concern. Mrs. Morgan will also be available to answer general questions or provide family sessions. Before, providing them any information, she will discuss the matter with you, if possible, and do her best to handle any objections you may have about what she is prepared to discuss.

 

Parents of minor clients hold the legal right of privilege or confidentiality. A non-custodial parent who wants to learn about their child’s treatment may have the right to review the child’s record and to discuss their child’s care with Mrs. Morgan. However, it is Mrs. Morgan’s experience that therapy can be greatly hindered if minors feel the therapist is simply a conduit to their parents.  In such cases, many minors are reluctant to discuss personal issues without assurance of some level of privacy. Therefore, Mrs. Morgan has the following policy:

Parents are given general information about therapeutic progress. Regular consults are encouraged (every 2-3 sessions) unless contraindicated.  Minors are informed of phone calls or contact between sessions. When parents are consulted, minors are given the option to remain or leave the room. For difficult issues, family sessions are encouraged with the therapist assisting the minor and the parents in working towards a resolution. The therapist will notify parents if the minor is in danger of hurting him/herself, someone else, or is a victim/perpetrator of child abuse. Parents are encouraged to discuss any concerns with the therapist in front of the child if appropriate to age and developmental level.  Please note that in the situation of custody disputes, it is not appropriate for a treating therapist to make comment or recommendations on custody issues. When treating your child, it is Mrs. Morgan’s policy to not speak to either parent’s legal counsel in regards to family law issues, and Mrs. Morgan does not provide court-ordered assessment of minors.  If consultation with your attorney is desired, please inform Mrs. Morgan at intake so that an appropriate referral to a forensic psychologist can be made.

 

 

Considering all of the above exclusions, if it is still appropriate, upon your request, Rakeshia Morgan will release

information to any agency/person you specify unless Mrs. Morgan concludes that releasing such information might be detrimental in any way.

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