Videotaping Sessions

[Dr RachelSussma]

Is it ethical the videotape sessions with patients. I ask because I came across this video. Seems it was leaked by court into public. What is consensus on this practice? Should a therapist fight to maintain confidentiality? Never videotape?

Thank you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoGuGM0t3s8&feature=g-upl&context=G2ec7bd4AUAAAAAAABAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoGuGM0t3s8&feature=g-upl&context=G2ec7bd4AUAAAAAAABAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=f5Y8XeLiUvk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=f5Y8XeLiUvk

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[lil12002]

video taping sessions with consent of the client and for the purpose of reviewing and training is ok and ethical to me.


some evidence based practices require a portion of sessions to be tape recorded for certification by the county...

 

[valkener]

If you have a proper consent form it's ethical but it must state who will view the tape (supervisor, professor, and/or classmates/peers). Usually it also states that the tape will be destroyed after it has been reviewed and the counseling student graded.

 

[lil12002]

When in doubt check with your supervisor or agency policy and if you feel it is unethical dont do it or listen to them...

 

[Qwerk]

This particular video was probably filmed ethically, and it seems as though the therapist was mandated to record this session. However, whoever was responsible for maintaining the security of the video after it was handed over to the court didn't do his/her job. This underscores the importance of data security among clinicians. If you don't know what you're doing when it comes to securing client files on your devices (names, personal data, session notes, videos), get an expert.

On a slightly-unrelated note, if you're interested in videos of therapy sessions filmed ethically (some of them are dramatizations), Counseling and Therapy in Video is a great database if your school provides access to it: http://ctiv.alexanderstreet.com

EDIT: Doing some internet research, it looks like the video mentioned in the first post is a promo for a film called "Nothing Without You" by Chain Gang Pictures, not a leaked video from an actual murder suspect.

 

[paramour]

The client's reactions to the camera make me appreciate the unobtrusive location of the video cameras in our training clinic even more.

Our training clinic video tapes clients on a sporadic basis, but clients also are forewarned of the possibility. Some supervisors require it more often than others. Clinicians also explain this up front to clients while the clinicians go over the paperwork with the clients that they are required to sign indicating that their sessions may be videotaped (and that ALL sessions are audio-recorded), so it does not come as a shock to them as it did to this client.

"Oh, well, it was in the paperwork you signed."

How many folks sign paperwork and never read it or skim over it without fully understanding it? Not to say that it's right, but they do it.