Examining limits of confidentiality in real-life consultations: concerns and considerations

Examining limits of confidentiality in real-life consultations: concerns and considerations

This paper examines how confidentiality is discussed in real-life consultations. The Australian Psychological Society Code of Ethics states that clients are to be informed about the legal limits of confidentiality prior to engaging in psychological counselling and repeated when required. Training in confidentially is also an accreditation requirement for Honours, Masters, and Professional Doctorate programs. However little research has examined how limits of confidentiality are introduced and negotiated within real-life consultations. An initial consultation between a client and a provisionally registered psychologist was used as the data for this paper. Discursive analysis revealed that whilst the psychologist complied with her professional obligation by informing the client of the limits of confidentially before counselling began, the way in which the psychologist enacted this made it difficult for the client to ask questions or seek clarification about these limits. Further, when the psychologist explicitly asked for client confirmation of understanding and acceptance of these limits, exactly what the client confirmed and accepted is unclear. Given that breaches of confidentiality are registration board matters, this lack of clarity and limiting of client interaction is concerning. Discussion will note the limits of this data along with the utility of examining confidentiality within real life consultations.