Your therapy records belong to you. If you’ve ever wondered whether you can actually see what your therapist wrote down, the short answer is yes. Requesting your therapy records in Nova Scotia is a legal right, not a favour your provider can choose to grant or deny. Three things shape how this process works in practice: which law applies to your situation, how you make the request, and what happens if something in your file looks wrong. Each of those is worth understanding before you pick up the phone or send an email.
Why Nova Scotia therapy records fall under specific privacy law
Not every province handles health privacy the same way, and that matters when you’re trying to understand your rights. In Nova Scotia, the governing legislation is the Personal Health Information Act, S.N.S. 2010, c. 41, known as PHIA. It came into force on June 1, 2013, and it sets out exactly how regulated health professionals must collect, use, disclose, retain, and destroy your personal health information.
PHIA applies specifically to regulated health care professionals and the organizations they work within. That means a registered social worker, a psychologist, or a registered counselling therapist in private practice is a “custodian” under the law. Any staff member or contractor working on their behalf is an “agent,” and both roles carry defined obligations about how your information is handled.
One common misconception is that therapy notes are somehow separate from your health record, or that a therapist’s personal process notes are off-limits. The distinction between process notes and formal clinical records is real, but it doesn’t mean your therapist can simply refuse all access. What counts as personal health information under PHIA is broad, and custodians cannot simply decide that certain documents don’t apply.
If your therapist works in a private practice setting, a second layer of law may also apply. PIPEDA, the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, covers commercial health activities, including private psychotherapy practices in Nova Scotia. In practice, PHIA and PIPEDA overlap, but PHIA is the more specific and locally enforceable framework for most requests you’ll make.
Who counts as a custodian when you request therapy records in Nova Scotia
Knowing who to contact is the first practical step, and it’s where a lot of people get stuck. Under PHIA, the custodian is the regulated health professional or organization that holds your records. In a private therapy clinic, that’s typically the clinic itself or the individual therapist, depending on how the practice is structured.
Private practice vs. institutional settings
If you saw a therapist at a hospital outpatient program or a community mental health centre, the institution is likely the custodian, and you’d direct your request to their privacy or health records office. If you saw a therapist in private practice, the therapist or their clinic is the custodian. The process is similar in both cases, but the contact point differs.
This matters because some people have seen multiple providers over the years. A client who received EMDR therapy at a private clinic and also attended a group program at a community agency would need to make two separate requests to two separate custodians. There’s no central repository that holds all your Nova Scotia therapy records in one place.
If you’re unsure who holds your records, start by contacting the clinic or provider directly and asking. They are obligated under PHIA to help you understand how to access your information. Stonewalling or refusing to identify the right contact person is not compliant behaviour under the Act.
How to make a formal request: what to include and what to expect
There’s no single government form you must use to request your therapy records in Nova Scotia. Most custodians have their own request process, and many will ask you to submit something in writing, either by email, letter, or a form they provide. Writing your request down is always a good idea regardless, because it creates a record of when you asked and what you asked for.
What a written request should include
- Your full legal name and date of birth
- The approximate dates of service you’re asking about
- A description of what you want (session notes, intake forms, assessment reports, or all records)
- Your preferred format for receiving the records (paper copy, secure email, or in-person review)
- Your contact information and a signature
Custodians are permitted to charge a reasonable fee for producing copies, though they cannot charge you simply for looking at your records in person. If cost is a concern, ask upfront what the fee structure is before the records are pulled.
Expect a response within a reasonable timeframe. While PHIA does not specify a universal access response window in the same way it does for correction requests (more on that below), the expectation of timely response is embedded in the Act’s overall framework. If weeks pass with no acknowledgment, follow up in writing.
What therapy records typically contain, and what might surprise you
People sometimes request their records expecting a detailed narrative of every session and are surprised by what they find. Or they expect a brief administrative file and find something much more detailed. The content of therapy records varies significantly depending on the clinician, the setting, and the type of therapy provided.
A typical clinical file might include your intake paperwork, consent forms, a treatment plan, session progress notes, any standardized assessment scores, correspondence with other providers (with your consent), and discharge or closing notes. What it usually does not include is a word-for-word transcript of what you said in sessions. Progress notes tend to be brief, clinical, and focused on observable information relevant to your treatment.
Some therapists keep what are called “psychotherapy notes” or process notes separately from the formal clinical record. These are the therapist’s private working notes, often used for their own reflection or supervision purposes. The legal status of these notes under PHIA is more nuanced, and a therapist may have grounds to withhold them in some circumstances. This is one of the genuinely complicated edges of the law, and if you encounter resistance on this specific point, it may be worth consulting with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia.
If you’re curious about how a specific clinic like Wholetherapy handles records, their FAQ page covers common questions about documentation and privacy practices.
