Confidentiality and record keeping are essential aspects of everyday counselling practice. This book introduces you to the law, ethics, guidance and policy relevant to counselling records and confidentiality, using examples from practice to apply this to a wide range of counselling situations and dilemmas. This edition is fully updated to cover recent developments in guidance, professional ethics, policy and law, including new chapters on GDPR and data protection law and online and telephone counselling practice. With an extensive glossary, checklists and useful legal and other resources, this is an essential resource for trainees and practitioners in the helping professions.

Part I Confidentiality and the law 1. Recording confidences 2. Confidentiality as a legal entitlement - the clients' perspective 3. Confidentiality as a legal responsibility - obligations of the therapist Part II Record keeping and the law 4. Record keeping - basic responsibilities 5. Data protection 6. Information technology, telephone and online working, electronic recordings and electronic data interchange 7. How long do we keep records? Part III Confidentiality and disclosures: information sharing 8. Sharing information between professionals 9. Sharing information in supervision and training 10. Sharing information in research and audit Part IV Confidentiality and disclosures: policy, practice and procedural issues 11. Developing agency policy and practice and evaluating organisational policies on confidentiality and record keeping 12. Mental capacity, vulnerable adults and consent 13. Children, capacity and consent 14. Victims, and pre-trial therapy with vulnerable adults and children as witnesses Part V Practice dilemmas: checklists and scenarios on confidentiality and disclosures for reflection and discussion 15. Responding to dilemmas - ethical and legal practice Disclosure checklists Useful organisations and contacts List of legal cases List of acts and rules Further reading Glossary