This section of the law defines who qualifies as a 'psychotherapist' for purposes related to patient interactions. It includes various professionals, such as doctors specializing in psychiatry, licensed psychologists, clinical social workers, school psychologists, marriage and family therapists, registered psychological associates, and psychology interns under supervision. It also covers advanced practice nurses with psychiatric specialization and professional clinical counselors. The emphasis is on those licensed or certified to provide mental health treatment, including associates and trainees under appropriate supervision.

This law explains that conversations between a patient and an educational psychologist are protected by privacy, just like those between a patient and a psychotherapist. Patients can expect their communications with educational psychologists to be kept confidential, following the same rules set for psychotherapists.

This law defines a “patient” as someone who either sees a psychotherapist for diagnosis or treatment of their mental health or participates in research on mental or emotional issues.

This law defines "confidential communication between patient and psychotherapist" as any information shared privately between a patient and their therapist during treatment. This includes things discussed during sessions, the results of examinations, diagnoses, and advice given. The idea is that this information should not be disclosed to anyone else unless it’s necessary for the treatment or some relevant purpose that helps the patient.

This section defines who holds the right to privacy concerning patient information. If the patient is alive and has no guardian, they hold the privilege. If there is a guardian or conservator, they hold it. If the patient has passed away, their personal representative holds the privilege.

This law establishes that patients can keep their conversations with psychotherapists private, even if they're not involved in a legal case. Patients can stop others from disclosing these conversations if they claim the privilege. People like the therapist or someone authorized by the patient can assert this right. This protection applies to mental health professionals, including psychologists, therapists, social workers, and counselors, whether they work for themselves or through organizations like corporations or partnerships.

This confidentiality privilege ensures sensitive information shared during therapy remains protected unless the patient allows its release.

This law says that a psychotherapist must assert a confidentiality privilege if they are present when someone tries to disclose a communication that falls under this privilege. It is their duty to maintain this confidentiality, as given by another part of the law (Section 1014).

This law says that you can't keep certain communications private if they relate to the mental or emotional state of a patient when it's relevant to a legal issue. This applies if the patient brings up the issue, or if someone else is claiming on behalf of the patient, like a beneficiary. It also applies to some lawsuits for damages related to the patient's injury or death.

This law section states that the confidentiality privilege between a psychotherapist and patient doesn't apply if the psychotherapist is court-appointed to examine the patient. However, if this appointment is at the request of the defendant's lawyer in a criminal case to assess mental condition for an insanity plea or defense, the privilege still holds.

Moreover, no privilege exists if the psychotherapist is appointed by the Board of Prison Terms to examine a patient under certain conditions related to prison regulations.

This law says that if someone consults a therapist to help them commit or plan a crime, or to avoid getting caught after a crime, they can't keep what they told the therapist confidential. There is no privacy protection in these situations.

This section says that if multiple people are making claims that come from a deceased person, there is no confidentiality protection on communications relevant to those claims. It doesn’t matter if they’re inheriting through a will, no will, or some other transfer made while the deceased was alive.

This law states that if there's a dispute about whether a psychotherapist or a patient has failed to fulfill their responsibilities within their relationship, any relevant communication between them is not protected by confidentiality. This means that such communication can be used as evidence in legal proceedings about the alleged breach.

This law states that there is no protection or privilege for communications about a deceased person's intentions regarding property-related documents they created, like deeds or wills. In other words, you can't keep these communications secret if they are important to figuring out what the deceased wanted regarding their property.

This law section states that in a legal proceeding to decide if a defendant in a criminal case is sane, which happens at the defendant's request, certain privileges usually given under this article do not apply. Essentially, privacy protections may not cover discussions or documents about the defendant's mental health in this specific kind of proceeding.

In this section, if a psychotherapist thinks their patient might be a danger to themselves or others, they aren't required to keep the patient's information confidential. They can share the information if they believe it's needed to prevent harm.

This law states that in legal proceedings where someone is questioning or proving a person's mental ability to make decisions (competence), the usual privacy protections for medical information do not apply.

This law says that there is no privacy protection for information that a psychotherapist or patient must report to public employees or record in a public office. If these reports or records can be inspected by the public, then the information is not considered private.

Under this law, a psychotherapist must report certain information if specific conditions are met. It applies when the patient is a child under 16, and the therapist believes the child may have been a victim of a crime. In such cases, sharing information is considered to be in the child's best interest, and the usual privacy protections are not applicable.