What about confidentiality?
The Internet is not as secure or private as communication in an office would be. Apparently email and other communications can be intercepted by hackers, for whatever reasons, and data on the computer itself, even after being deleted, may leave a footprint that could be recovered, by law enforcement officers, for example.
If you are usually comfortable sending personal information about yourself (not your credit card or bank account) in regular email correspondence, or in private chat windows, you will probably feel comfortable about this process.
Every effort will be made to keep your identity and your issues confidential. I will not voluntarily disclose any identifying information without your specific written consent.
I am required by law to report cases of suspected or actual child abuse and neglect, and abuse of vulnerable adults.
If you intend to seriously harm yourself or others, I may be legally and ethically required to inform appropriate authorities in order to prevent such harm.
Records can, under some circumstances, be subpoenaed by a Court. The "therapist/client privilege" is not as absolute as it once was. In any such cases, I would endeavor to limit the information released to the minimum required for the court proceedings.
On the other hand, we will not be dealing with third-party insurers, who probably would not cover this service. I will not have to give out more and more information about you in order to convince managed care organizations that they should be paying for treatment!
I will keep records of our contacts, and I will inform you about how I am currently doing that. (i.e., complete email correspondence or chat logs stored on floppy disks vs. summaries of contacts kept on the computer's harddisk in electronic client files vs. printing out hardcopy and storing it in filing cabinets.)
Depending on the issues we are discussing, I might consult with another licensed mental health professional, about your situation. In these cases, I would usually let you know that I am doing so, and I would not share identifying information without your permission.