Er^lLr,Jri*.

tqtrt3 -
).oi,I. .qf1 't"^l*" -
t' Lt al,,o.-
* i {{ :{ 1rri 1,.t* :j :i :. j .i l .. A l ai :.' } {t,r!r* ,i rri i

Orc connnon nristakerh:rriherapists

nakc is allowing records to bc taken
lroD rh. premiseswhere thcy bclong
(e.9.,a pri vatefncti ce, cl i ni c,or r oD-
profit org.Dizarxnr).This is oftei donc
in order to accornmodarean intern or
trainec who i, feceivins off site supef-
vjsion. Ii would be preferable if the
supervisiontook phce orsitc, bur ifdrat
i s not rhc case,i t i s i mtori ant t o t ake
ccrtair frectr!r!ions. l_or instincc, if
rccordss'ere ro be trken for the bcncfit
ot rhc supervi si on,N copy sho uld bc
takcn ratherthrr the ori gi ni l file. klc
rl l y, onl y porti onsof a fi l c sho uld be
iiken or pcrh.ps hformarion fes.rdins
the pati cntl i dcnti ty crn bc sa nir ized.
Intern!.nd trLri nccsw ho rrinst on
rccoftlsshould b. lrsitr,cred to leep the
record!o,,dcrdi ci r pcrsonrlconr r olr r
i l l ti n(s, rnd not to l exvethenrlr r . r r
ctt i u somconc'ol s fi ceor resi de nt .
l f rccofds.rci ntcnri on.l l yJe\ln, f ( J.
i ftcr l )ci nF,kctt for thc rppnr yr i. r t ,
nmi ]l 1ntof ti nrc (di seU ss.(l if l,r l (,i
thi srrri cl c).rheyshoul db. Ji si n ) vcl r r
a nrrnncrthi t prc* rver conl i d.r iir lii\ .
In orhcf !voi .l s, di e rceor(l !sh( , I ld hr
shre< l dtcl or l ,umcclTl . ,eyshi ,ulJnor hc
pl accdn a rl sh bngrnciput ur i dunr t -
stcr fi )r di sposall )y odl er!. N of ! h, r r Ll
recoi l l sbe rl ,l i .l ored or l etr b cht nJ.
Therapi stssl oLrl d al i i rnrrti vely m r kt
surc thrr drc rccords e ei rhe r r . ken
wirh rhcn, clcsrruycd,or phced il rlre
fosscssi on ol i l .r$' fulcostodi x , , .
rLt I of thisrrticlcwas pub- to the cxtcrt possiblc,prcvent records
lishc.lin rhcJulr/AususI 200l fron bcurg hst, srolen, or vierved lry W hat i f the R ecords A re
is!tr.ot drisnlrgrTine. I ciu " l h i .d p n rri es."TIi s Lrsurl l yti rndatrs Lost, S tol en or D estroy€d?
rionLrsain drrr thtr .rnyor rll nlto keepingrecordsin. lockel filc cab- It rccords l ost or stol en,rh( t hr r a
ol iheissues ^re
discussecl andrlle ;rer nr rhe rherrpist's office. I-hc ther.- pisr n.y wadr to recons!nrcttherecorls
o p u i o ns er f r es s edin th i s rrti c l e m ry pisfs oflice also should be locked whcn lir rreanlcnr puqnxes. Ot course,rhr
l t co v er edr nd gov en re db y r p a fti c u - i t i s n o t b e ingused.l ' .ri ent fi l .s shoul .l nbi l i ryto recon\tructw i l l depcndupon
l rr sri te hw or r egula rn :,| rpl p l i c .b l ero n o t b e l e ft in publ i c dfeas,w hcr. rh(r rhccol nfl exi !yofthe ci sernd i hc lr ngr h
\1I:Is. I rvill Lenurl tbc rcadcr of drat n a y b c s c c nor takcn.W hctherrecords of ri me thar rhc pari crt brs b ccn ii
i rct sc r c nl t nr c s r hr o u g h o u trh c a rti - .rrc kcfr on a conNr.r or olherwise, neatmcnr. Rccords fron fonncr
cle, bnr my frilurc ro do so shoulil nor rhey should only be acccssiblcro rhose pro!i derscN nosurl l t be.' btai nc dageni.
