Can my therapist tell other people about my sessions?

All personal information provided to your therapist during the provision of therapy services will be kept strictly private and confidential.  Your therapist will only disclose information with other professionals at your request and with your consent.

You can tell your therapist not to share any information, or you can ask them only to share some information. For example, you may be happy for your therapist to tell your GP and/or family about your treatment and care needs, but not your diagnosis.

There are a limited number of circumstances in which your therapist should reveal relevant information about you and it is important that you are aware of the rare legal exceptions where codes of practice on confidential information needs to be broken. These are:

• where there is a risk of serious harm to you or to others, or
• where there is a risk of a serious crime.

For example, if you tell your therapist that you are planning to hurt yourself or other people, they could decide to share this information with your next of kin, or contact the police. In certain circumstances, your therapist can share your personal information if this is for the public good. Your personal information can also be shared if this is required by law.