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Law Note Series
The
Social Worker and Protection of Privacy
by: Carolyn I. Polowy, JD
and Emily Goldberg Kraft, JD
Published: February 1999 © NASW
Pages: 21, including appendix
INTRODUCTION
[citations omitted]
Clients receiving psychotherapy
risk social stigma should their "private" mental health information be disclosed.
Disclosures may affect many aspects of a client's life including the ability
to obtain gainful employment or run for public office. Harm may be inflicted
through the very fact of disclosure-that is, simply through other people's
coming to know facts or feelings that a client and psychotherapist expected
to be kept confidential. "The [client] may feel embarrassed, vulnerable,
or otherwise violated, as well as feel betrayed by the [psychotherapist],
and personal or other relationships may suffer." Access to medical and mental
health records is currently "safeguarded" under a patchwork of case law,
statutes, regulations, federal and state constitutional law, and personal
injury tort law. No overriding federal rule of law directly controls or protects
the privacy of all persons in the United States, although some state constitutions
guarantee privacy for citizens in a particular state. An invasion of privacy
in the exposure of confidential mental health treatment records may have
no legal recourse.
The purpose of this paper
is to provide social workers with a brief overview of the current state of
privacy law and how it impacts on the provision of mental health services
and treatment. With an informed understanding of the many issues affecting
privacy, social workers will be able to engage in the debate taking place
regarding comprehensive federal legislation as well as recognize issues within
their states that require response and appropriate action to ensure that
client privacy is properly protected.
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