Fla. Stat. § 90.503 — Psychotherapist-patient privilege

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(1) For purposes of this section:

  1. (a) A "psychotherapist" is:
    1. 1. A person authorized to practice medicine in any state or nation...who is engaged in the diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition...;
    2. 2. A person licensed or certified as a psychologist...;
    3. 3. A person licensed or certified as a clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or mental health counselor...;
    4. 4. Treatment personnel of facilities licensed by the state...; or
    5. 5. An advanced practice registered nurse...whose primary scope of practice is the diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional conditions...
  2. (b) A "patient" is a person who consults, or is interviewed by, a psychotherapist for purposes of diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition...
  3. (c) A communication between psychotherapist and patient is "confidential" if it is not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than...those persons present to further the interest of the patient...or necessary for the transmission of the communication...or participating in the diagnosis and treatment...

(2) A patient has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, confidential communications or records made for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment of the patient’s mental or emotional condition, including alcoholism and other drug addiction, between the patient and the psychotherapist, or persons who are participating in the diagnosis or treatment under the direction of the psychotherapist. This privilege includes any diagnosis made, and advice given, by the psychotherapist in the course of that relationship.

(3) The privilege may be claimed by:

  1. (a) The patient or the patient’s attorney on the patient’s behalf.
  2. (b) A guardian or conservator of the patient.
  3. (c) The personal representative of a deceased patient.
  4. (d) The psychotherapist, but only on behalf of the patient. The authority of a psychotherapist to claim the privilege is presumed in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

(4) There is no privilege under this section:

  1. (a) For communications relevant to an issue in proceedings to compel hospitalization of a patient for mental illness...
  2. (b) For communications made in the course of a court-ordered examination of the mental or emotional condition of the patient.
  3. (c) For communications relevant to an issue of the mental or emotional condition of the patient in any proceeding in which the patient relies upon the condition as an element of his or her claim or defense...

Purpose of the Privilege: This rule protects the confidentiality of communications between patients and their mental health providers. The public policy is to encourage people to seek necessary mental health treatment by assuring them that their deeply personal discussions will be kept private and not used against them in court.

Who is Protected? The privilege covers communications between a "patient" and a broadly defined "psychotherapist," which includes medical doctors, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors engaged in diagnosis or treatment.

Who Holds the Privilege? The privilege belongs to the **patient**. The therapist can claim it on the patient's behalf, but only the patient has the ultimate authority to waive it.

Exceptions (When There Is No Privilege):

The privilege does not apply in three key situations:

  • Involuntary Commitment: When the communication is relevant to a proceeding to involuntarily hospitalize the patient for mental illness.
  • Court-Ordered Exams: When the communication was made during a mental health examination ordered by a court.
  • Patient Puts Condition at Issue: This is the most common exception. If a patient makes their own mental or emotional condition part of their claim or defense in a lawsuit (e.g., suing for emotional distress), they have waived the privilege for communications relevant to that specific condition.
§ 90.5021 § 90.5035
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