TEMPLATE FOR THERAPISTS
Family Therapy Agreement & Shared Commitment
Most family therapy practices have a no-secrets policy. Most families don't fully understand what that means until something comes up. This document explains it before the first session—clearly, warmly, and in language that actually helps families understand what they're committing to and why.
This is a pre-therapy transparency and consent document designed to be reviewed and signed by all adult participants before family therapy begins. It covers everything a family needs to understand before the work starts—and everything a clinician needs documented before it does.
It defines family broadly and inclusively, because not every family that shows up for therapy looks like a textbook case. It explains the no-secrets policy in plain language—what it means, why it exists, and how clinical judgment will be used to navigate the tension between individual privacy and family transparency. It includes a cultural humility section that names explicitly how culture, identity, faith, and history shape family systems and belong in the room. And it covers working with minor children, limits of confidentiality, and the clinician's role—without taking sides, assigning blame, or identifying any one person as the problem.
Every placeholder is marked in red. Teal clinician notes throughout explain the purpose of each section, flag state-specific decisions to make, and give you the clinical and ethical rationale behind every addition. Multiple signature blocks are built in for up to three adult participants, with room to add more.You're doing family therapy with a one-page confidentiality notice buried in your general policies—and you know that's not enough—and especially if any of these sound familiar:
You need a no-secrets policy that's actually explained to clients, not just disclosed
You work with blended families, chosen family, multigenerational households, or co-parents and need a document that reflects that
You want cultural humility built into your intake process—not as a value statement on your website, but as something clients actually see and respond to before session one
You work with families that include minor children and need guardian consent language that's clear and state-adaptable
You've had a family therapy case get complicated by undisclosed information and want a framework that addresses that upfront
You believe that how you begin the work matters—and that the documents families sign should reflect the kind of practice you actually run
1. Download and open—The template is a .docx file. Open it in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
2. Replace the red brackets—Fill in your practice name, clinician details, and any practice-specific language throughout.
3. Review the teal notes—Teal clinician notes flag decisions specific to your state, your client population, and your practice structure—including minor consent laws and how to customize the no-secrets policy language. Read each one, make your choice, and delete the note before finalizing.
4. Remove what doesn't apply—The minor children section is optional; remove it if you don't work with families that include minors. Remove unused signature blocks before distributing.
5. Remove the clinician instruction page—This must be removed before sending to clients.
6. Save as a PDF—When your edits are complete, save a final version as a PDF and send to all adult participants before the first session—not at it.
7. Have it reviewed—Before distributing to clients, have your final version reviewed by your licensing board, malpractice carrier, and/or a licensed attorney. Requirements—especially around minor consent and no-secrets policies—vary by state.
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