le.tdtht rcrilcr toconcluclcthat ro bucl- w h o re e dtohavcacccssnrorderto prop 'l'he
trimNr! ferf c'f the thcrapisr whcn
i rns srate law or Legulatr crisrs. erly corcluct rhe rhcrapisls busioess. recordsffe losr or sr.,len is rliat confr
9 Computer screensshould bc placedrnd derri rl i nfornri i on w i l l be sccn by
! sa te vaint enanc e o t used nr a nrnner drat does not albw someone,thus vi ol .ti ng the p ar j€nr 's
: R e co rd€/ Des t r uc t io h viewins bv orhcrs. 0)mpurer recordr ri ghr to pri vrcy and coD f cnr i! ln_v.
; Thtrrpsn have a dutyro protect dre pri should be fesularlv and pronpdy 'l'herapistsnry be faced*'rih thc dilcF
; vrcv oifaricDl records. Thtrs, rherapists backecl up so ther thcv arc not losr dLre Jn,rof $hedrer or not to rcll rhe patlcnr
: nru st rakc crre ro salesM rd records,and to rechnicelerror or failue. of the loss .s raLly as feasiblc rfrcL

r[scovery,or whcrherro firsr na ke some
rlren'ti\ro fc(over or loc. rc rhe records
b .kre iellr ngr he f dien r.
Therapisrs who find rhenrselvesm
Ihis tosittun are oiren fchcranr ro tell
d re p a henr ,c it her be c a u s erh e ! d o n ' r
.
wrnt thc p.rienr to bc alarmednnd suf, .
fer cmotbnal distrcss,or hecauscthey
d o n o i wanr t he p. t ic n r ro b l a n e th c m .
fo r i n rpr oper lyhx ndli n g o r p ro i e c ri n g
rhc .ecords. Thcrc nuy be tincs when
th c fa tient is in $r c h me n rl l lo r e n o -
n o n a l c ondit ion. s t o w x rra n t rh e rh e r
.pist ro keep info.Drrrion .rbout tbe loss
of rccorclsfron the patient! nr hast for '
so n rep c f iod of t im e. 1 ri s rn p o rrx n r to
mrkc N . c t har t his . c L t$ I i s o n l y u s c d
lf thepatient
findsoutthatthetherapist
keptthefactofthelossordeshuctioh
of
recordsfromthepatient,
he6hemag
questionwhgthere wasnotfulland
prompt disclosure.
d iscl Thepatient
magallege
thattherewasanefforttopermanentlU
keep fromthepatient.
thisinformation
!vh cn{rt t or l. . l bv r hee l i n i c acl v i d e n c e ,
i n d f,)r. s pr r r of r \ nc ffo rr n r i rrrp ro p -
.rl y h i J. t h. a. . r r hr r p ri v a c yn a y h rv c
h ,r.n .,)m pf onr is c d.
\l rh odqh er c h s iru rri o n m u s i b e
e rrrtu l l r ev . r luar c d,I h a v e u s u !l l y re c
o mn rd dc d r r om pr no ri fi c rri o no f rh e
r,rt,..r.- l' hr s m . v . io s o mec a s c s s, u b ,
r..r rh r r hc . apisfrt ) s om el i .b i l i ry fo r th e
n c{| g e nr handlDg or m ri n tn a n c e o f
rh e r.to s . I n m nDy c ;c u ms ra n c e s ,
h.\'.!.r', rhe thefirpisr nrsy hlrve dorc
n o rh !res r ong. I ' er hafsrh e rew a sa h u r
sl .r$ rh, r r! v . s unav oid a b l eP. c l h a p sd re
rctofds were desrroyed in a firc Dot
rri n h u r. bler o t henc s li g e n c e odfrc th e r
rrr!r. Perh:rpsrhcrc vrs a hurdc{rlc or
orh.f nrrurrl disastcrWhy rot prompr-
lr .fisclose?lf rhe patient fnrds out drar
th r tl re r r pis tk epr r he f a c t o fth e l o s so r
.i.srru.non of rccordsfrom rhe pai;enr,
h./she ntry qucsrnnr$'hy rhereu'as nor
46 r. ., - n , , - , -
"^ " ^ .," "
)
fnllarcl prompt disckrsure.Tlrc pxiient pati enc .s cari y as po$i bl e o f r heir
may allege that there was an effon to i'rtendedfetirementor mo!e rnd should
pcrmanentlykccp $ is in fonnation ffoD documcDt $rch :rction ;n lhcir fccords.
