Confidentiality & Limits to Confidentiality

In most cases the fact that you are seeing us, and anything you might say to us, is private and we will not tell anyone else about this without your permission. 

There are exceptions to this privacy:

1. With your permission we will liaise with other health professionals involved to assist you in receiving the best possible service. If you have been referred to us, we will normally ask your permission to liaise with the referrer, usually just to acknowledge the referral.  If you have other professionals involved in your on-going care it is in your interests that we liaise with them in order to coordinate the help you are receiving. This still requires your permission.  

2. If there is a situation where you or someone else is at risk of serious harm, which we could prevent by breaking confidentiality, then we will act to prevent that harm. Unless there is an emergency or it would increase the risk of harm we would still try to discuss this with you first. 

3. If your therapy is being paid for by someone else they will need to know whether or not you are attending. Where it is being paid for by an agency such as an employer, ACC, insurance company, your employer etc, there is likely to be an obligation to report basic information about the therapy and attendance. Your therapist will normally consult you about what is going to be reported.

4. We do not release therapy files to clients for use in court proceedings unless ordered. This is not their intended use and they are too open to misinterpretation.

5. All counsellors receive professional supervision from senior colleagues and peers on a regular basis. This is where we discuss aspects of our work that are challenging, successful or just seem to need reflecting on. Regular supervision provides a check on the quality and safety of our work, a means to develop our knowledge and skills, and a place where we can talk about ways that our work is affecting us personally. Though the focus is primarily on us and our work we, of course, have to talk about our clients during supervision. We do our best to avoid saying anything that might identify a client. 

6. There is admin staff contracted to the company. They may be aware of the client information required for admin purposes.

7. All participants agree that sessions will not be recorded or filmed (video or sound) without prior knowledge and approval.

 For any questions please contact us at:

- Email: admin@ecsnz.co.nz

- Phone: 027 230 8728

- Landline: 09 6230574