Confidentiality and Breaking Trust

The importance of confidence is magnified for young people because their beliefs and ideals are fluid. They are still finding themselves with respect to identity, gender and preferences. There may be times, however—when someone's health or life is at risk—when you will have to break confidence. Here's what to do:

Be up front

Have a conversation about what you're sharing and who you're share it with (e.g., parents/guardians). Allow them to help problem-solve and make recommendations.

Transfer the lead

One of the best outcomes of 'being up front' (above) is that they may decide to share on their own. If this happens, support them by role-playing, accompanying them, and continuing a healthy transparency.