I'm scheduled to see a new therapist. I went online to download the intake forms, which included a lengthy HIPAA disclosure that is longer and more extensive than the last therapist I saw. I checked it against my health insurance, though, and it's fairly comparable. Still, you can pretty much drive a truck through it, which makes me wonder why she feels it's necessary to include all the ways she can still use my information when the previous one was pretty straightforward and limited to the usual (for supervision/consultation, someone's life is at risk, required by the court, or with my permission).

I'm leaning toward cancelling the intake session, which is not cheap, because I don't want to waste my money if this is how we are going to start.

Should I be concerned? Or is this standard for them to cover every eventuality? Her husband is a therapist, so part of my concern is that they would talk about clients outside of session and call it consultation. Then again, I have been burned enough times to know I am not the best judge.

[HazelGirl]

Every single therapist will have you sign that exact form. It's required by law. But if you go in and discuss it with her, that would probably quell your fears.

[stopdog]

I have never signed a form for a therapist that did more than indicate I understood she was a mandatory reporter.
I would cancel if I was concerned about signing forms. Or just not sign it.

Thank you. This is different than the form for the last therapist, and there is no place for a signature.

[HazelGirl]

Originally Posted by licketysplit

Thank you. This is different than the form for the last therapist, and there is no place for a signature.

It's just a HIPPA disclosure, probably relatively new because of the new health care laws. Like I said, show up and ask about it. She will probably have much more narrow rules for breaking confidentiality.

[stopdog]

I do agree there is very little if any true privacy. I do not advise telling anyone, even a therapist, more than they need to know to help you and certainly no more than you are willing to risk. We have given them way too much power legislatively. I do not use insurance for them and I do not give them my social security number etc. I pay in cash.

[AustenFan]

I've seen three therapists and never once had to sign a thing, nor have I been given a disclosure or HIPPA form to read.

[PeeJay]

I pay out of pocket, even though I have great health insurance, precisely to protect privacy.

Thanks, everyone. I pay out of pocket, too, and I value my privacy. I'm up in the air about going to that first appt. I can be curious about it enough to see what she says in person. We'll see. I did speak to her on the phone and was impressed. Her answers came easily. I hadn't seen the 5 page form at that point, though.

I agree, stopdog, that they have too much power. I've thought that I might get into legislative advocacy for mental health issues, which I do in another field. The mh advocacy movement in my state is a mess. Lots of bickering, but I guess you get that with any group.

I'm posting an update because of what I learned:

I decided not to go with this therapist in part because of this excessively long list of ways she can share my private information without my permission. It just didn't feel right. The rest of her intake documents left me with an equally squirmy feeling.

I think I found a better fit with someone who only has about 4 bullet points on privacy, with very strict confidentiality guidelines (as opposed to the other who had 4 1/2 pages). Her disclosure document, unlike the other therapist, was mostly a page on my rights as a client, rather than a disclaimer about what she does/does not do. So, two totally different approaches. I'm glad I continued looking. Thanks for your input.

[ThisWayOut]

I'm glad you found someone more straight-forward. Hope they work out

[MrPink182]

Couldn't you press charges if they do open up to others about your business if you say no to sharing any info on the form?

[ThisWayOut]

Originally Posted by MrPink182

Couldn't you press charges if they do open up to others about your business if you say no to sharing any info on the form?

yes, and report to the licensing board or other oversight body (at least, you can in the US)

[MrPink182]

Thats what I thought. I'd be super pissed if that happened to me.

The way I read the document, I could object to anything in the policy, but she was not compelled to change anything because of my objection. It was easier for me to find a therapist who straight out of the gate stated that she valued confidentiality, and who used more ink disclosing a client's rights than hers.

Also, I'm not sure I would know if she were to disclose my information to anyone—say, if she gave my information to a research study (one of her clauses). It was all too oily for me.

[ThisWayOut]

Originally Posted by licketysplit

The way I read the document, I could object to anything in the policy, but she was not compelled to change anything because of my objection. It was easier for me to find a therapist who straight out of the gate stated that she valued confidentiality, and who used more ink disclosing a client's rights than hers.

Also, I'm not sure I would know if she were to disclose my information to anyone—say, if she gave my information to a research study (one of her clauses). It was all too oily for me.

oohh... sketchy. though most research studies require informed consent from the client, not just records from the T... wow, that would have driven me nuts.

Thanks. That's good to know about the research element. Even so, it was creepy to even have some of those things in there.