Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · Hawaii · Hawaii Revised Statutes

[§451J-12] Confidentiality and privileged communications.

482 words·~2 min read·/hi/451j-12

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

[§451J-12] Confidentiality and privileged communications. [Section effective until June 30, 2026. For section effective July 1, 2026, see below.] No person licensed as a marriage and family therapist, nor any of the person's employees or associates, shall be required to disclose any information that the person may have acquired in rendering marriage and family therapy services except in the following circumstances:
(1)As required by law;
(2)To prevent a clear and immediate danger to a person or persons;
(3)In the course of a civil, criminal, or disciplinary action arising from the therapy where the therapist is a defendant;
(4)In a criminal proceeding where the client is a defendant and the use of the privilege would violate the defendant's right to a compulsory process of the right to present testimony and witnesses in the defendant's own behalf;
(5)In accordance with the terms of a client's previously written waiver of the privilege; or
(6)Where more than one person in a family jointly receives therapy and each family member who is legally competent executes a written waiver; in that instance, a therapist may disclose information received from any family member in accordance with the terms of the person's waiver. [L 1998, c 159, pt of §2]
§451J-12 Confidentiality and privileged communications. [Section effective July 1, 2026. For section effective until June 30, 2026, see above.] No person licensed as a marriage and family therapist or an associate marriage and family therapist, nor any of the person's employees or associates, shall be required to disclose any information that the person may have acquired in rendering marriage and family therapy services except in the following circumstances:
(1)As required by law;
(2)To prevent a clear and immediate danger to a person or persons;
(3)In the course of a civil, criminal, or disciplinary action arising from the therapy where the therapist is a defendant;
(4)In a criminal proceeding where the client is a defendant and the use of the privilege would violate the defendant's right to a compulsory process of the right to present testimony and witnesses in the defendant's own behalf;
(5)In accordance with the terms of a client's previously written waiver of the privilege; or
(6)Where more than one person in a family jointly receives therapy and each family member who is legally competent executes a written waiver; in that instance, a marriage and family therapist or an associate marriage and family therapist may disclose information received from any family member in accordance with the terms of the person's waiver. [L 1998, c 159, pt of §2; am L 2024, c 93, §9]
Case Notes
Where none of the exceptions under this section applied to the case, family court was not authorized to order therapist to disclose the information therapist acquired in rendering marriage and family therapy services. 112 H. 437 (App.), 146 P.3d 597 (2006).
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.