It is the policy of the Counseling and Psychological Services Center that confidential client records may only be released to a licensed or certified mental health professional (e.g. psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor, social worker or psychiatric nurse) with the client's signed permission. The client record is the property of the Counseling Center rather than the client. If a student wants access to his/her file, it must be reviewed in the presence of a counselor or his/her designee. This should be done in a Counseling Center office. Test data, profiles, and symptom checklists are not made accessible. An interpretation of test data must be made by a qualified professional. If a counselor/ therapist believes that access to the records would be harmful to the student's mental, physical, or emotional health, access may be denied to portions or even the whole file. If the counselor believes that access to files could lead to the harm of others, access may be denied.
When requests for records are received from insurance companies, military personnel, or security clearance personnel (e.g. FBI, CIA), we will only release a file to a licensed mental health professional, with written permission from the client. With written permission, we will release information that the student attended counseling and the number of sessions attended. We will not make recommendations on a client's suitability for service or security clearance. When we see students as clients, we see them for treatment. We are not seeing them for assessment or evaluation to make decisions about their suitability for jobs. Such evaluations require different techniques and skills. We will require a direct contact with the client in addition to the written permission before verifying attendance to therapy. From time to time, individuals walk into the office unannounced with a release of information expecting to receive records on the spot. That will not happen. Licensed clinical staff must process and make decisions about release of files. Office staff cannot make such a release.
Records may also be released if court ordered.
Dan Jones, Ph.D., ABPP
Director
Counseling and Psychological Services Center
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
The Counseling Center offers after-hours emergency coverage for urgent mental health concerns such as suicidal thoughts, sexual assault, and other trauma. Call the Counseling Center at (828)262-3180 and select the option to speak with the counselor on-call.
For additional resources see our Emergency Services page.
