How important is confidentiality
How important is confidentiality?It is really
important. Usually, people have waited quite a while to disclose anything at all, and they
really need to be reassured that it's going to stay with who they are talking to. There
are the few exceptions, a safeguarding issue for instance or something like that, but that's
not particularly relevant when you are making your first disclosure, I think you need to
have confidence in the person that you're talking to, that they know how to help you
and that they aren't going to be discussing it with anyone else without your permission.
If you're asking for help outside of the workplace, you might need to tell somebody else as well,
but that first disclosure needs to be kept confidential, if you are not sure what to
do with that information, then you can talk about it between you, if the information needs
to be escalated, it would probably because it was affecting how you did your job, maybe
you couldn't keep the hours maybe you couldn't go into the outside world or things like that.
If it means a real change in your employment circumstances then it probably would have
to be escalated, but then it would only be on a need-to-know basis, and not general knowledge.When
you are starting up a conversation with somebody, How would you reassure them that everything
that they are going to say is going to be kept confidentially?I think that be one of
the first things you would say you could perhaps say something like, "Everything you say to
me can stay in this room unless there's a need to escalate it. In which case, we can
talk about how that might be managed", but generally speaking, what they talk about within
the room with wanted to, except in such safeguarding, would stay there. And I think that would probably
really help the conversation.
Importance of Confidentiality in Mental Health Conversations
Why is Confidentiality Important?
Confidentiality is crucial:
- Individuals often wait a long time before disclosing mental health issues.
- Reassurance is needed that discussions will remain private.
- Exceptions may include safeguarding concerns but are less relevant during initial disclosures.
Reassuring Confidentiality in Conversations
How to reassure confidentiality:
- Ensure the person knows their information will stay confidential unless there's a need to escalate.
- State clearly that discussions will remain private within the room.
- Only escalate information on a need-to-know basis if it affects employment conditions significantly.