I am a child therapist. Here is my standard talk with parent and client:
Everything you say here is confidential. This means I can not acknowledge you have been here, I can't repeat any part of our conversation and I can't approach you if I were to run into you in public. If you ever need me to speak to someone on your behalf, I will need your written permission and specific types of information you want shared. There are four reasons under the law that I have to break confidentiality (suicidal, harm to others, harm to a child, court order). Now, as a child, your parent has a legal right to know anything we may discuss in our counseling room. However, Mom and Dad, I ask that you don't pursue this information. i want this to be a place that your DC feels as if they can share anything they want or need to share without fear of getting in trouble, disappointing anyone, or angering anyone. If they don't feel like this is their place, our time is not going to be of full benefit to him/ her. That being said, you are infinitely more important in their life that I ever will be or should be and it is obvious how much you love your child by bringing them here today. I want you to be involved. Actually, I need you to be involved. As DC and I work together, we will discover tips and tricks to try to help them with xyz. I will then communicate these things with you so that you can help practice them at home. At the following session, I will ask both of you how it went and we can make any changes to it as necessary based on how it was for both of you. Other than that, our time will be spent with DC and me in one on one time together.
That's my basic "speech" if you will. If a parent emails me or communicates with me, I don't read it word for word to the child, but I will say something like "Your mom told me about what happened last week, what did you think about that?" Or something similar.
It sounds like I operate very closely to how the therapist that sees twowhat?'s DC operates.
SAHM to Pete and Repeat my "Irish Twins" - DD 12/06 and DS 11/07
Never argue with an idiot. He'll bring you down to his level, then beat you with experience.