Confidentiality

Because counseling is a personal matter, SCS maintains confidentiality to the limits provided by law and the Ethical Guidelines of our profession. No record of counseling is contained in any academic, educational, or job placement file, and information about counseling is only released with the student's written permission. A student's assigned counselor or intern will consult with a supervisor and/or with other professional staff members of SCS for the purpose of providing the best possible service. There are limits to this confidentiality and they include the following:

• When a student presents a risk of imminent harm to themselves or another person, a therapist has a legal and ethical duty to do whatever is necessary to protect life.
• When any individual has reason to believe that a child, mentally disabled person, or an elderly person is in danger of or is being abused, that individual is obligated by law to report such abuse to the proper authorities.
• When required by law to report incidences of misconduct on the part of other counselors.
• When required by law because a court order has been placed.
• When requested by a parent or legal guardian of a student younger than 18 years of age.

Ethical Statement

Student Counseling Services follow the ethical guidelines of the Texas Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (Licensed Professional Counselors) http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/counselor/lpc_ethics.shtm, American Counseling Association (ACA) which includes Texas Counseling Association (TCA), the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) http://www.nbcc.org/AssetManagerFiles/ethics/nbcc-codeofethics.pdf, and the American Psychological Association (APA) code of ethics www.apa.org/ethics/code.html .