Confidentiality

Confidentiality matters deeply to us. 

For students, confidentiality means that once you have contacted our office, we are not permitted to disclose any information about you to those outside the Counseling Center without your consent. Records of your contact with the Center are strictly confidential and are not part of your academic or medical record.

Confidentiality applies to individuals and entities including the following: 

• Confidentiality and Friends: You may have friends who come to the Counseling Center or our staff may meet your friends and associates at campus events. Confidentiality means that we will not talk to your friends about you or acknowledge that you come to counseling. We also will not talk to you about friends who come to the center.
• Confidentiality and Family: If a family member contacts us, we will not acknowledge that you attend counseling or reveal anything about your counseling sessions without your permission.
• Confidentiality and Faculty: There may be times that it is helpful for faculty members to know that you are in counseling, but that is your choice. We will only talk to faculty members with your permission.
• Confidentiality and the Health Center:  The Counseling Center and Health Center are separate entities and do not share records. However, we can communicate with the Health Center easily if you and your counselor decide there is value in doing so. 

Important exceptions to confidentiality: 

• If you are in immediate danger of harming yourself or someone else.
• If you share knowledge of a child or elderly person who is being abused.
• If you are younger than 18 years of age and are considering counseling, your legal guardian will need to sign documentation that gives the Counseling Center consent to treat you and guidelines for confidentiality may look different. For questions/concerns, call our office and speak with a counselor at (413) 748-3345.
• The Counseling Center staff cannot ensure the confidentiality of email, so students should use caution when using this method of communication.