Minors / Parents / Family Therapy Notice

Therapy involving minors, parents, couples, or families can involve additional consent, confidentiality, record access, and communication considerations. These issues should be discussed before treatment begins and may be addressed in separate intake paperwork.

Depending on the situation and applicable law, parent or guardian rights may be affected by a minor's age, consent rules, custody orders, safety concerns, clinical judgment, and the type of service provided. The practice may need to clarify legal decision-making authority before beginning or continuing services.

Confidentiality expectations should be discussed in advance. In some cases, a therapist may encourage private space for a minor, partner, or family member while also explaining limits related to safety, mandatory reporting, parent/guardian involvement, records, billing, and coordination of care.

In couples or family therapy, the client may be the relationship or family system rather than one individual. Shared information, records practices, release permissions, and confidentiality expectations may differ from individual therapy and should be clarified before services begin.

State law can affect consent, confidentiality, parental access to records, minor privacy rights, and mandatory disclosures. Because these questions are fact-specific, the practice will address them carefully in intake and may request legal documentation or consultation when needed.

If your therapy may involve a minor, parent, guardian, partner, co-parent, family member, custody order, court involvement, or records access question, please raise it before services begin so expectations can be clarified thoughtfully.