Your right to request a correction to your therapy records in Nova Scotia
Accessing your records is one right. Correcting them is another, and the two are often confused. Under PHIA, if you review your records and believe something is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to request a correction in writing. The custodian must respond to that correction request in writing within 30 days.
This is not the same as demanding that a therapist change their clinical opinion. If a therapist documented that you presented with symptoms consistent with a particular pattern, you cannot require them to delete that observation simply because you disagree with it. What you can do is ask that a note of disagreement be attached to the record, so that anyone who reads it in the future can see your perspective alongside the clinician’s.
A realistic example: a client reviews their intake notes and finds that their emergency contact information is wrong, or that a medication they no longer take is still listed as current. Those are factual errors, and a correction request is entirely appropriate. The 30-day response window under PHIA applies to both scenarios, whether the custodian agrees to make the change or declines and explains why.
If a custodian refuses your correction request without adequate explanation, or simply doesn’t respond within 30 days, you have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia.
When a records request gets complicated: edge cases worth knowing
Most requests go smoothly. Some don’t. A few situations come up often enough that they’re worth addressing directly.
Records from a therapist who has retired or closed their practice. Custodians have obligations under PHIA about retaining and transferring records when a practice closes. If your former therapist has retired, their records should have been transferred to another custodian or stored according to the Act’s retention requirements. Contact the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists, the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers, or the Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology (depending on the therapist’s designation) if you cannot locate where your records went.
Records involving a third party. If your file contains information about another person, such as a family member mentioned in couples therapy notes, the custodian may redact that information before releasing the record to you. This is permitted under PHIA and is not a refusal of your request.
Records requested for legal proceedings. If you need your therapy records for a court case, insurance dispute, or disability claim, the process is the same, but the stakes are higher. Consider getting legal advice before submitting the request, because how you frame what you’re asking for can affect what you receive and how it’s used.
If you have questions about a specific situation, contact us and we can point you toward the right resource.
What to do if your request is denied or ignored
A denial is not the end of the road. Under PHIA, custodians can refuse access in limited circumstances, such as when releasing the records could cause serious harm to you or someone else, or when the records contain information about a third party that cannot be severed. But these exceptions are narrow, and a blanket refusal without explanation is not acceptable.
If your request is denied, the custodian must tell you in writing why, and they must tell you that you have the right to complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia. That office has the authority to investigate complaints, require custodians to produce records, and issue binding orders.
If your request is simply ignored and you receive no response after a reasonable period, that silence is itself a ground for complaint. Document everything: the date you submitted your request, how you submitted it, and any follow-up you’ve done.
One thing to keep in mind: the complaints process takes time. If you need records urgently for a legal or insurance matter, pursuing a complaint may not be fast enough. In those situations, legal counsel can sometimes move things more quickly through other channels.
Wholetherapy is committed to transparent, rights-respecting practice. If you have questions about records or privacy before starting therapy, their FAQ is a good starting point, and you’re always welcome to contact us directly.
Frequently asked questions
Can I request my therapy records in Nova Scotia at any time, even years after treatment ended?
Yes. Your right to access your personal health information under PHIA does not expire when your treatment ends. Custodians are required to retain health records for a minimum period after the last date of service, so records from several years ago should still be available in most cases. If a practice has closed, the records should have been transferred or stored according to PHIA’s retention requirements. Contact the relevant regulatory college if you cannot locate where your records went.
How long does a therapist in Nova Scotia have to respond to a records request?
PHIA does not state a specific number of days for responding to an access request the way it does for correction requests (which carry a 30-day response requirement). However, the Act’s framework expects timely responses, and an unreasonable delay is grounds for a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia. In practice, most custodians aim to respond within 30 days, and many will acknowledge your request sooner than that.
Can a therapist charge me a fee to access my own records in Nova Scotia?
Custodians are permitted to charge a reasonable fee for producing copies of your records, such as printing costs or administrative time. They cannot charge you simply to view your records in person. If you’re concerned about cost, ask the custodian for their fee schedule before the records are pulled. If a fee seems unreasonable, you can raise that concern with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia.
What if my therapy records in Nova Scotia contain information I believe is wrong?
Under PHIA, you have the right to submit a written correction request, and the custodian must respond in writing within 30 days. If the custodian agrees, they will correct the record. If they disagree, they must explain why and attach a note of your disagreement to the file so future readers can see both perspectives. You cannot require a clinician to change a professional judgment or clinical observation, but factual errors such as wrong dates, incorrect medications, or inaccurate contact information are appropriate subjects for a correction request.
Does PHIA apply to all therapists in Nova Scotia, or only some?
PHIA applies to regulated health care professionals and organizations in Nova Scotia, which includes psychologists, registered social workers, and registered counselling therapists, among others. If your therapist holds a regulated designation, PHIA almost certainly applies. Private practices may also fall under PIPEDA, the federal privacy law that covers commercial health activities. If you’re unsure whether a specific provider is covered, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia can advise you.