How is confidentiality maintained in hypnotherapy sessions?

Confidentiality is ethically, morally and legally integral in the therapy space. I can speak confidently on behalf of myself and I am sure on behalf of every other practitioner that confidentiality is a priority in their practice, both online and face-to-face - when working privately or for a company or charity.

Confidentiality in hypnotherapy sessions

All hypnotherapy sessions are protected by the rules of confidentiality. This means that anything discussed in your sessions - more accurately, any information you give to the therapist in writing or verbally - will not be discussed with anyone else without your express permission.

It means that anything kept in writing by the therapist - session notes or consultation notes - will be kept confidential and not shared unless you give express permission.
Being protected by the rules of confidentiality protects you and ensures that you have a safe space to share. It ensures that you feel confident to tell the hypnotherapist what you are going through so that they can crate the most personalised sessions for you.

It can be difficult to discuss some of the things we come to hypnotherapy for, some things could be very personal, or could things we have never discussed with anyone else before, it can feel daunting to do this, and being given confidentiality means that you know you have complete autonomy and privacy in your sessions, this is why it is so important.

Each hypnotherapist will be held accountable by their professional regulating body which ensures they are adhering to confidentiality (for me this is the National Hypnotherapy Society). There will be a code of ethics in each regulating body which covers the rules of confidentiality, you can ask your hypnotherapist for access to or where to find this for more detailed information. The code of ethics for the National Hypnotherapy Society can be found here.

The confidentiality section of these ethics are very detailed, for example, the below section which is taken directly from the NHS code of ethics: 

Ensure that client notes and records be kept secure and confidential and that the use of computer records conforms with the terms of the Data Protection Act (GDPR) and guidance from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). 

Each therapist during training would have had extensive practice on confidentiality, involving role plays, discussions and examples, to ensure that when working with the public that they are fully understanding of what confidentiality is, the rules they must follow, how to maintain confidentiality and the times regarding the law when it could be broken (more information on this below). Confidentiality is one of the most important parts of the training for a hypnotherapist and is treated very seriously. 

Ensuring confidentiality

Below is a more detailed explanation of how I personally ensure confidentiality:

Firstly, a written query will be received from yourself or a call request. Your full name, email address and number will be given. Upon receiving these details via email, I save them into a specific folder in my inbox - this inbox is password protected, as is the phone and laptop I access these emails from.

Next, a call or an appointment will be made. In my calendar where I organise our sessions only initials of your name will ever be used, ensuring confidentiality.

Full names will be used on the invoices that are sent. These invoices are never printed out physically and they are saved in password-protected files.

There will be times when I speak to my supervisor, this is an important part of a therapist's job - to speak to a supervisor about their sessions to ensure they are providing clients with the most up-to-date and well-thought-through therapy. If I discuss our sessions at all, your name is never mentioned, in these sessions, no initials are used at any point - you stay completely anonymous.

When is confidentiality broken?

Confidentiality would only be broken in the following cases:

• If you are going to cause harm to yourself or others.
• If you are money laundering.
• If you are going to commit an act of terror.
• If you are involved in offences against children.

Under these circumstances, confidentiality would be broken and I would alert the appropriate authorities.

Confidentiality with online sessions

When the hypnotherapy session takes place online, it is done when no one else in the household is home, if this can not be guaranteed, it is done in a room away from anyone else in the house. This ensures confidentiality and that the session is not disturbed.

When a Zoom link is shared, the title for the Zoom session would only ever use your initials or would simply state 'hypnotherapy session', full names would not be used at any point. This is the same for WhatsApp if the number is saved for the session via WhatsApp video or for the initial call. Only initials would be used when saving to WhatsApp or to the contacts section of the phone.

The main thing to take away is that as a client, as a human - you have the right to work with a therapist who respects your confidentiality fully, and who you in turn fully trust. Always ensure your therapist is insured and registered with a regulating body. If you request from me access to notes I’ve made, for example during the full consultation, they will always be readily available. The sessions are yours and you have the right to feel completely comfortable.