Posted by gardenergirl on August 20, 2004, at 1:29:27
In reply to Re: Professional will? » gardenergirl, posted by jane d on August 20, 2004, at 0:38:09
Hi Jane,
For psychologists, it is part of the APA's code of ethics, to which all psychologists must abide. I would imagine that state law may vary. If it is written into state law, that supercedes, at least legally, the ethics code. If not, ethical code applys. The person designated to store or destroy records is usually either a fellow professional or the exectutor of the estate. I may be wrong, but I believe said person is also bound by confidentiality and protection of the records via the agreement. I have to admit, no one has ever asked me that question in an intake or later in therapy. But then I have been seeing people as part of agencies, so I would assume there is an agency policy in place as well. I think if the person is a private practitioner, then it might be worth asking up front. Of course you can always ask...but then there is the "why ask that" issue that always seems to come up after a legitimate question ;)Hope that helps.
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:378986
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040812/msgs/379776.html