Cornel Verwey  •  Clinical Psychologist

What are the 3 exceptions to confidentiality?

There are only 3 exceptions to confidentiality. If I have reason to believe that you are a danger to (1) yourself or (2) somebody else, then I have a legal duty to inform someone. I may alert others in the interest of your safety or the safety of the threatened person. This does not mean that you cannot discuss thoughts of harming yourself or others. It simply means that I am legally obliged to inform someone if there is a realistic risk of you changing these thoughts into actions. If you get into difficulty with the law, (3) I may be subpoenaed, in which case I may be legally required to divulge aspects of our work together. If any of the above ever happened, I would make every effort to keep you informed of the process. In my practice, the reality is that I seldom need to break confidentiality, usually only to ensure that my client remains safe in an emergency.  I have always discussed this with clients in person, before informing a third party.