Confidentiality/HIPPA

Communication between mental health providers and their clients/patients is protected under Texas Law. Every effort is made to protect the privacy of information provided to the clinic. Information is only released with your signed authorization. By law, there are some situations in which information must be released without your consent including reasonable suspicion of child or elder abuse, risk of harm to self or harm to another person, or if the client files a worker’s compensation case or lawsuit and appropriate requests for information are obtained. You will be provided with an Informed Consent Form detailing our policies on confidentiality and the limits to confidentiality. At your initial visit, your clinician will review the policies in more detail and answer questions you may have.

HIPAA

It is the policy of the University and the Psychology Clinic to ensure compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The SMU Psychology Clinic will take reasonable steps to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of your Protected Health Information (PHI). At intake, you will be asked to sign the HIPAA Notice Form detailing this policy further.