I am a member of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, and am guided by professional requirements for both privacy and record keeping.

That means that your records belong to you, and you can see what I have written, on request.

I am required to keep basic records for seven years, in a secure, confidential manner. I do this by keeping:

1. individual password protected electronic files for each family or person I work with
2. locked filing cabinets for any paper copies of files
3. encrypted, secure email for e-counselling files and records

I give copies of my notes to you, after each session- it is up to you to keep these secure. This is also true if you decide to copy and store electronic messages on your computer.

Sharing Information:

In some situations, we may decide that information should be shared with other people. We make that choice together, and would work on the format and content of shared information.

You may want other people to give me information about you- I would need to see a signed consent form, written by you allowing that person to share, before I would accept the information.

Finally, in situations where there is a serious safety risk to you or a member of your family or close circle, I am obliged professionally and personally to do everything I can to get support from others. This may mean calling for help from child protection services, medical doctors, or police, depending on the risk. If this happens, I would share only as much information as is needed to protect you or your family from danger.

This step is only taken when there truly appears to be no other safe action available.

In rare instances, a court order would require me to share what is written down in my records. You would always know what to expect here, as you would have a copy already of what I have noted.

If you have any other questions about your privacy when working with me, please ask.

You can email me at bmillerconsulting@gmail.com