Trust is an essential factor in the helping process. Without it, customers won't feel free to share their innermost thoughts and feelings. They will not be completely honest or forthcoming in conversations, which will hinder the professional's ability to truly help the client. For this reason, the promise of confidentiality becomes fundamental to the process. It is the “duty of secrecy” that all helping professionals have an ethical obligation to observe (Younggren & Harris, p.589). It protects the client's right to privacy and promotes an atmosphere in which we feel safe, facilitating trust and allowing us to feel comfortable enough to share our most intimate feelings and thoughts. Most helping professionals agree that confidentiality is key to the healing process and it is their primary obligation to protect it (Fisher, p.1). It is a standard included in the Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association (2002) and is regulated by law in many states. The importance of maintaining confidentiality was highlighted in an article published in the Lancet in February 2006 entitled "Confidentiality Pressures". Various reasons have been given for the need for its preservation, including the protection of individual privacy and the maintenance of personal autonomy. Furthermore, maintaining confidentiality involves a certain degree of secrecy maintenance, instilling a feeling of reliability and trust in the doctor-client relationship (Rogers, p. 553). Furthermore, the importance of confidentiality was highlighted in a landmark Supreme Court decision in Jaffee v. Redmond (1996) who states: Effective psychotherapy, in contrast, depends on an atmosphere of confidence and trust in which the patient is confidential. .... half of the sheet ......13. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.1.1How technology changes everything (and nothing) in psychology: 2008 annual report of the APA Policy and Planning Committee. (2009). American Psychologist, 64(5), 454-463.O'Neil, M. K. (2007). Confidentiality, privacy and the facilitating role of psychoanalytic organizations. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 88(3), 691-711. doi:10.1516/0334-5427-247W-X038Richards, M. M. (2009). Electronic health records: Privacy issues in the time of HIPAA. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(6), 550-556. doi:10.1037/a0016853 Rogers, W. A. ​​(2006). Pressures on confidentiality. Lancet, 367(9510), 553-554. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68200-7Younggren, J. N., & Harris, E. A. (2008). Can you keep a secret? confidentiality in psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64(5), 589-600. doi:10.1002/jclp.20480