Confidentiality

I am bound by professional secrecy under article 11 of the Italian psychologists' code of conduct. It is not a personal promise: it is an obligation, and breaking it is a disciplinary offence and, in some cases, a criminal one.

What that means in practice

What you say in this room does not leave this room. I do not tell your doctor, I do not tell whoever paid for the session, I do not tell your partner if they come with you and wait outside. I will not even confirm that you are someone I see: if anyone telephones and asks, the answer is that I cannot give that information.

What I write down

I keep brief clinical notes, on paper, in a locked drawer. They contain no transcript of what you say. I do not use note-taking apps, I do not use cloud services, and I keep no clinical records on this site: the site stores only the message you send through the contact form, and deletes it automatically after ninety days.

Supervision

As my training requires, I discuss clinical work in supervision. Cases taken to supervision carry no name, occupation, workplace or any other element by which a person could be recognised.

The limits, stated in full

Professional secrecy has three limits set by law, and I would rather you knew them now than at the moment they apply.

• Imminent danger to life, yours or that of an identifiable other person. There the law requires me to act, and I would act after telling you, not behind your back.
• Offences against children or vulnerable adults that come to my knowledge: there is a duty to report.
• An order of the court. Professional secrecy still stands and I can invoke it, but the judge decides.

Outside those three cases, there is no circumstance in which what you tell me is passed to anyone else.