The person I was talking to asked me when was the last time I cut myself and I was honest and said just now. But then she says we can breach the confidentiality of we fear you are in danger, does that mean she's told someone?
Thank you for your letter.
It can be difficult to talk about things that feel private and personal to you, but the more honest you are with ChildLine the better we can support you. Its great you felt able to tell the counsellor about cutting yourself.
Telling a ChildLine counsellor you have just cut yourself wouldnt necessarily mean they need to tell someone else, but they would want to find out more about what happened and how you feel.
When it comes to your safety, ChildLine would only tell someone else if they felt you were in danger and you were unable to get help by yourself. If a counsellor is worried you may not be safe, they will ask questions to help them understand and will probably ask if you feel safe or need help.
Counsellors want to be honest with you about confidentiality and thats why they might mention it when youre talking or remind you about this. It might sound worrying to hear them say it, but they just want you to be in control as much as possible.
If youre worried about this or have any questions when youre talking to a counsellor, you can always ask them. The counsellors want to support you and work in a way thats right for you.
Thanks for sending in this question.
Take care,
Sam.
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
