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LIMITS OF CONFIDENTIALITY:

Professional ethics and Tennessee State law indicate that confidential information is controlled by the client. This means that, as a general rule, information shared in sessions with a counselor will be held in confidence.

There are two exceptions to this general rule, however. 

In the case of an emergency where the counselor believes the client is at risk of hurting himself/herself or another person, the counselor may breach the requirement of confidentiality. 

Secondly, Tennessee law requires that child abuse in any form (sexual, physical, emotional, neglect) be reported to the Department of Human Services or other authority such as a Juvenile Judge.

It is also important for the client to understand that email is not a secure mode of communication. The correspondence is at risk of being intercepted, can be monitored by email providers, and human error could result in someone else receiving the email other than the intended therapist. 

It is also important to note that text messaging carries the same level of risk. Text messages can be intercepted, stored on a device and later read by others, read by phone providers, or sent to non-intended individuals. 

If the client chooses to correspond with Alice Stricklin Counseling via text messaging or email, the messages and emails will be downloaded and kept in the client's file.