Counseling Program - Policies, Procedures and Confidentiality

CONFIDENTIALITY

1. Legal obligations regarding the breach of confidentiality:

The content of sessions offered by the AUP counseling program is confidential. Counselors and therapists will report some information to the University for statistical purposes but will not reveal the identity of the student. However, they are obligated under French law to breach confidentiality under certain circumstances:

• If a student presents a serious imminent danger to themselves or others
• In cases of apparent abuse or neglect of a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person
• If a crime has/is expected to be committed

If confidentiality must be broken, every effort will be made to fully discuss this with the student before taking any action. In this case, the necessary information will be revealed—only enough to protect the student or others. The following people/institutions may be contacted: AUP student services, parents/guardian, other emergency contacts, medical professionals, or the police.

2. Sharing of information between AUP and the off-campus counselors:

The goal of the counseling program is to support AUP students in their personal and academic pursuits. With this in mind, in addition to the legal obligations stated above, there are some circumstances in which the sharing of information between an AUP on-campus counselor and an off-campus therapist may be beneficial. Although the specific content of sessions is not communicated with AUP, the off-campus therapist may choose to share when there is cause for significant concern either in the student’s personal or academic life.

3. Release of confidentiality:

In the case of a referral to another professional (psychiatrist, general practitioner, other therapist, etc.), it may be useful to share some information regarding a student’s treatment. However, this will be discussed with the student in advance, and their permission will be requested.