Parent Permission To Obtain Or Release Information: Fill & Download for Free

Hi, Renee - thanks for the A2A.I think you asked a great question. I hope the answers help de-mystify therapists’ tools.I think describing my initial sessions/consultations might be more helpful in answering your question.Initial consultations are ‘information gathering sessions’ where the therapist asks lots of questions to obtain information across a wide range of areas.In general, I tend to ask open-ended questions, rather than closed questions which require only a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.I encourage folks to ask me questions in the first meeting and at anytime during our therapeutic relationship. I also tell them I find feedback helpful (positive and negative).I emphasize that although I’m an experienced and competent clinician, I cannot possibly be the right therapist for everyone.I always discuss what to expect during the first visit and also provide that information (and more) on my website: Amy E. Brown, MS, CAC, LPC, SAPPlease know that I am not soliciting clients by listing my web address. I would never provide therapy to people I met on Quora. To do so would be unethical and would also violate my personal moral code.Back to the question: I don’t ask any questions until I review my confidentiality policy. Unless the client gives me written permission, I cannot and do not release any of their information, including whether I see them for therapy.(That’s where the phrase ‘I can neither affirm nor deny’ that I know Gerry Smith comes in handy. I’m inordinately fond of that phrase)However, in the US, therapists must break confidentiality in a few very specific situations:if the therapist believes the client is an imminent danger to self or an identified other, orif a client discloses child or elder abuse.Usually, learning about confidentiality helps clients feel more comfortable, especially with questions about risky or illicit behaviors.I also find it helpful to encourage clients to answer honestly.I remind them they’re free to ‘pass’ (rather than lie) on any question(s) they’re not comfortable answering.I ask lots of follow-up questions, including ‘can you tell me more about that’ or ‘can you describe a time you felt that way?’I frequently ask about emotions in various situations. I try very hard to avoid the stereotypical ‘and how did that make you feel?’If a client responds to a feeling question with ‘fine,’ I ask them to use a feeling word instead (see my answer to ‘are you fine?’).When adolescents hesitate on particular questions, I again remind them I can’t and won’t share any information with their parents, unless I am legally mandated to do so.I ask all clients about substance use. Decades ago, I learned it was much more productive to ask ‘how much alcohol do you currently drink?’ rather than ‘do you drink alcohol?’I frequently remind clients that I’ve heard many, many interesting things in 26 years of practice and that I’ve yet to be shocked.I hope you found this helpful. Please feel free to ask any in a comment to this answer.(I think most folks know that therapists can provide general information on Quora but cannot offer diagnoses or provide therapy for people we’ve never met)

I’m an adoptee. I know in my case my mom was very defensive about my questions because she couldn’t have her own children. She was also defensive about those reasons. I think she felt I might find I wanted be with my birth mother. Once I was over 18, I contacted the facility where I was adopted from and asked what information I was obtain. I received all non-identifying information. I perused searching but to know avail.I was in need of a kidney transplant. The hospital doctors wanted to know if any type of kidney disease ran in my family. I again contacted the adoption facility for help with that. The social worker had to contact social security administration. The social worker had my birth mother’s S.S. number. S.S. in turn contacted my birth mother and explained the situation to her and gave her the contact info for the social worker and asked her to call her. She did reach out to to her and gave her the info needed. The social worker also asked her then I had given her my permission to release to her she declined.I didn’t ever want to interfere in her current situation. I just wanted to know what she and my father looked like. Several years back my state passed a resolution that made it legal for me to obtain my original birth certificate which I now have. I have an adopted brother and he could careless about his birth mother. I have spoke to other adoptees. Most of the women want to know and all but one of the males could careless. Maybe it’s a girl thing.

First, let’s clarify some important things.It would be beneficial to have some information about the photograph to which you object and why.Was the photograph OF your father, or did it simply INCLUDE your father?Does the photograph clearly identify your father by facial inclusion and definition of your father?Which aspect didn’t the person shooting the photograph have from your father?Permission to take the photograph?Permission to display or distribute the photograph or to sell it? (These are important distinctions.).I am a photographer. Please permit me to provide you with some examples as to how a circumstance might present itself in which most people are misinformed regarding permission and ‘photo rights.’I’m at a familiar tourist site, or typically crowded site. e. g., the beach, a fishing pier, a mall, or a busy street. I’m shooting photographs of the jetty, the waves, the sunrise, the birds, etc, and a person happens to also be in this place enjoying a non-personal or non-intimate public activity. Perhaps they are fishing, swimming, or just enjoying the sunny day.I’m shooting the waves and wildlife but there happens to be a fisherman there. I am shooting photography of the waves and summer day but, as one would expect, there are thousands of people in the surf or on the sand enjoying the sun, sand and sea.Generally speaking I am not required to secure permission from everyone or anyone on the beach or in the water, to shoot photographs of the environs of the sand or sea who might happen to be within the focus of my shot. They don’t own or control that area, and neither do I.It is a public place with a reduced expectation of privacy due to the nature of the place. This is the case whether one is wearing a fishing outfit or a swimsuit or regular street clothes.As a photographer I try to always ask permission of a person if I’m going to shoot photographs specifically and intentionally of them. It is often neither practical or reasonable although if I’m intending to sell images, it would be optimal.Now, if their face is blurry or not visible, all that is moot. I have zero moral or ethical OR LEGAL obligation to ask for, let alone receive permission to shoot photographs that they might be included in the frame. Zero.There are some instances in which I would ask wherever possible but in a delicate respectful way. If the beach scene includes a woman in a skimpy swimsuit and she is very much the focus of the shot. She is the central feature of the composition, I will show the person the photograph and ask if she has any objections to me retaining or sharing that image that includes her. Usually they are enthusiastic about me taking their photograph.Now, my intent is to capture some unique aspect of her, what compelling action she’s doing in the shot, her uniqueness or beauty, etc. It is not my intention to obtain a risqué image. If she chose to wear a skimpy swimsuit she acknowledges people will be observing her in her suit.In public, that is a courtesy I extend and I delete the image if she objects. In my experience, after asking politely to shoot photographs of someone, they usually enthusiastically say yes when they look at my card I hand them and they realize who I am. In the 50,000+ images I have never had anyone say no. (Although I mostly photograph wildlife and landscapes) Wildlife doesn’t seem to care.Now, let’s say they say yes and I think there is a good chance that photograph will sell or be shared widely (although one never knows what will or will not catch on) I’ll ask them to electronically sign a release. If they say no I delete.This is a release to permit me to shoot, retain, and distribute the photograph NOT to use their image to sell a product or service EXCEPT my photography which includes that actual image.However, remember, when you go to a public place you have a reduced or eliminated expectation of privacy.In your home, or within private property you have a reasonable and complete expectation of privacy.Second, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘you don’t know him and you tried to contact him to REPORT him.REPORT him to whom and for what? If the photograph was taken in public there is nothing to report him for.What is your father’s objection to the photograph in question?YOUR objection is moot. Only the subject of the photograph can object unless the subject is a child. In that case a parent or guardian can object on behalf of the child. If the photograph was shot in a public place such as a beach or sporting event, the objection is often moot.I’m not a lawyer. I shoot photography. I’m not a substitute for a lawyer if applicable.