Information for minors seeking therapy

Here are some things to know before your first appointment if you are a minor.

• One of your parents or your legal guardian will need to come to your first appointment. If this is not something that will be possible, please contact support by email at [e-mail].

• Most people under the age of 18 don’t have the legal right to keep their therapy sessions 100% private (depending on the province that you live in). This is because they have a parent or guardian who is legally in charge of their care.

  A parent or legal guardian can access a child’s medical records at any time. We do know though that if your counsellor was to tell everything you said to your parents, it would be very difficult for you to tell them what is really going on. Even though parents have a legal right to know everything, most counsellors who work with minor children will ask that a parent allow treatment to remain mostly private. Make sure you discuss this with your parent or guardian and your counsellor at your first appointment to make sure that everyone agrees on what will and won’t be kept private.

• Caution

  You should create your own account for accessing counselling and keep your login and password information private. No one else should be able to access your account.

• Even if your counsellor has agreed to keep the information you share in session mostly private, there are a few situations in which a parent must be told what is going on. All counsellors have to follow a code of ethics which includes a promise to always tell a parent or guardian if a child is in a very dangerous situation. This is called mandated reporting. The four major reasons that a counsellor might need to break confidentiality with someone are:

  • The counsellor is worried that a child is being abused

  • A child is at risk of self-harm, or of hurting someone else

  • The counsellor hears about an elderly person or a person with a disability being abused

  • A court of law asks to see their notes

If a counsellor has to report one of these events, only the information needed in order to keep everyone safe will be shared.