Confidentiality

Clinical information about your case may be shared fully within the UNT Psychology Clinic by the student clinicians working in the UNT Psychology Clinic and their faculty/supervisors for educational, assessment, and therapeutic purposes.
Personal information is also shared for clinic administrative purposes such as scheduling, billing, and quality assurance. UNT Psychology Clinic files are also available to auditors. Data contained in your file are available for archival research (i.e., reviews of records to describe clinic referrals, outcomes, and trends) as long as your identity cannot be linked to the data used.
On occasion, the UNT Psychology Clinic may find it helpful to consult with another health or mental health professional. During such a consultation, every effort is made to avoid revealing the identity of the client. The other professional is legally bound to keep the information confidential.
We are mandated reporters under Texas law. That means, if any UNT representative, including your clinician, at the UNT Psychology Clinic has knowledge, evidence, or reasonable suspicion, that a child is currently being abused, or has been abused in the past, they are required to report that information to the appropriate authority or government agency responsible for conducting child abuse investigations, even if the child is no longer in danger. UNT Psychology Clinic professionals are required to make this report even if the child is not a client at the UNT Psychology Clinic. Once such a report is filed, we may be required to provide additional information.
If anyone aged 14 or older reports to UNT Psychology Clinic staff that they committed child abuse, even if the victim is no longer in danger, they are required to report this to the appropriate authority or government agency as described above.
If a client communicates an explicit threat of serious physical harm to a clearly identifiable victim or victims and has the apparent intent and ability to carry out such a threat, the UNT Psychology Clinic staff member may be required to take protective actions. These actions may include notifying the potential victim, contacting the appropriate professional workers or public authorities, and/or seeking hospitalization for the client.
If we believe that there is an imminent or even high risk that a client will physically harm themselves, we may take protective actions (see Emergency Care and Crisis Situations).
Although courts have recognized a clinician-client privilege to confidential communications, there may be circumstances in which a court would order UNT Psychology Clinic professionals to disclose personal health or treatment information. We also may be required to provide information about court ordered evaluations or treatments. If you are involved in, or contemplating litigation, you should consult with an attorney to determine whether a court would be likely to order the UNT Psychology Clinic to disclose information.
UNT Psychology Clinic professionals are required to provide information requested by a parent or legal guardian of a minor child (under age 18 when the parent or legal guardian consented to treatment), including a non-custodial parent.
If a government agency is requesting information for health oversight activities or to prevent terrorism (for example, under the Patriot Act), UNT Psychology Clinic professionals may be required to provide it.
If a client files a worker’s compensation case, UNT Psychology Clinic professionals may be required, upon appropriate request, to provide all clinical information relevant to or bearing upon the injury for which the claim was filed.
If a client files a complaint or lawsuit against the UNT Psychology Clinic or professional staff, UNT Psychology Clinic professionals may disclose relevant information regarding the client in order to defend themselves.
If the UNT Psychology Clinic has reason to believe a client or a person who accompanies the client to the premises has committed a crime while at the clinic or has harmed/threatened to harm UNT Psychology Clinic personnel, the clinic may disclose relevant information to assist law enforcement in investigation of the incident(s).

The UNT Psychology Clinic is not able to provide emergency services or psychiatric medications. Individuals, who because of psychiatric difficulties, need substantial case management, ongoing medication adjustments, and/or emergency clinician access, are generally not appropriate for a training clinic. Such clients may be seen at the Clinic when their situation is stable.

Clients who are experiencing a crisis are encouraged to discuss this with their clinician as soon as possible so that a crisis plan can be developed. A crisis may be generally defined as a situation or period in which the person’s usual coping resources fail and they experience a state of psychological disequilibrium in which they may be at risk for impulsive or harmful behavior. Clients in crisis may or may not constitute an imminent danger to themselves or others; nevertheless, sometimes a judgment must be made to protect the client.

The policy of the UNT Psychology Clinic, to which you consent as a client, is to provide conservative treatment during a crisis situation. Your clinician would work with you to establish a plan to restore normal functioning as soon as possible. In addition to coping skills and possible environmental changes, this may include consultation with your physician, or if necessary, a family member or significant others. If you are a student living in university housing, it may mean letting appropriate university officials know of your situation. The Clinic may divulge your client status and the minimal treatment information necessary to protect you during a crisis period. The need for such action will be discussed with you beforehand, if at all possible. This exception to normal confidentiality would remain in effect until the crisis is over or your care has been successfully transferred to another mental health provider or treatment program. This crisis protocol requires you to trust in our professional judgment to balance risks with your rights to confidentiality. The crisis policy is consistent with a training clinic that supervises graduate trainees. The Clinic instructs clients who cannot reach us and are having an emergency to contact their physicians or other community resources directly.

If your emergency is life threatening, call 911 or go directly to the nearest Emergency Room.

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