Confidentiality

Your sessions with Cate School counselors are confidential. Prior to engaging in individual or group therapy, the counselors will go over the policies related to confidentiality with you verbally to ensure your understanding, but since we do get a lot of questions on this topic, we thought it might be helpful for you to have our confidentiality policy in written form here for you to review before your session.

Your confidentiality is of the utmost importance and essential to effective therapy. Therefore, communications between client and therapist are strictly confidential. Under California law, communication between clients and licensed counselors are privileged (confidential) and may not be disclosed without authorization by the client, except under specific and limited circumstances. Examples of mandated disclosures include, but are not limited to, danger to self or others, child abuse or endangerment, elder abuse, dependent adult abuse and any situation in which a client may be in imminent harm. The contents of the therapy will only be released if the therapist’s clinical judgment indicates concern for your health or wellbeing rise to such a level additional support may be needed.

The Counseling Department at Cate School is deeply committed to maintaining confidentiality within the legal and ethical limits of the profession. We are also members of the Cate community and as such, may deem it necessary to discuss your participation in treatment with your advisor, parents and/or Student Services Committee. Specific disclosures of the contents of treatment will not, and cannot be made, without your expressed written and/or verbal consent UNLESS a student is at risk of imminent harm.