Informed Consent – Family Therapy

Purpose of collecting infor mation

• As part of providing a professional psychological service to you, I will need to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your current situation.

• The information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables me to provide a relevant and informed psychological service.

• You do not have to give all your private information, but if you don’t, this may mean the psychological service may not be able to be provided.
  

Confidentiality

• You have the right to the confidentiality of the information that you share. Subject to certain limited exceptions (described below), your personal information is kept strictly confidential and stored securely, at all times.
  

• Records are kept digitally at  www.halaxy.com. Halaxy is protected by 256-bit bank grade security and encryption, which means records, notes and personal information is protected to the same level used in banks. All information is encrypted and stored in a securely protected data centre in Australia with multiple backups in place. All paper documents are securely destroyed.
  

Exceptions to Confidentiality

• There are exceptions in which psychologists will exercise their duty to waive confidentiality. This can occur when:

  • The information you have given is subpoenaed (officially requested) by a court of law;

  • Failure to disclose the information would place you or another person at risk; or

  • Your prior approval has been obtained to:

    • provide a written report to another professional or agency. e.g. a lawyer; or

    • discuss the material with another person, e.g., a parent or employer.
      

Goals of family therapy

• The objective of the family counselling is not to determine whether it is in the child(ren)'s best interests to have / not have a relationship with one of the parents. Rather, the parents agree it  is in the child(ren)'s best interests to have meaningful relationships with both parents. The family counselling intervention is intended to help the child(ren) have healthy and meaningful relationships with both parents.

• Family therapy sessions may include individual adult sessions, joint adult sessions (where assessed as appropriate), individual sessions with chldren, and / or parent/child sessions. 

• The goals of the counselling may include:

       a.  foster overall healthy child adjustment;

       b.  facilitate the implementation of the previously agreed-to parenting plan or Court Orders

       c.  restore, develop, or facilitate adequate parenting and co-parenting functioning and skills;

       d.  assist the parents to resolve relevant parent-child conflicts;

       e.  develop family communication skills and effective approaches to problem-solving;

       f.   assist the parents to fully understand the child(ren)'s needs for healthy relationships with both parents and 

            the negative repercussions for the child(ren) of a severed or compromised relationship with a parent in 

            their young lives and as adults;

       g.  assist the parents and their child(ren) to identify and separate each child's needs and views from each parent's

            needs and views;

      h.   work with each family member to establish more appropriate parent-parent and parent-child roles 

            and boundaries;

       k.  assist the child(ren) to differentiate self from others and exercise age-appropriate autonomy;

       l.   assist each parent to distinguish valid concerns from overly negative, critical, and generalised views 

            relating to the other parent. 

Treatment Report

• Feedback in written format may be provided to the parents, lawyers, or the court describing the parents' and child(ren)'s progress and cooperation, including any obstacles preventing the counselling from beginning or continuing.

• Separate / additional consent for a report and will be  will be sought at this time, including invoicing for the preparation of the report. 

• The report may include specific statements and behaviours which Terri Kelly deems necessary to adequately support other content or statements in her report.

• Recommendations may be provided regarding additional services or counselling where deemed appropriate.

• Any opinions or recommendations reported will be limited in scope to matters for which the psychologist has obtained sufficient information.

Exchange of Information

• There may be times where, as part of the assessment and therapy process, it may be helpful to liaise with other people or agencies that are relevant to your goals. Additional consent forms will be requested in these instances.  

Access to Information

• At any stage, you are entitled to access to the information about you kept on file, unless the relevant legislation provides otherwise. The psychologist may discuss with you appropriate forms of access. You have a right of access to information held about you in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 and the Freedom of Information Act 1982.
  

• Requests for access should be made in writing.
  

• Both parents must provide their consent to release relationship counselling records. If one parent does not provide consent, records will not be released.
  

• Examples of where access to information may be restricted are where disclosure:

  • may pose a serious threat to your physical or mental well-being, or the physical and mental well-being of others;

  • may infringe on the privacy of others; or

  • may hinder law enforcement activities
    

Fees and Cancellation Policy

• Sessions for family therapy may be for either 60 minutes for indiviudals, or 90 minutes when more than one person is attending. 

• Face-to-face consultations are available at the Bangalow Professional Centre on Monday and Wednesday between 9am and 2pm. Online appointments are available via Zoom (if it is determined that this is appropriate). 

• Cancelled appointments require at least 24 hours' notice or the full appointment fee will be charged as the time has been reserved for your appointment. 

• Further appointments can be made once any outstanding cancellation fees are settled. 

Provision of a Telehealth Service

• Where appropriate the service may be provided by telephone or videoconferencing. You are responsible for the costs associated with setting up the technology needed so you can access telehealth services.   Terri Kelly will be responsible for the cost of the call to you and the cost associated with the platform used to conduct telehealth services.  
  

• To access telehealth consultations, you will need access to a quiet, private space; and the appropriate device, i.e. smartphone, laptop, iPad, computer, with a camera, microphone and speakers; and a reliable broadband internet connection.  
  

• The privacy of any form of communication via the internet is potentially vulnerable and limited by the security of the technology used. To support the security of your personal information this practice uses Zoom which is compliant with the Australian standards for online security and encryption

Limitations of a Telehealth Service

• A telehealth consultation may be subject to limitations such as an unstable network connection which may affect the quality of the psychology session.

• In addition, there may be some services for which telehealth is not appropriate or effective. Your psychologist will consider and discuss with you the appropriateness of ongoing telehealth sessions.