[mountainclimber]

My T retired 2yrs ago. He recommended another T in the same practice if I should want to see someone else. At the time I did not. I’d like to now, and this T has space in her schedule and we set up a first appt. The office left a message asking to update my info and also said they’d be retrieving my chart from the retired T. The new T didn’t mention this. I don’t have anything to hide, but I’d prefer to meet without the new T reading the file first, or, maybe ever. Isn’t it a breach of confidentiality without asking my permission, even within the same practice?

I don’t want to make this be a big deal before I even meet the new T. But maybe it is to me. Anyone know the legal parameters here, or have been in this situation themselves?

Thanks.

[JaneTennison1]

Maybe they just meant your initial intake form rather than your notes? I would certainly want clarification

[atomicc]

For mental health counselors, it's in our ethics that we can't share confidential information with any person or agency without written consent, so I would reach out to them and let them know your concerns.
I suppose it's tricky within the same agency because for me, if I take over someones client then all the notes most go into the same file as before. We can't make a new one, so I'd see their notes. Usually I wait until after speaking with the client to confirm it's okay to review the notes to get a better idea of what they had been working on and what progress had been made.

[susannahsays]

Usually when you sign your consents at an agency, you are agreeing that other staff can see your file. I have worked in an agency, and it would be extremely difficult to operate if only the therapist could look at the file. So no, they are unlikely to be violating any privacy laws by giving your file to the other therapist at the same practice.

[SlumberKitty]

I don't know but that's a really good question.

[ruh roh]

It depends on whatever they stated in their confidentiality policy that would have been given to you during your initial appointment. If your first therapist works for a practice, it may very well be that they have a clause that permits them to share information, even if you don't see another therapist there. I had this happen to me when I was just inquiring about seeing someone, and they blabbed all over the place to anyone and everyone associated, even tangentially, with their practice. When I called them on it, they said they are all under the same umbrella and their policy allows for sharing. I still think they were out of line, but the clinic I go to for health care has the same clause--anyone in the clinic or affiliated with the clinic, plus a million other permutations of affiliation or study.

Basically, I think the only way to guaranteed confidentiality is to see someone in private practice who can fit their policy into less than a page.

[mountainclimber]

So, would you be inclined to see the new T knowing she has seen your file before meeting you? Would it be weird to call and request she not read it before the first session? Do you think she’d really agree to that? I feel like this might be a deal breaker for me-I may have to look for someone not in the practice. I’m a very private person, and I think it would be very awkward meeting with someone for the first time that already knows so much about you. Thanks for your replies-they’ve been really helpful. It’s really surprising to me that I can’t just “start over” with someone new just because they are part of the same practice.

[WarmFuzzySocks]

I think it's a reasonable request.

It might be worthwhile to just meet with the new therapist anyway, to see how it goes. It may be that you "click" and the information will give you both a head start in the getting to know you process.

And if it doesn't work out, you can look for a different therapist.

[Ididitmyway]

It depends. If this practice is the agency where both Ts were employed at the time you stopped seeing your first T then it's not really a breach of confidentiality because the client signs the contract with the agency..If the practice was just their shared office space, then it would be a breach of confidentiality if your new T reads the file of your previous T. If both Ts had shared the office and had the same receptionist and other staff, the staff would be allowed to go through documentation but would be supposed to keep the filing for each therapist separately and not share the files of one T with another. It would be the Ts responsibility to instruct them to do that. So, it really depends on what the business arrangement between the two Ts was.

[Anne2.0]

You probably signed a consent form agreeing to this when you started therapy with the retired T. If you still have your copy of the consent form on confidentiality, you could look at it and see for sure. This is common practice because if a T is on vacation or unavailable, other T's cover for him/her and would thus need access to a client's file.

You can revoke consent, though. Send a simple signed letter stating you no longer give consent for the new T to access your file. I don't think this will impact your appointment but it certainly sends a message to the new T.

Alternatively, you could leave a message for the new T and ask that she not read your file until after your first session.