Can a Coach Break Confidentiality? 

This post is part of a series that unpacks frequent queries raised through the ICF Ethics Assist line. Learn more about ethics in coaching on the ICF Ethics webpage.

Key Takeaways

• Confidentiality is essential to any coaching relationship.
• There are limits to the confidentiality outlined in your coaching agreement, and they should be discussed up front with your clients.
• Your jurisdiction and situation can determine what guidelines you should follow, do your research before you create your coaching agreements.
• The ICF Ethics Assist Line is available to point you in the right direction for any confidentiality questions you may have.

Imagine you’re coaching a client who is going through a contentious divorce. They are a long-time client of yours who has primarily focused on work-related matters, but the divorce has been coming up in your sessions lately. Specifically, they are talking about child custody issues and expressing concern about their former partner’s parenting capacity. One day, you receive a subpoena from an attorney representing your client’s former partner requesting that you share notes from sessions with your client. How would you handle this situation?

This is a variation of a very common question we regularly receive through the ICF Ethics Assist Line: Can a coach break confidentiality?

And the short answer is — yes, sometimes.

What Does Confidentiality Mean in Coaching?

A coach must hold space to build that trust and create psychological safety for your client. It allows them to engage in honest reflection, vulnerability, and meaningful growth. And we all know that an effective coaching relationship is grounded in confidentiality. But confidentiality is not absolute; there are limits to it that all coaches (and their clients) need to understand.

The limits of your confidentiality may be defined by laws or standards where you are located, so it’s important to remain aware of local laws and expectations. For the best possible advice, seek local legal support. For non-legal matters, the ICF Ethics Assist Line can support you and point you in the right direction if you are unsure where to begin.

Are There Exceptions to Confidentiality?

Some common limits to confidentiality include:

• Safety limits. Concern for the safety of your client or others, including the risk of harm, abuse, or neglect. A coach may have two separate obligations here: a legal obligation, in some places, to notify emergency services, and an ethical obligation to notify the emergency contacts collected during contracting, as outlined in your coaching agreement.
• Legal limits. Court orders, subpoenas, or other lawful requests, as well as how you handle technology and data security. When court orders and subpoenas are involved, you may be required to disclose coaching records or information.
• Professional limits. General client consent, when you are working with a supervisor or mentor coach, or are engaged in organizational or sponsored coaching, if the client needs services outside of coaching that require a referral, or if you are under ethical review through a process like the Ethical Conduct Review (ECR) process.

While some aspects of confidentiality limits depend on where you live and the legal guidelines that apply to you, there are certain keys to confidentiality that hold true no matter your circumstances. The ICF Code of Ethics devotes an entire section to confidentiality and legal compliance (part 4, covering 8 ethical standards in all), and Standard 2.3 names specific limits and sets the expectation for coaches to have a clear agreement with clients (and sponsors when applicable) about what may need to be shared outside the coach-client relationship. ICF’s supplemental resource, Insights and Considerations, offers further clarification on this standard.

The best time to talk about confidentiality limits is BEFORE you need to break them.  

You don’t want to wait until a lawyer has served a subpoena or a client is talking about self-harm. If these extremely challenging situations arise in your coaching, you will be in a much better place if you have a clear path forward from the start.

So how do you talk to your clients about the limits of confidentiality?

Transparently and from the start of the coaching engagement! Clear communication about the limits of confidentiality should be woven into the beginning of every coaching journey. Make it a habit to have that conversation early and often. Your clients need to understand what limits exist and that there may be times when confidential information needs to be shared.

This can be done through a written coaching agreement, verbally during the contracting phase, or even at the start of individual coaching sessions. Perhaps the best approach is a combination of both verbal and written notices to ensure comprehension.

If your current coaching agreement does not already cover these points, you may want to consider including them. When it comes to confidentiality, you should be able to explain:

• The information that will be kept confidential.
• Specific exceptions to confidentiality.
• Whether and how information may be shared with sponsors, supervisors, or mentors.

For more guidance on coaching agreements and what they should include, ICF Members have access to sample coaching agreements on ICF Engage.

Have a question? Contact the ICF Ethics Assist Line:

• Email: ethics@coachingfederation.org
• Phone: 1.859.226.4245

You can reach Kristin Kelly, ICF director of ethics, compliance, and culture, directly at Kristin.Kelly@coachingfederation.org.

FAQ Section:

A lawyer is asking for my coaching notes. Do I have to provide them?

It depends. What a lawyer can obtain from a coach varies by jurisdiction, the circumstances involved, and how the notes relate to the legal case at hand.

Coaching is generally not protected by legal privilege. This means the conversations between a coach and a client are not automatically confidential as they would be for an attorney and their client. Coaches have ethical obligations to maintain confidentiality, but those obligations do not necessarily prevent disclosure if required by law.

If coaching notes are requested during legal proceedings, a subpoena or court order is often required. In the case of divorce, a lawyer may request coaching notes if they believe the notes are relevant to issues such as child custody, parenting capacity, and financial matters.

If this happens to you, these are the general steps to follow:

1. Review the request carefully.
2. Notify the client (unless prohibited by law).
3. Consult your own attorney before releasing any records.
4. Consult with your coach supervisor or mentor coach.*
5. Disclose only what is legally required.

*You may also choose to consult with the ICF Ethics Assist Line at this stage, but ICF staff are not attorneys nor can they offer actionable advice. People who use the assist line do so to understand what the Code of Ethics says and to better understand what next steps may look like.

What kind of notes should I keep as part of my coaching practice?

Knowing that coaching records may be scrutinized in the future, coaches should consider these note-taking best practices:

• Keep notes factual, objective, and concise.
• Avoid diagnosing or speculating about mental health.
• Document observations rather than interpretations.
• Separate administrative records from reflective or process notes, where appropriate.

My client’s employer is paying for their coaching and has requested updates. What can I tell them?

Ideally, before the coaching engagement began, a clear agreement was outlined and shared with both the client and the employer (who would be considered the sponsor of the coaching engagement). In that agreement, there would be clarity on what the client has agreed to share with the employer.

When an employer, school, or organization pays for coaching, confidentiality should be clearly defined and agreed upon in a three-way agreement. The content of coaching conversations typically remains confidential, and only limited information is shared (and only what the client has agreed to). This may include updates on how coaching is progressing, themes or topics the client is being coached on, and more. The main thing is that whatever is decided upon is clearly defined and all parties agree to it (especially the client).

If this clarification was not outlined at the start of the coaching engagement, this is where re-contracting may be necessary to ensure all parties are on the same page about what will and will not be shared.

The coach should never assume the sponsor is entitled to session details.