There is so much stuff with mental illness and this notion of background checks as it relates to mental illness. . The core of therapy is confidentiality and privileged communication, right to privacy, establish trust.
Every single mentally ill person would have sign another confidentiality release. Legally , now in this country, clinicians cannot release any information, first without getting permission (documented) by parent if minor, or client themselves.
Mental health folks are not going to just waive that. It is ingrained, you violate it you lose your license to practice.
If you pass a client, in a public place, you cannot acknowledge even knowing them unless they approach you. IF you are married and your spouse is in therapy, you cannot even tell the spouse that their spouse is in therapy until the client signs a release. If they refuse you cannot say one word.
The mandated reporting is ONLY if there is
[FONT="]imminent[/FONT] danger(ready to take place). You have to be able to give a direct quote threat – the client stated to me that when they leave they are going to kill their boss. It must be concrete. As everyone learned with ER if it is a high functioning client they know what to deny.
Here is an informed consent form that MUST be signed first session. If they refuse you cannot treat them ( they do not refuse on this one). I just did this form cause it was the first google response! (they are all pretty much same):
Informed consent::
http://www.rochester.edu/UCC/forms/files/consent.pdf
Here is the, release of information, this one is specific.. If I wanted to talk to your spouse, I would have to ask for permission, ask you to sign , on the form it specifically states the person’s name you intend to speak with If the client refused you cannot talk to the spouse. Or anyone else. These depending on the situation in a lot of instances they refused and that was respected (you worked witht he client to understand the benefits of doing so etc) but until they signed no.
If your front end calls to remind a client of an appointment and someone else answers the phone they can’t say anything. If they had an answering matching you would have to get permission (I always had them sign this too) to leave a message on their answering machine reminding them of an appointment.
If you wanted them evaluated for meds, you would get a release giving me permission to talk to the doc and the doc me.
It is sacred, and so much stuff would have to legally be changed. The field by law cannot give a national data base information about any client receiving mental health services . It is an illness – would anyone want a HIV database. How about a sexually transmitted disease. HIV database? I know many of you are now tempted to say they don’t kill with guns. But for us in the field it is an illness, medical and privacy, just like medical is private information.
That information is not in LE data bases for the same reasons --confidentiality . Will never happen! It is against the law!
Background check for criminal activity charges etc. sure, but linking to one who is suffering with a mental illness is confidential and privileged .
Privileged is SOOOO complicated - even if subpoenaed by a court of law -- huge ordeal (kind like newspapers cant reveal sources) its huge . Can be years – remember James Holmes (Batman) and his psychiatrist. ,
Again this was the first result when I wanted to get an example of privileged communication
http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/EoENovDec07.shtml
http://www.law.indiana.edu/instruction/tanford/web/archive/Psypriv.html
If it is like court ordered therapy, or employee assistance or probation treatment different rules
So, you have three things: confidentiality, privileged communication and informed consent.
Serious stuff………………………………..would take decades to try to connect mental illness to a national database listing everyone that suffers with mental illness available to many people without the patient consenting to that. You have to remember mental illness still has stigma.
Respectfully, look here on the posts. Many are angry with these folks. I sincerely doubt someone would rage at someone with cancer. And one has to understand that for those in the field they are sick, it is not a choice, it is an illness…………….
Teenagers, are adamant about not being put on meds, they don’t want their peers to know they are taking meds for craziness (there words not ours!)