What is professional confidentiality in psychology?
Short answer
Professional confidentiality is the duty, set out in the psychologist’s Code of Ethics, not to disclose what they learn in the course of their work. It protects the person seen, not the professional, and yields only in exceptional situations — always limited to the strict minimum.
What it covers
It covers the content of sessions and the very existence of the work. Confirming that someone is a client is already protected information.
The duty survives the end of the process — it does not expire when the work does.
The exceptions, and what they are not
The Code of Ethics allows confidentiality to yield in situations of risk to life or by legal determination, and even then requires disclosing only the indispensable minimum.
That is different from passing information along out of convenience, at the request of a relative, an employer or a platform. For a concrete case, the right channel is the Regional Council — not the reading of a text on the internet, this one included.
Confidentiality and online care
Remotely the duty is the same, and it extends to the medium: a private setting on both ends and a suitable tool. IAURA hosts no sessions and has no access to anything discussed — contact between the person and the professional is direct.
Frequently asked questions
- Can my psychologist tell my family something?
- As a rule, no. What is said in session is protected, and any exceptions should be explained to you at the start of the work.
- Does IAURA have access to session content?
- No. IAURA is a directory: it publishes the profile and takes you to the professional’s direct contact. It does not intermediate, record or host care.