McBride, Dawn

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Ethical implications of third-party record release
(2022) Hodson, Jessica; McBride, Dawn
In this article, the authors present a critical analysis of the ethical implications related to third-party record release, when a therapist is asked to release a client's counselling record information to an external party. Drawing from the values of the Canadian Psychological Association's (2017) code of ethics, the authors emphasize the need for therapists to balance their duty to protect client confidentiality with their responsibility to promote client self-determination through the informed consent process. Several recommendations are offered to enhance the informed consent process and to reduce the risk of harm to the client in the event the record is released to a third-party. An ethical checklist is provided for therapists to use when responding to a third-party record release request. This article may be of interest to lawyers who seek to understand why releasing counselling record information is a complex process for therapists.