General l y,i t i s bcrrer i f rhc fat ieni is
Prompt and lull dilclosure is clsv sjven nnrnrlN rithcr rhrn wceks of
when rhe rhcrap;r h.s not acteclncgli rdvanccdnori ce.h sraresrhat h r ve no
eertly. Suppose, howeve! thar a licenscd requ'rcmerts, therapisrsshoul.l corsid
sopervisoror enrployeLallows a tranree er enhcr prhl i catnn of a notice in a
or intem to take recordsfrom the prcr newspaperor dirccr norice ro the for
isesand hrnrg them to an off sitc super lnc. pdtient in the form of a profession,
visor \fhat ifthe intcrn negligentlypro rllywritren lerfti Ii is itrrpoftrnr ro c C
tected thc records ond now thcy are ful l y consi der w hcrhef rhe f or ner
nrissins? Perhrt! drc inrern lcft the pi .eD r w i l l w anfi o l )econri dcd by ler
recordsnr an rnlocl<cdcar or in a br;ef- ter .rd whether privlcy n1ay be conr
c a s c th a tw asD i spl 11ccd.A ndfurrLe4f
er- pronised in the frocess.
hapsa copy ofthc recordswas nor mrde. It i, helpful ro remenbcr rfiil tn niosr
Is dre supervisoror emplovcr going to states, lrcensccsrre reqrired ro notify
their licenshs boarrl of rny changc of
bLrsiness.ddress. .{ddirion{rlly, rcrired
licenseescan ptn their licenseoll inictive
sratus.Thus,. srnreliccnsilg bord c.n
usual l yhel pn tnrl cntfi nda drer.pisr wh. ,
i snol rserntrhcoffi cew hcr hc p. r ienr
w :rsori gi nrl l ysccn.Insuchcrsc s.r nr l in
thc i bsenceofr r(qui r€nrcrrt n) dr econ-
trnry! noticc ru f(xmer p:rticrrs nii br
LrnD cccssiOfcou$e,
ry. i frhc ftco s. k
ofsufficienr {gc, rlrcy cirr hc cltstr.ovcti.
ln rbrr crse, rhc ilsue of noricc td rhc
t.ricor is nrooi-rhcrc is gencr,rlly o
rcquirenenr rlmr dre p,ficnr hc norific(l
prbr ro. l.wful desrn,criorol recorrls.
w rrr ro i m m edi arclnori y fyrhcprri enrof D eath oftheTherapt3i
tb e rn i s s i n grecordsrndrhedcrri thei l sof r W hcn r therapi srdi es,reco s shor ld
bss? The supcrvisoror eniploy$ faced be protecred anrl not desrrovcd,espe-
wirh such n ditcnnnr will wrnr ro con- cially with rcspcc! ro cnueDr or recenr-
sult wirh lcgrlcoLnsel, who will hclp n) l y temnratcdprri enrs.Thi s dury usur l
evahrarcthe shuation aDd ro hopefnlly l y dcvol vcsto rhc spouseor prr r ncr of
mnrinizc dre hrrm dorc to thc paricnr the dcccrsed therapisr, who Dry be
aDd to dre employcror supervisor namcd executor or tnrster, or to rhe
rttorncy hired ro rcpresent rhc esr.re.
