Confidentiality (Core Competencies: 1.11; 3.4; 4.5; 4.14)
Through the process of peer support, peers share about their life and disclose personal, intimate details about relationships, concerns, struggles, and challenges. This disclosure to the certified peer specialist is sacred. What the peer shares in confidence must remain confidential. Confidentiality inspires trust and is critical for establishing and maintaining a good working peer relationship. It is your responsibility to understand: • Federal law and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Wisconsin statutes and Wis. Admin. Code ch. DHS 94. • The Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist Code of Ethics .
• The employing agency's policies and procedures. For example, the certified peer specialist can share relevant information about a peer within the treatment team. In addition, each agency will have guidelines for how to report danger and safety risks. According to the above regulations and policies, there are also limitations to confidentiality that can arise during the process of providing peer support. It is important to discuss these limitations of confidentiality during the initial meeting with a peer. Certified peer specialists must disclose when: • A peer expresses intention of doing serious harm to themselves or others. Talk with the agency supervisor in these situations. It is not your role to assess for safety. This will be discussed more in later sections of this course. • A peer discloses abuse from a caregiver. • A court orders testimony or records. Although confidentiality regulations, policies, and limitations are clear, sometimes the rules in practice are less clear. For example, consider the following questions: • How do you talk with other members of the treatment team about your work with a peer?
• What do you document about your conversations with a peer? • How do you decide if/when confidentiality should be broken?
• If the decision is made to break confidentiality, how do you maintain peer support? • What happens if you mistakenly provide identifying information about a peer? There is complexity in these questions. The bottom line is that it is okay to reach out and ask for assistance in navigating situations of confidentiality and disclosure.
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