Hope's Horizon Counseling Services, LLC, cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages or unencrypted email. All initial contact with the agency falls under this disclosure. However, once contact is established and participants sign into the agency's secure client portal, this assurance of confidentiality shifts substantially, as Hope's Horizon Counseling Services, LLC, adheres to all local and federal regulations, along with annual training requirements regarding confidentiality.
CONFIDENTIALITY:
All issues discussed during therapy are strictly confidential. By law, information concerning treatment or evaluation may be released only with the written consent of the person treated, such person’s parent or guardian, or in the case of marital treatment, by all parties involved. The law does require a clinician to release to proper authorities, information related to suspected child abuse or neglect, elder abuse or neglect. Additionally, as mandatory reporters, Hope's Horizon Counseling Services, LLC, are required to contact appropriate authorities of any potential harm to oneself and/or to others. Additionally, entities which may also access clinical records include, the Court, if a subpoena is requested; insurance companies, as the payor of services; and State Compliance Boards to ensure compliance measures are being followed.
Safety and confidentiality are of the utmost importance. If at any point a participant feels unsafe during sessions, or if they are concerned someone may overhear or interrupt the session, our trained clinicians will work together with the participant to establish a discreet way for them to communicate their needs to the clinician. This may include developing a code word or strategy to help ensure the participant can reach out for support or assistance in a safe manner. If participants ever feel in immediate danger, we ask that they please let us know so we can take appropriate steps to protect their well-being.
As a general practice, Hope's Horizon Counseling Services, LLC never records their clinical sessions, which are conducted over secure/encrypted platforms. However, if a participant records a session without prior consent from the Owner/Director, services may be immediately terminated, as this violates policy for the agency.
Couples and Families: In some instances, two or more people that have a relationship with each other (for example: couples, families, friends, etc.) may be in services with the same provider. It will need to be decided whether the couple, the family, or the individuals are the identified client upon initiation of services. If a couple or family is identified as the client, all parties must be aware that records may be released to the individuals in that couple or family without specific Release of Information (ROI) consent. If the individuals are identified separately as the identified clients, then everyone maintains control of their records. Collateral contacts, or a second party that attends sessions to help facilitate the goals of the individually identified client, are another case that sometimes occurs in therapy. These cases will be handled as individual cases, not family or couple’s cases, regarding records release. In any of these instances, any conflicts of interest will be minimized and professional obligation to each individual client will be upheld. If there is any anticipated conflict this must be discussed with the provider in order to clarify the providers role, discuss professional obligations to the parties involved, and refer out if necessary.
Minors: We will talk with parents/guardians regarding scheduling and billing information. We will use clinical discretion when it pertains to questions from parents/guardians regarding the content of clinical sessions. In some cases, parents/guardians may be permitted to formally request copies of records.