Confidentiality

Confidentiality is paramount to our service.

Discretion and confidentiality are critically important to our service. All our staff members sign confidentiality agreements, in addition to adhering to the IACP Code of Ethics and Practice.

At the The Centre the clients privacy is paramount. This means that what you say to your counsellor will stay between you and your counsellor.

There are a number of occasions however when this cannot happen:

• If children, or other vulnerable members of society are in danger and this has not been reported.
• If you are a danger to yourself or others

Limits of confidentiality also operate with the law. This means that we must report:

• Unreported child sex abuse, where the abuser is still alive
• Involvement in criminal activity

Client names and addresses are kept on seperate files to ensure the privay of the client at all times. Case notes for each session are written up. This is a brief factual account of what happened in the session. These files are kept for 7 years and are strictly confidential. They are the property of The Centre and kept in secure filing cabinets.

No one outside of the counsellors has access to this information. Clients of course have the right to access to their own files under the Data Protection Act (1998). There is a procedure in place which is followed when clients request their files under the act.