Ethically and legally, we will protect your confidentiality unless: 

• you provide us with specific verbal or written permission to do otherwise,
  or
   
• we are required by law to break confidentiality.

Situations in which you might provide permission
to us to discuss your case with others include:

• To provide information to your insurance company. Some insurance companies require us to provide them with specific clinical information, such as diagnosis, symptoms, goals, and progress. This information is used to determine the number of sessions that will be reimbursed by the insurance company. If you have concerns about this, please discuss it with your therapist or contact your insurance company.
    
• To communicate with a physician or other professional who referred you to us. We would like to notify that person that we have seen you and thank him or her for referring you to us, and we will ask you for permission to communicate to that professional only that you have been seen for an appointment.

Situations in which we are required by law
 to break confidentiality include:

• We have reason to believe that you are in imminent danger of harming yourself or someone else. While it is common for depressed persons to have suicidal thoughts or plans, if we believe that you are going to act on these thoughts and harm yourself or others, we are required to share this information to prevent you from doing so. 
    
• A minor discloses to us that he or she is being abused. We are mandated by Iowa law to report abuse to the Department of Human Services.

The American Psychological Association's 

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct discusses privacy and confidentiality in detail, as does the NASW Code of Ethics , which is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of social workers. We encourage you to read these principles online or in our waiting room and to discuss them with your therapist.

The Ethics Committee of the American Psychological Association has not developed a specific policy for services by telephone, teleconferencing, and Internet, other than to recommend that "In those emerging areas in which generally recognized standards for preparatory training do not yet exist, psychologists nevertheless take reasonable steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect patients, clients, students, research participants, and others from harm."

Eastdale Psychology Group, PC does not provide therapy through this website or through e-mail, in part due to our concerns about confidentiality.