For counselling to be helpful, the trust created by counsellor/client confidentiality is crucial. That means that no one – not a secretary, supervisor, friend, or even a life partner – is to become aware of private matters that are shared in mutual trust. A breach of confidentiality could be devastating to a client, particularly if deeply personal information somehow becomes part of the gossip-crazed general culture.
All Registered Clinical Counsellors are bound by ethical guidelines about confidentiality. Anything you tell a counsellor is kept strictly confidential unless you authorize it otherwise in writing. Only if a client is threatening harm, if child abuse is suspected, or if the counsellor is subpoenaed to court, is it mandatory to share confidential information with the appropriate authorities.
A Registered Clinical Counsellor can be trusted to keep your information confidential.