Patient: Are my parents going to know what I talk about in therapy? I don’t really want them knowing everything I discuss. I want this to be private. 

Therapist: One of the hallmarks of therapy is confidentiality, and that confidentiality remains between the therapist and the client. There are only very few situations where confidentiality can be broken, and that is when there is a concern that you might be harming yourself or somebody else. Then, also abuse to people in specific populations, specifically minors or people who have special needs. In that case, anytime the therapist is going to break confidentiality, they should be sharing that with you. Part of that is also the fact that I am a mandated reporter, which means that I am legally required to report certain situations.