Wh a t l fth €Therapl st Therc are rvernlrcayDs ro prorccr dre
Mo v e s o r R etl res? Lccords. 'Ihe parienr n].)' need rhe
Some strte laws require tberipisrs ro rccords for lirigation or for coi!inued
causeto be pnblished(rr specifiedinter- treatmeDr purpoles. Addftionil]y, ihc
vals ovcr a strted pefio(l of time) n1 a estrte may be subjecredro l;rbiliry fof
newsp.pcrof senemlcifcular$n dre Iact rhe actsof the rherapistwhcn rl;!e, aDd
of their retircnur or movc so that for, the recordsnishr helprhe cstatedefend
parients who m,ty need ro access an rctlon thai mry be bfought. h sone
'ner
i h e i r re c o rdsw i l l know ,oi bcmorel i ke srates,stanrtesallow for the dcsrrucrion
ly to knorv,thc location oftheir records. ofrecordsw i thn! cerrai nperi odof r im e
Withrespcctto patientswhorre ;r rreac lollowing the derth of rhe pr.ciirioner,
m e n ra tth c ri merhei herapi srdeci des ro or w i rhi n . pei i od ofri rnc specif iedin a
move or rerire, rherapistsshould norify Dotice of dcarh plrblishe(l under speci
 Familier nnd Poverty Resear<h

fied guidelinestn.r newspipe. ot gener inspect and to receive e copy of dteir

CallforPapers Center(FSC)in
rccords.This area of prrcrice is usually Th€FamilyStudies
nl ci fcu l at ion.O l c our s c ,a s t' mc P a s s the Schooof FamilyLifeat Brigham
es,wme recordswillqurlify fordestntc covered by hw or fcgulirioq and the a
YoungUniversity is sponsoring
ri o n si m ply bc c aus eof rh c a n ro u n ro f fcqurrements vary wrth grerr Dusnce r€search conference on Families
ri n c th .t hr s pas s eds t rrc eth e tc rm i n a from statc to stalc. tlslrlly, . p.tient and Poverty, Mafchl0 12, 2004
nust makc r written reiluesrandthcther_ Theconference coversa broad
Survivorsof employedtherapists usu apist musl respondwirhin sPccilictime rangeof topicsin.ludingrParent
rllr havc no problenrs wlih tespecr io f.rm(s. Ther.p,sts are sometrmesstven ing, healthcarcfor poorfamilies,
records. slnce generallv, the records rhc righr () providea sunrnraryxr lieu of how familyprocesses influen.efam-
oi producingthe acnralrecords.somesi.te iliesexpeiencingeconomichard_
bclongto rh( emt)lovcr'l he Nivon of weltar€
ship,consequences
rho5eii solo private practice,IoweveL' lawsallowthe therapistto(lcnyr requtst reformin the UnitedState5, eco-
ii not rrelarcd, crn bc left.onfLrsedrrd for a copy ofthc recordsor to prePifc a
nomicnatusof ethnl.allYdive&
wuh(Nr dirccr{,i. Thcyclln be nrorePre- 5 rmm.ry i f tbe ther.pj st re.sonabl y elderly,micrc-enttepreneurship in
p.r(d if thc.ipisls ralk with thc attomev b e l i e v c sth a r accessw i l l bc deni ment.l developing count esandothe6.
N h o h i s t r c t r r ed or r v illp re p a re th e th e F r h a rmfu l to thc pati ent
o
rp isr'srvill or trust. l hosedocumentscin Sr.rrcl .w .l so vrri es w i dcl y w i th Submita twopageprcPosalrota
be dntitrl so ls to mstnrctthe executor rcspcct b the isruc of acccss to the paperor postertoD. RussellCmne,
recorils of :r minor by r pdrenr.Crlifd' of theFSC
Director 0uss-cmne@byu.
