A court order allows a professional counselor to release confidential information. This is an example of which concept?

• A. Court order
• B. Confidentiality
• C. Best practice guidelines
• D. Veracity

Answer: (A)

Disclosures under legal mandate are allowed when the law overrides the usual duty of confidentiality. A court order is the mechanism that creates that exception: it is a formal directive requiring a counselor to release specific confidential information. When such an order is in place, the counselor must comply with what the order specifies, even though it would normally be protected, and should document the disclosure and limit it to the scope of what the order requires.

Confidentiality, in contrast, is the norm to keep information private unless a legal or ethical exception applies. Best practice guidelines provide broad standards for practice but don’t themselves authorize disclosure. Veracity concerns truth-telling and accuracy in communication, not the permissibility of releasing confidential records under a court order.