PRIVACY POLICY

As part of providing a psychiatry service to you, Diverse Psychiatry & Therapy needs to collect and record personal information from you that is relevant to your situation, such as your name, contact information, medical history and other relevant information as part of providing psychiatry services to you. This collection of personal information will be a necessary part of the assessment and treatment that is conducted. Your informed consent will be obtained before any treatment or procedure is initiated and you may withdraw from treatment at any time without prejudice. If you are unclear about any of the information on this consent form, please discuss this with your psychiatrist.

Your personal information is gathered as part of your assessment and treatment. All of this is kept securely and, in the interests of your privacy, used only by your psychiatrist and the authorised personnel of the practice (as necessary). We would like to emphasise that your privacy and the information that you provide is protected at all times. Your personal information is retained in order to document what happens during sessions, and enables the counsellor to provide a relevant and informed psychiatry services to you. You are entitled to access your personal information kept on file at any time. Should you wish to see the information kept on your client records, please discuss this with your psychiatrist.

All personal information gathered by the psychiatrist during the provision of the psychiatry service will remain confidential except when:
1. It is subpoenaed by a court; or
2. Failure to disclose the information would in the reasonable belief of the Diverse Psychiatry & Therapy place you or another person at serious risk to life, health or safety; or
3. Your prior approval has been obtained to
a. provide a written report to another professional or agency. e.g. GP, school or a lawyer; or
b. discuss the material with another person, eg. a parent, employer or health provider; or
c. disclose the information in another way; or
4. You would reasonably expect your personal information to be disclosed to another professional or agency (e.g. your GP) and disclosure of your personal information to that third party is for a purpose which is directly related to the primary purpose for which your personal information was collected; or
5. Disclosure is otherwise required or authorised by law; or
6. When consulting with colleagues, or in the course of supervision, your psychologist will be required to conceal your identity and any associated parties involved; and to preserve your privacy at the utmost professional manner in accordance with the Code of Ethics.

CONFIDENTIALITY

All sessions are entirely confidential. We are legally bound by confidentiality which means that what you discuss cannot be shared with anyone. There are some legal limitations to this rule, which are if you are at risk of harm to yourself or someone else, if your notes are subpoenaed by the court and  in relation to court orders.

Please note, we are not an emergency service. Should you find yourself in an emergency situation or crisis, please contact 000 immediately. Please become familiar with your mental health care plan. You can also contact Beyond Blue and Lifeline if you require after hours or immediate support. Clients need to decide whether advice provided is relevant to their individual needs and circumstances.