(A) No person licensed under this chapter, and no person’s employees or associates, shall disclose any information which he or she may have acquired during the course of treatment, except as required or permitted by applicable state law, federal law, or both, including, but not limited to, compliance with Sections 19-11-95, 43-35-25, 44-29-70, and 63-7-310.

(B) All communications between clients and their licensed professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, or addiction counselor are considered privileged as provided in § 19-11-95, protecting confidences between patients of mental illness or emotional condition and licensees under this chapter, and as provided in § 19-11-100, providing limited protection for persons engaged in the gathering of information for journalistic or literary purposes. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor, a licensed marital and family therapist, or addiction counselor must maintain privileged communications and patient confidentiality as required of psycho-therapists. All records of treatments maintained by a licensed professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, or an addiction counselor are confidential and must not be disclosed except under the circumstances provided for in this subsection.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 40-75-190

  • Addiction counselor: means a professional who practices individual, family, and group addiction counseling. See South Carolina Code 40-75-20
  • Licensed professional counselor: means an individual who practices professional counseling. See South Carolina Code 40-75-20
  • Person: means an individual, organization, or corporation, except that only individuals can be licensed under this article. See South Carolina Code 40-75-20

(C) A person licensed under this chapter must comply with all applicable state and federal confidentiality laws related to alcohol or drug treatment records.