Addressing Secrets in Couples Counseling: An Alternative Approach to Informed Consent

Abstract

This article presents an alternative approach to informed consent that addresses unique concerns regarding confidentiality in marital and relationship counseling. Professional ethics codes rarely provide therapists with specific guidance on how to respond to clients who wish to keep secrets from their spouse or partner. Moreover, scholars writing about confidentiality frequently offer contradictory advice on how to ethically treat those couples presenting with secrets. This article suggests that regardless of one’s viewpoint on the issue of secret keeping in counseling, therapists best serve couples by advising them at the onset of treatment of the counselor’s policies regarding confidential communication. In addition to discussing issues regarding privacy and confidentiality in couples counseling, this article presents one example of an informed consent document designed to address this important concern.