NWR: any mental health providers here?

Calypso1977

realizing it may depend on the state, if a child is seeing a counselor/licensed social worker for counseling services, does their parent have the right to see the records of those sessions?

tanyanubin

Pretty sure you do if the child is under 18.

AriesAngel86

I'm a licensed Master Social worker.

Assuming you mean that the child is under the age of 18, yes the parent has the right to see the records. The limitations to that would be if it were potentially harmful to the client.

sbc2013

I worked in a mental health services center and dealt with these issues, but I am not a therapist, so keep that in mind. Here is what I know:

What differs between states is the amount of access that a parent has to their child's mental health records. There are states that mandate therapists to release any and all records the parent asks for and there are states that say there are exceptions for which a parent can be denied access to the records. Therapists usually treat requests for child records (by a parent) on a case by case basis and the decision is primarily based upon the advantage/disadvantage to the child if the records were released. If the therapist thinks there wouldn't be any harm to the child (harm being something other than the child losing his/her sense of privacy), they are likely to release the record. Depending on the state, the therapist also has a right to choose how they release the information--orally, so they have control over how much is revealed to the parent, or full disclosure by releasing the actual session notes. Sometimes it is enough for the parent that the child's progress is discussed on a regular basis, but sometimes the parent wants more. A therapist could always refuse, but a parent to a minor can also insist, in which case the therapist will warn the parent of the risks of disclosure but will ultimately have to release information (but again, the amount they have to release varies by state).

Was that helpful, Calypso?

J&K10910

Ditto sbc.

In my experience, a good clinician will be hesitant to share details of sessions because it is damaging to relationship between a child and the clinician.  If there is any risk of harm, a clinician will alert the parent/guardian on their own (or SHOULD).

I'm interested in why this parent wants access to the records.  The therapy sessions should be a safe place for the child to be open and honest.  The clinician sharing information with the parent will likely seriously damage the relationship and trust, and is detrimental to the therapy process.  If the parent is just being nosy, that's a poor choice, IMO.  If the parent is concerned about something specific, they should be welcome to discuss their particular concern with the clinician and see what the clinician has to say.  If they're concerned about risk of harm (which, IMO, is really one of the only reasonable reasons for sharing session information), something like that can usually be discussed in general terms without violating the child's privacy/confidentiality--or of course, if there is serious risk, the clinician should be alerting the parent. 

sbc2013

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_nwr-any-mental-health-providers-here?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:edefedb0-db9b-4129-95a1-f910ecaa74c2Post:db77c1c2-34ed-4494-968d-f64b53979646">Re: NWR: any mental health providers here?</a>:
[QUOTE]Ditto sbc. In my experience, a good clinician will be hesitant to share details of sessions because it is damaging to relationship between a child and the clinician.  If there is any risk of harm, a clinician will alert the parent/guardian on their own (or SHOULD). I'm interested in why this parent wants access to the records.  The therapy sessions should be a safe place for the child to be open and honest.  <strong>The clinician sharing information with the parent will likely seriously damage the relationship and trust, and is detrimental to the therapy process.</strong>  If the parent is just being nosy, that's a poor choice, IMO.  If the parent is <strong>concerned about something specific, they should be welcome to discuss their particular concern with the clinician </strong>and see what the clinician has to say.  If they're concerned about risk of harm (which, IMO, is really one of the only reasonable reasons for sharing session information), something like that can usually be discussed in general terms without violating the child's privacy/confidentiality--or of course, <strong>if there is serious risk, the clinician should be alerting the parent. </strong>
Posted by J&K10910[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I agree with all of the above, especially the bold. I'd be worried that, especially if it is a concern about the child's safety, the child would be less likely to divulge any further information to the therapist if he/she feels the trust was breached. I'd also like to add to what J&K said about serious risk--the therapist is actually mandated to report any suicidal thoughts and ideations along with any homicidal ones, so if the parent is worried the child is a risk to themselves or others, I can't really imagine a situation in which the therapist wouldn't contact the parents, and immediately. They would be at risk of losing their license.

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J&K10910

Calypso, I don't know why you're asking, but I would also encourage the parent in question (if they haven't already) to talk about their concerns with the therapist, and allow the therapist time to talk to the child and get permission to allow the parent into a session or to share information with the parent.  That would be a good place to start, and would be least damaging to all the relationships.

lacey3eb

I agree with others that sharing everything can negatvely effect the counselor-child relationship.  That relationship is confidential unless the child expresses intent to harm himself or someone else or if there is a court order for information.  A counselor should have good communication with the parents about counseling goals and progress and should be able to do this without sharing details from sessions.  If there is something that the counselor thinks would be helpful for the parent to know he/she can ask the child for permission to share with the parent.  This helps foster a trusting counselor-child relationship.

In my experience, when parents are requesting records it's because of a custody battle and that gets really annoying.  I work in a school setting not agency.

ETA Also counselors will breach confidentiality to report abuse to authorities of course.  And I always start my sessions with students about the limitations of confidentiality so they know full well what information will remain in my office and what must be shared.

colleengilhooly

I am a Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Iowa and, yes, if the child is under 18 then the LEGAL parent has access to the records if needed. I do always try to have a conversation with the child and parent about the issue at hand before giving out that info. Unless there is a matter of safety of course! Usually anything that isn't life threatening can be resolved in the office. Now if you are talking about a step-parent or foster parent or anyone that does not have legal parental rights it becomes a different situation entirely.  Good luck!