Informed Consent

by Jordan Bateman, R.Psych.

Introduction

My name is Jordan Bateman, I am a registered Psychologist here in Alberta (#6502). My two priorities in therapy are: Safety and Change. I am purposeful about creating a warm and secure space - and to keep my clients safe! My hope is to also help all my clients create change in their lives.

Confidentiality

Big word, but it’s about what information is kept private.

Limits

If I have strong reason to believe a client will harm themself, someone else, or if a child or youth is at risk of psychological/physical harm... occasionally we have to bring in more help (i.e., call children services, involve the police, etc). This is somewhat rare, but I always do my best to make it collaborative (keep the client involved).

I consult with my team members (ie., other therapists and my supervisor).

One other limit to confidentiality is the scenario where a judge orders me to release files or for me to testify in court. Again, I am careful about how much I share, and you would know before I act on anything.

Otherwise, I cannot share any of your information with anyone outside of my team without your permission.

Other rights

Therapy is completely voluntary, this means that...

Continued...

Ultimately, you are my boss! I work for you, and I am here to help you create change in your life.

On my main website page, there are several therapies that I draw from in my approach (e.g., CBT, ACT, DBT). Know there are alternatives! If something is not working - we can change things up! Or involve other services.

FEedback-informed treatment

I use 2 tools to measure what is working:

Outcome Rating Scale (ORS)

at the beginning of session

Session Rating Scale (SRS)

at the end of session

Why Feedback?

Creating a culture of feedback leads to effective therapy and less drop out.

Therapists have bias

Drop Out

Risks

It’s important to acknowledge there are risks: Therapists can inadvertently cause harm. I am purposeful about trying to avoid that, but therapists can sometimes reinforce negative patterns.

Additionally, therapy can bring up difficult feelings and things sometimes get worse before they get better. Feedback helps prevent these risks.

Be on the lookout

I continuously ask my clients for feedback and try to adapt the counselling experience to their needs. I invite clients to be on the lookout for things that are working well but also things that are not working.

There will likely be little things that you do not like about therapy (e.g., perhaps the sound of my voice or a certain face I made when responding). You might feel like... “it’s not worth mentioning”. But I want you to mention it!

I am not looking for perfect 10/10's when you are scoring our sessions. Life isn’t perfect, and neither am I! I want to improve as a counsellor. On top of that, feedback also develops trust!

References