Confidentiality

If counseling is to be effective, students need to know that their conversations with a counselor will not be shared with faculty, staff, friends, or family.  Counseling Services staff maintains confidentiality according to professional and legal standards. 

Students may grant written permission to counselors to provide information to others.  If you feel it would be helpful for a counselor to provide you with information, then ask the student of concern to sign a “release of information form” allowing this communication to take place.

While counselors cannot reveal information to others without written permission, communication in the opposite direction is rarely ever forbidden.  That means that if parents, students, faculty, or staff feel they have information that would help the counselor to work with the student, they can simply call Counseling Services and give that information to a counselor.  If the student of concern actually is a client, the information would be passed on to the student’s counselor.