Salmon Arm and Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Frequently Asked Ethical Questions
A: Everything we talk about is kept completely confidential, meaning that I won’t share what we talk about with anyone, except for a few exceptions. These exceptions, as laid out in the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy (CCPA) (2020) Code of Ethics, include:
- If you share with me that you intend to harm yourself.
- If you share with me that you intend to harm someone else, or you know of someone else planning to cause harm to themselves or another person.
- If you share with me knowledge of a child being abused or neglected.
- If I am ordered to share our sessions notes by a judge (if I am subpoenaed by a court of law).
- If you give me permission or ask that I share something specific with someone.
A: The same confidentiality rules as listed above apply to children and youth working with me. Just as above, if you ask that I share something with your parents, I can do so. Anything else that needs to be shared must be agreed upon by yourself, myself, and your parents prior to our work together. Some youth under the age of majority can be considered mature minors under the Infants Act (1996) and do not need parental permission to access my services.
A: Your moral rights and dignity are always my first priority. I honour the diverse worldviews of my clients, which includes their beliefs and values regarding religion and politics. I accept and believe that these are your important truths, and no not incorporate my own worldviews into my practice. Because of this, we can work together in a good way even with differing values and beliefs.
A: In couples and family counselling, we will work together as a group to determine what the best path forward for your relationship. I believe that in order for therapy to be effective, it is not advisable that I hold the secrets of anyone in the relationship. If we approach the process with a no secrets policy, we can create a stronger foundation of trust from which to make positive change (Nuttgens & Chang, 2015).
A: Telehealth counselling is an option if that is a good fit for you. I can meet with clients via secure platforms such as doxy.me. However, if we wish to approach therapy in this way, we will need to agree on which and how many sessions will occur in this way, so we can both be prepared for the process. Telehealth counselling works in much the same way as in-person sessions. During our initial session we will review general and virtual-specific guidelines and agreements to therapeutic process, as well as confirm primary and emergency contact information. item.