Confidentiality in College Counseling Centers

In a national survey of college counseling centers, 40 percent of the responding counseling center directors indicated that information about counselees was given out without the students' permission. Information was available to administrative heads for use in recommendations and disciplinary action, 21 percent; deans of students, 10 percent; faculty in general, 5 percent; and prospective employers, 2 percent. This practice is in violation of the ethical codes of APGA and APA except in those relatively rare instances where there is clear and imminent danger to society. In this paper some speculation about the cause of breakdown in confidentiality is discussed, and some suggestions for correcting the situation are offered.