or rfusrcc to gathcr 3ll lratirnt records aspanelchaits
n i :i 1 .w , fo r i nst.ncc,speci fi es vhen a edu).ofJersto serve
anilto protecrrhen rc that confidentisl anddltcussants areakow€lcome.sub_
hy is I'rcs$led. llllcss dr€ tlrcrilist has rhor:rpist c.n dcnl i p.tr'crlt.ccessto the
a€ dueNovember
nrlssions 30,2003
i n fo n re il t he r m or ueyd ra fti n gth e w i l l n ror's records, ID short, the tbcmpist
orru*. r,r the sprtirscor prrtncr, reglrfti i n (l a l i fo i ,rii crn dcn' rccess$hcn dre More detalls on th€ confer€n(e
ingitpli..ble h!v, rheexcctrrorortl.llstee d l e ri p i s r d e terni l l esth.r i ccessw oul d
mrv be found .t:
http://ce.6yu..dulcw/(wtrmhr/
(or p(rhrts rh( r ironr0y reptesentingth e h o v ea d e rri mentrlef{ectorr thc profcs-
esritc) nrrn r.1kfrtsNnsibjlity for :rscer- s ru r.rl re l n ti onshiwf i dr thc ori noror drc
ri i n i n S $h. r her r lr c r er tc !n y fe q u rre - nrinor'sphysic,rlsnfetyor psychological
n re u r!to r r ub11. . ii( nr ofi D o ti c eo fd c x th wcll-bcirrl;.;\dditurnalln icccss crn l)c
Nc$ YorkAr$cirlion it
i n r n olv s pr Nr or l. r d i fc c d yn o ri fy i n g dc ied if dre mi'rct hrs thc risht ro con- Mlii dgc0alFrnily fheftty
p.rtrnts oi rhe ther.rpist\ derdr and dL' sentto nrentalhcnl trertncnr whhotrt
rvhenrl,oul of dre recortls. p a re n raal p p r,oval or k,row l cdscA norh-
cr sirte illows thc theripist to providc
Conference
Ther. .rrc olhcr sr€psrhat rherrPists
c.'r !.rk Lr h. lr\ v ill Dr x k €i t e a s i e {r o r th c i r thc ptrrert wirh a sunnniry ot rhe rr'eat' FromTrauma:
Recovering
su ^,\o r \ . llr r ins i. nc e ,r th c r.p h r c a n rncnr rather than Pfovide thc acrurl WhatHelpsandWhatDoesn\
.l l rd r i nio . r n agr f c li) e n rw i rh o n c o r Research
FeaiungtheLatest
m,rre;o llugues wbo h rv e s n n i l rr c o n - Care must be taken to ttsccrtiin the
prccisercquucmentsin. particDlxrs!ate,
andTfaining
ccn s s o t h, r r c ac h w i l L a s s u rn eth e
t'p o n s r bihr y , in dr c c v e n ro f th . d e ^ th esfelillly wirh resfcct ro rcquests or Presenl€rs:
o i ,rn t o idr en, r o s r f eg u a fdre c o rd sa n d demandsfor recordsincustotly disputes, George
Bonaino,Pho
which .rrcqu irecommon and olten hcat- MichaeBowels,l',lA
r) Intorn curent prl;eDts of fie rhera KenHardy,
PhD
p st s tlear b. T hcagr ee n e n tc a a n l s oPro ed.Therapistswho are f.rniliar wnh thc Landau,
Judilh M0
r . ior help witb r rppropriate refer lawwill beablero dery p: rcntalrcquesrs Nancy I'lA
Napier,
l, rnd rvherc D.cessdry,ior meet'ng . with corfidenceard willbe rblc to prr PhD
JackSaul,
N rrh rhe par ic nrin or d .r to d e rl w i th rccr thc pfivacy of their Dirot patienr. anomanymole
rn! cmorional rcacnon rnd to assNr Hopefl ly, the tlrerapist wouLd h|ve AlsolheLatest onlhe
s,rh rhc ninsit;on to arothcr therapist explained confidenliality lnd Parental MFTLicensure Applicauon Process
\\'h.n rhis kiDd of nNtu.rl arrangement ac.essto borh the ninorund the Par
a SileitAriAuclFiandlhe
Enjoy
rs n a de, pat ier r sc an b e i n l o r e d , 3 t en(s) at the ourserof iher.Py. 'BgApple' alholdaylime
some point in drc therrtx of the
rrr.tngemcn$ made.Suchntrrlral agree- Frcfl is an 2003
Decembel5-Z
^Ros.lEsLrE,,.D, Inslllute
Fashion ogy
oiTechno
nrenrsshould be in writins ard should AAMFTconsuliantwho
b. c.reiully drafie.l. provldesleqa!cons!ltation NewYorkCily
to AAMFTCllnicallVembers.
andreglsiraiion
Foriurlherlnfonnalion
Acce ss t o Rec or ds b Y To a.ce$ this free servlce, oolowwnvarnft.oro orcall:
Patients and Parents pleasevisitwwwaamh.org 1(800)463-3477
aienerellx adult prricnts hrve a righr io at (858)4560695.
or .ontacrRichard

." " ' ." ,."" .'. ."." ..., 47