PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY

Privacy and confidentially are two of the most important elements of mental health care and I take yours very seriously. Both are essential to establish rapport and trust. As your clinician I am adamant about protecting your health information.

POLICY & THERAPY APPROACH FOR INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

When it comes to individual therapy I must have written authorization in order to speak to others about your condition and/or the treatment I am providing you. It is your choice if you would like me to have permission to speak with anyone. It is also up to you to decide the limits of information which I can discuss with an outside party. In some cases I may recommend a release to include an emergency contact and/or a physician, but ultimately, the decision is yours.

An effective psychotherapy approach that I use is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is an evidence-based form of talk therapy. CBT works under the premise that by changing destructive forms of thinking and modifying negative behavior patterns you can alter the underlying feelings. It is this change in cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reaction that leads to long-lasting results in a brief amount of time.

POLICY & THERAPY APPROACH FOR COUPLES IN THERAPY

My policy for couples are the same as my policy for individual clients regarding disclosing information outside of sessions, but I also discuss how privacy is handled within the couple in the first session. Therapy helps couples (any two people in an emotional relationship) understand and resolve conflicts and relate to one another in healthier ways. I work with you to improve areas such as communication, intimacy, trust and empathy. I use an action oriented approach in which behaviors and thought processes are altered rather than just asking why things are the way they are. I provide skills to improve communication problems, problem-solving skills, address the negative aspects but as also extenuate the positives of your relationship as well!

EXCLUSION POLICY

At this time Dr. Riggins will not provide services for the following individuals:

Individuals under the age of 15
Individuals that are high risk for suicide
Individuals with severe psychosocial stressors (homelessness, legal or financial problems)
Individuals who are actively experiencing psychosis (i.e. hallucinations, delusions)
Individuals with moderate to severe substance use concerns will receive appropriate referrals.

LIMITS TO CONFIDENTIALITY

Most of the topics discussed during therapy is kept in secret; however, there are limits to confidentiality. I have a legal and ethical responsibility to break confidentiality for the following reasons:

If you share with me that you plan to harm yourself and/or others.
If you share information with me about current abuse by you or someone else against a child, elderly, dependent, or disabled person.
If I am subpoenaed and ordered by a judge to divulge records/session content.

In the rare event that any of these situations arise, I will make every effort to discuss them with you during our session before taking any action. In most cases you and I will make a plan together in order to deal with breaking our confidentiality.

PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY AND THERAPY POLICIES