Small problem with this mental health center?

I have PDD-NOS and when I was about 14 my parents brought be to a health center that specializes in autism. Lets call the place X. Anyway, my parents were always directly involved in my treatment. After a few years the treatment ended.



It was not till I was about 18-19 years old that I decided myself to look for help. The doctor refered me to center X. I was the one being treated and I explicitly told them that I didn't want my parents involved or that they were told that I was going there.



I was still living at home, and was recieving letters from the center. On the envelope it was also clear that it was from the center X. My parents would inevitably get to know that I was being treated there. I thought and think that this is very insensitive of the people working there. Apart from only me getting letters, my parents themselves also recieved an invitation to one of the group sessions I was following- all unknown to me until my parents mentioned it.



I decided not to .....Small problem with this mental health center?
There is such thing called a privacy act. Make it plain to center X you are now an adult and you have the right to privacy about anything you discuss or any type of treatment they give. If this does not work threaten to turn them in to the proper authorities for violating your right to privacy. Third think for another center to start going to. If you had a bad experience with one center seek out another.Small problem with this mental health center?
Years ago, I worked in mental health in day centers, group homes and doing outreach all in New Jersey. We needed to have signed releases before we could communicate with anyone about the clients, including the parents, as long as the clients were over 18. there were very strict laws and there were severe consequences if they were not followed. A treatment facility (and its staff) could be sued, fined or even closed down if they did what X is doing. These things probably vary from state to state though, so look into what the laws are where you live. Do you still live with them? Are you their dependent? If so, it may be related to that. Also, they may have paperwork from when you were 14 that allows them to communicate with your parents or it may also be that they have never made whatever changes were necessary to make it so they can't contact them. So check with them as well and see if you can get this corrected. Personally, I believe that once you're 18, you should have a right to privacy regarding such personal matters, even when it comes to your parents.