Engagement
Your privacy matters here. Real therapeutic work depends on trust, and that trust rests on knowing what you share stays protected. Eidolon Therapeutic Counseling treats confidentiality as central to everything we do — it asks for mutual trust, respect, attentiveness, and commitment, especially around sensitive material.
Confidentiality is both a legal and an ethical duty: I don't share your information with anyone unauthorized. As a licensed clinician, I'm bound by the professional statutes and codes of conduct that govern that duty. You have the legal and ethical right to prevent the disclosure of anything you share in counseling without your consent.
New York State law requires that confidentiality be maintained at all times, and treats your right to privacy and your right to confidentiality in counseling as one and the same. At the start of our work, you'll complete a Confidential Disclosure Agreement confirming that session material will not be shared. We'll talk through privacy, confidentiality, and HIPAA compliance in more detail at your consultation and initial intake.
Mandated Reporting
There are narrow, legally required exceptions to confidentiality, and I want you to know about them up front.
As a licensed social worker, I am a mandated reporter. That means I am legally required to report a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or maltreatment when it arises in the course of my professional work. "Reasonable cause" can come from what I observe, along with my professional training and experience — for example, a suspicion that someone responsible for a child has harmed that child or placed them in imminent danger.
Social workers carry expanded reporting requirements under New York law: the obligation to report can apply when any person is before me in my professional capacity, not only a parent or caretaker. "A person legally responsible" refers to a guardian, caretaker, or other person 18 or older who is responsible for a child's care.
New York State recognizes certain professionals as mandated reporters. For the full printable list, see the New York State Office of Children and Family Services: https://ocfs.ny.gov/publications/Pub1159/OCFS-Pub1159.pdf
“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”
— MILES DAVIS