Every consultation with the UAB Employee Assistance & Counseling Center is strictly confidential. Records related to your visits are stored off site and available only to Employee Assistance & Counseling Center staff. Information is not available for nor included in personnel records. Information about you is protected by law and not released to supervisors, coworkers, friends or family without specific permission approved by you in writing. Exceptions to this are dictated by law in cases such as risk of harm to self or others.
During the intake session, the client is asked to sign a specific limited consent form that enables the counselor to consult with other professional staff members of the Employee Assistance & Counseling Center. The specific limited consent form does not in any way imply or grant consent to release any information regarding client counseling to anyone outside of the Employee Assistance & Counseling Center.
If you are referred by your supervisor, you will be given the option of signing a limited release to allow the Employee Assistance & Counseling Center counselor to verify your attendance and participation. No other information regarding clients or client attendance may be released at any time to anyone without your prior written consent of the client. This includes requests for information by supervisors, family members, treatment facilities, and all others.
The Employee Assistance & Counseling Center counselors understand that the assurance of confidentiality is essential to counseling progress and are dedicated to upholding their professional code of ethics and the Employee Assistance & Counseling Center policy of ensuring client confidentiality.