Confidentiality

Protecting Your Privacy

Counseling is confidential. Information shared with a counselor or staff in our office, will not be disclosed to anyone outside of the Center, without your written permission first, except when:

1. The clinician suspects that you are an imminent danger to yourself or others.
2. The clinician has reasonable suspicion of abuse, neglect, or threat of harm to a child, elderly person, or other vulnerable adults.
3. There is a threat to campus safety.
4. A judge orders the release of your records or your records are otherwise subject to a court order or other legal process requiring disclosure.

To further protect confidentiality, Center staff members will not acknowledge that they are familiar with you when outside the Center unless you acknowledge them first.

Your case file never becomes part of your academic file. To assure confidentiality, all digital and hard client files are securely stored in compliance with State and Federal law. Once you complete counseling, your digital file will be deleted and the hard file shredded by a Center staff person after seven years. If you have any questions about our confidentiality policy, and how we protect your privacy, please view our informed consent document, contact our office at 904-620- 2602, or walk in for a consultation. 

Florida Statutes Protecting Confidentiality and Privileged Communication

490.0147 & 491.0147 - Confidentiality and privileged communication
Any communication between any person licensed or certified under this chapter and her or his patient or client shall be confidential. This secrecy may be waived under the following conditions:

1. When the person licensed or certified under this chapter is a party defendant to a civil, criminal, or disciplinary action arising from a complaint filed by the patient or client, in which case the waiver shall be limited to that action.
2. When the patient or client agrees to the waiver, in writing, or, when more than one person in a family is receiving therapy, when each family member agrees to the waiver, in writing.
3. When, in the clinical judgment of the person licensed or certified under this chapter, there is a clear and immediate probability of physical harm to the patient or client, to other individuals, or to society and the person licensed or certified under this chapter communicates the information only to the potential victim, appropriate family member, or law enforcement or other appropriate authorities. There shall be no liability on the part of, and no cause of action of any nature shall arise against, a person licensed or certified under this chapter for the disclosure of otherwise confidential communications under this subsection.