KRE 506: Counselor-client privilege.

(a) Definitions. As used in this rule:

(1) A "counselor" includes:

(A) A certified school counselor who meets the requirements of the

Kentucky Board of Education and who is duly appointed and regularly

employed for the purpose of counseling in a public or private school of

this state;

(B) A sexual assault counselor, who is a person engaged in a rape crisis

center, as defined in KRS Chapter 421, who has undergone forty (40)

hours of training and is under the control of a direct services supervisor

of a rape crisis center, whose primary purpose is the rendering of advice,

counseling, or assistance to victims of sexual assault;

(C) A certified professional art therapist who is engaged to conduct art

therapy under KRS 309.130 to 309.1399;

(D) A licensed marriage and family therapist as defined in KRS 335 .300

who is engaged to conduct marriage and family therapy pursuant to KRS

335.300 to 335.399;

(E) A licensed professional clinical counselor or a licensed professional

counselor associate as defined in KRS 335.500;

(F) An individual who provides crisis re sponse services as a member of the

community crisis response team or local community crisis response team

under KRS 36.250 to 36.270;

(G) A victim advocate as defined in KRS 421.570 except a victim advocate

who is employed by a Commonwealth's attorney under KRS 15.760 or a

county attorney pursuant to KRS 69.350; and

(H) A Kentucky licensed pastoral counselor as defined in KRS 335.605 who

is engaged to conduct pastoral counseling under KRS 335.600 to

335.699.

(2) A "client" is a person who consults or is int erviewed or assisted by a

counselor for the purpose of obtaining professional or crisis response services

from the counselor.

(3) A communication is "confidential" if it is not intended to be disclosed to third

persons, except persons present to further th e interest of the client in the

consultation or interview, persons reasonably necessary for the transmission of

the communication, or persons present during the communication at the

direction of the counselor, including members of the client's family.

(b) General rule of privilege. A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to

prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made for the

purpose of counseling the client, between himself, his counselor, and persons

present at the direction of the counselor, including members of the client's family.

(c) Who may claim the privilege. The privilege may be claimed by the client, his

guardian or conservator, or the personal representative of a deceased client. The

person who was the counselor (or that person's employer) may claim the privilege in

the absence of the client, but only on behalf of the client.

(d) Exceptions. There is no privilege under this rule for any relevant communication:

(1) If the client is asserting his physical, me ntal, or emotional condition as an

element of a claim or defense; or, after the client's death, in any proceeding in

which any party relies upon the condition as an element of a claim or defense.

(2) If the judge finds:

(A) That the substance of the communication is relevant to an essential issue

in the case;

(B) That there are no available alternate means to obtain the substantial

equivalent of the communication; and

(C) That the need for the information outweighs the interest protected by the

privilege. T he court may receive evidence in camera to make findings

under this rule.