Privacy and Policy

Per RCW 18.19.180(1) through (6), you have the right to be protected against the invasion of privacy and confidentiality. We will not share information with anyone without your written consent. However, there are important exceptions to this law including the follow:

· Life Threat: If you communicate the possibility of immediate or imitate threat or harm to yourself or others, by law I must break confidentiality in order to intervene on your behalf 

· Child Abuse: Washington State law requires that any helping, medical staff ect. Report any suspected or current physical or sexual abuse or neglect of a child, to the Department of Social and Human Services, Child Protective Division 

·  Subpoena: In some cases, I can be subpoenaed into court and required to share information concerning your treatment.

· Professional Consultation: To provide you with the best treatment, I may consult with colleagues to discuss the best options of treatment, in a manner that will always protect your confidentiality and no identifying information will be revealed. 

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) 

This is a federal law that provides privacy protections and client rights regarding the use and disclosure of your Protected Health Information (PHI) used for treatment, payment, and health care. HIPAA requires that I provide you with a Notice of Privacy Practices for use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) for treatment, payment, and health care operations. The law requires that I obtain your signature acknowledging that I have provided you these disclosures at the end of this session. A description of the circumstances in which I may disclose information is provided for you. Please review it carefully so you understand fully what confidentiality does and does not mean in the therapeutic relationship. I am happy to discuss any of these rights with you. HIPAA provides you with several new or expanded rights about your Clinical Records and disclosures of protected health information. These rights include: • Requesting that I amend your record. • Requesting restrictions on what information from your Clinical Record is disclosed to others. • Requesting an accounting of most disclosures of protected health information that you have neither consented to nor authorized. • Determining the location to which protected information disclosures are sent. • Having any complaints, you make about my policies and procedures recorded in your records.