GW may institute a policy of asking students to sign a waiver allowing their information to be shared with administrators before meeting with employees of the University Counseling Center.
University officials stressed that student confidentiality is a paramount concern and that no changes have been made to protocol regarding the UCC yet. Matt Lindsay, assistant director of Media Relations, said the University is considering a variety of changes, such as requiring students to sign a waiver, or administration may make no changes to the policy at all.
“Given the dynamic nature of some mental health emergencies, concern for the safety of the student and others, and in order to maintain compliance with local and federal laws, the University is currently reviewing a range of crisis protocols, including those with respect to release of information, in order to determine whether any changes are appropriate,” Lindsay said in a news release.
Discussions about possible changes are in the preliminary stages, Lindsay said, and no timeline has yet been made on when changes could be brought to the counseling center protocol. It is unclear if students would be required to sign a waiver in order to receive counseling.
Inside Higher Ed, an online journal about colleges and universities around the nation, reported Dec. 2 that an anonymous source said UCC is considering the waiver. The article said that GW would be the first major University to install such a waiver for students in crisis.
“Sources who wished to remain anonymous said that Diane M. DePalma, director of the (counseling) center, has been told to work with a university lawyer to develop a protocol that would protect the liability of administrators in instances where those receiving counseling might harm themselves or others,” the article said.
The article added that psychologists already have obligations under state and professional laws to take necessary, informative action when patients are dangerous to themselves or others. But the article quoted experts as saying confidentiality should only be broken to those who provide immediate care for the patient in need of assistance.
Current UCC policy involves signing “an information form that outlines counseling services, confidentiality procedures and addresses the release of personal information,” Lindsay said.
“Maintaining confidentiality is of primary importance at The George Washington University,” Lindsay added. “All UCC records and counseling sessions are confidential and are maintained separately from other student records.”
Lindsay said if UCC staff learns of certain circumstances during a visit, they are required by law to report them. Circumstances such as knowledge of ongoing child abuse or court orders are two examples of instances where counselors are required by law to disclose confidential information. Under the current protocol, the only other time confidential information is released from the UCC is with a patient’s written consent, Lindsay said.
The counseling center’s discussions follow a 2004 report made by the GW Commission on University Resources and Response to Student Death, Lindsay added.
