Your Rights as a Counselling Client in Ireland: Confidentiality, Consent, Records and Complaints
Counselling asks you to trust a stranger with things you may never have said aloud. That trust is protected by professional standards, by data protection law and by the ethical commitments accredited practitioners make. This guide sets out what you are entitled to expect from an ICPHAA member and from any reputable counsellor or psychotherapist in Ireland.
Informed consent
Before the work begins you should be told, in plain language, how the practitioner works, the fee, session length, cancellation terms, how to contact them between sessions, the limits of confidentiality and what records are kept. Many practitioners provide a written agreement. You can ask questions at any point, and you can withdraw consent and end the work whenever you choose.
Confidentiality and its limits
What you discuss is confidential. The exceptions, which an ethical practitioner will explain at the start, are a serious and immediate risk of harm to you or to another person, a concern that a child may be at risk, and a court order requiring disclosure. Practitioners also discuss their work in clinical supervision, without identifying you, as a safeguard for the quality of your care. Where a practitioner needs to share information in any other circumstance, they should seek your consent first.
Your records
Practitioners keep brief notes of sessions. Under data protection law you have the right to know what personal data is held about you, to ask for a copy, to have inaccuracies corrected and to be told how long records are kept and why. A good practitioner's privacy notice explains this. Notes should be stored securely, whether on paper or electronically, and online sessions should use platforms that protect privacy.
Boundaries
The relationship exists for your benefit. Accredited practitioners do not form friendships, business relationships or romantic or sexual relationships with clients, do not accept significant gifts, and do not use the relationship to promote products or beliefs. If you ever feel that boundaries are blurring, you are entitled to raise it, and to seek advice from the practitioner's professional body.
Competence and referral
Practitioners should work only within their training and experience. If what you need is outside their competence, or if you would be better served by another service, such as your GP, a psychiatrist or a specialist addiction programme, they should say so and help you find it.
If something goes wrong
Where you feel able, raise the concern directly with the practitioner. Many difficulties are resolved by an honest conversation.
If that is not possible or does not resolve it, contact the practitioner's professional body. Concerns about ICPHAA members can be raised through the contact page and are handled under the Association's standards and ethics procedures.
Concerns about how your personal data has been handled can also be raised with the Data Protection Commission.
If you believe a crime has been committed, contact An Garda Síochána.
Frequently asked questions
Can my counsellor talk to my GP or family?
Only with your consent, except in the limited circumstances described above. You can set out exactly what may be shared and with whom.
Can I see my notes?
Yes. You have a right of access to your personal data under data protection law. Ask the practitioner; they may discuss the notes with you so they are understood in context.
What happens to my records if the practitioner retires or dies?
Accredited practitioners are expected to have arrangements for the secure handling or destruction of records in those circumstances. You can ask what the arrangement is.
Finding an accredited practitioner
ICPHAA members who have published their directory listings can be browsed by county and by area of focus on the find a counsellor pages. Every listing links to the member's full profile and to the verification page, where you can confirm that their membership is current before you make contact.
This article is general information from ICPHAA, the Irish Counselling, Psychotherapy & Allied Healthcare Professionals Association. It is not a substitute for individual professional advice. If you are in crisis or at immediate risk, contact emergency services on 112 or 999. The Samaritans are available free, day and night, on 116 123, and you can text HELLO to 50808 for a free 24-hour text service.
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