Yes. What you tell a therapist in the course of treatment is privileged in Georgia, and the other side putting your mental health at issue does not by itself change that.
Who Is Covered
OCGA 24-5-501 protects communications with a psychiatrist, a licensed psychologist, and a licensed clinical social worker, clinical nurse specialist in psychiatric or mental health, licensed marriage and family therapist, or licensed professional counselor. In Brown v. Howard, 334 Ga. App. 182 (2015), the Court of Appeals set out those provisions together and called them the mental health privilege.
Treatment Is Protected; Evaluation Is Not
As the Court of Appeals put it in Brown v. Howard, where “no mental health treatment is given or contemplated” – for instance, when a court appoints a mental health provider to evaluate a person’s mental state as opposed to providing treatment – “the mental health privilege is inapplicable.”
So the psychologist appointed to perform a custody evaluation is not your therapist, and what you say there is not privileged. Counseling the court orders you to attend is different, because treatment is contemplated.
Your Mental Health Being at Issue Is Not a Waiver
In Cooksey v. Landry, 295 Ga. 430 (2014), the Georgia Supreme Court held that the psychiatrist-patient privilege “remains inviolate even though the patient’s care and treatment or the nature or extent of the patient’s injuries are put in issue in a civil proceeding.” The privilege belongs to the patient, and only the patient can give it up.
What Is Not Covered
Brown v. Howard also confirms that “the fact of employment of or treatment by a mental health provider and the dates thereof do not fall within the mental health privilege and may be disclosed.” The other side can show that you saw someone and when. What you said is another matter.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!