Informed consent is one of the ethical pillars of psychological practice. It is not just a role that the patient signs before starting therapy — is a communication process that ensures that the person understands what will happen, what his or her rights are and how his or her data will be handled.

In this article we explain what it is, what it should include, when it is mandatory, how it differs from informed consent (for minors) and we leave you a template ready to adapt to your clinical practice.

Informed consent is the voluntary agreement given by a patient after receiving clear and sufficient information about the psychological treatment to be initiated. It is not a procedure: it is a right of the patient and an obligation of the professional.

In simple terms, the patient should know:

What is to be done (type of therapy, focus, techniques)
Why this approach is proposed
How long the process takes approximately
What risks or limitations may have
What alternatives exist
How your personal and clinical data are handled

Note

Informed consent is not an accession contract. The patient may revoke it at any time, without needing to explain.

Is it mandatory in Argentina?

Yes. Informed consent is supported by multiple legal frameworks:

National Mental Health Act 26.657

Art. 10 establishes as a principle that governs informed consent for all types of interventions, with the only exceptions and guarantees established by law. Art. 7.j recognizes the right to be informed in an adequate and understandable manner of everything inherent in its health and treatment, "according to the rules of informed consent." Art. 7.k recognizes the right to be able to make decisions related to its care and treatment within its possibilities.

Patient Rights Act 26.529

This law specifically regulates informed consent in the field of health:

Art. 5 — Definition: It is the patient's sufficient declaration of will, issued after receiving clear, accurate and adequate information about his or her state of health, the proposed procedure, the expected benefits, risks, alternatives and consequences of not doing so.
Art. 6 — Mandatory: Any professional performance in the medical-health field requires the prior informed consent of the patient
Art. 7 — Form: Consent is verbal by default. It should only be written in cases of: hospitalization, surgical intervention, invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, procedures involving risks according to regulation, and revocation. Psychotherapy is not on this list, so legal verbal consent is sufficient.
Art. 10 — Revocability: The patient may revoke his decision at any time
Art. 9 — Exceptions: The professional is exempted from requiring consent when there is a serious danger to public health, or an emergency situation with serious danger to the health or life of the patient

Council

Although the law does not require written consent for psychotherapy, in practice it is highly recommended to document it in writing. Written consent protects you from complaints, serves as evidence that you informed the patient and remains part of medical records (Art. 16, Ley 26.529).

Personal Data Protection Act 25.326

Health data are sensitive data (Art. 2). While Art. 8 empowers health professionals to collect and process health data of their patients respecting professional secrecy, Art. 6 requires that the patient be informed beforehand about the purpose of the treatment, the existence of the archive and its rights of access, rectification and suppression.

Codes of professional ethics

Both the Code of Ethics of FePRA and provincial codes (CPPC, COLPSIBA, etc.) include informed consent as a fundamental ethical requirement.

Important

The absence of informed consent constitutes a serious breach (Art. 21, 26.529 Law), and may result in ethical sanctions by the professional college and in civil and criminal liability. Art. 11 bis exempts from liability a professional who has acted in accordance with the provisions of the law.

According to Article 5 of the 26.529 Law, the patient should receive clear, accurate and adequate information on:

(a) Your health
(b) The proposed procedure, specifying the objectives pursued
(c) The expected benefits of the procedure
(d) The foreseeable risks, discomfort and adverse effects
(e) Alternative procedures and their risks, benefits and harms
(f) The foreseeable consequences of failure to perform the procedure

Applied to psychology, full informed consent should cover these points:

1.

Full name and registration
Specialty or training
Contact details

2. Patient data

Full name and DNI
In the case of minors: data on the father, mother or legal guardian

3. Treatment information

Element	Description
Type of therapy	Theoretical approach (cognitive-behavioral, psychoanalytic, systemic, etc.)
General objectives	What Treatment Seeks to Achieve
Frequency and duration	Number of meetings per week, estimated duration
Modality	Face-to-face, online or mixed
Honors	Amount per session, method of payment, cancellation policy

4. Limits of confidentiality

This point is critical. The patient should know that confidentiality has legal exceptions:

Life risk of the patient or third parties
Abuse or abuse of minors or vulnerable persons
Requirement of the court with order of the judge
Involuntary intervention in crisis situations

5. Handling of personal data

Where clinical records are stored
Who has access to them
How long they are preserved
If any digital tool is used (management software, electronic medical records)

6. Patient's rights

Revocation of consent at any time
Access your medical records
Request rectification or deletion of your data
Request referral from another professional

7. Signature and date

Patient signature (or legal representative)
Professional signature
Date
Clarification that a copy was delivered to the patient

When you work with underage (under 18 years), you need two documents:

	Informed consent	Informed consent
Who signs it?	Parent or legal guardian	The minor
Is it legally binding?	Yes	It has no legal force, but it is ethically necessary
From what age?	Not applicable (it is the adult responsible)	Generally since 12-13 years
What does it contain?	All treatment information	Explanation adapted to the level of understanding of the child

Council

Assent does not replace consent. You need both: the consent signed by the responsible adult and the consent of the minor who demonstrates that he or she understood and agrees to participate.

How to write an informed assent?

Language should be simple, direct and age-appropriate:

Avoid technical terms
Use short sentences
Explain what they're going to do together in the sessions
Make sure you can say if you don't want to talk about something.
Make it clear that what counts is private, unless it is in danger.

Example of fragment for adolescents (13-17 years):

"Sesions are a space for you. What we talk about here is private — I am not going to tell your parents what you tell me, unless you are in danger or someone is hurting you. In that case, I will seek help to protect you. If at any time you do not want to keep coming, we can talk about it."

Special situations

Online therapy

If you attend to video call, consent should include:

Platform used and its security measures
Specific risks (connection cuts, patient environment privacy)
Remote Emergency Protocol
Applicable jurisdiction

Couple or family therapy

When multiple people participate:

Each participant signs its own consent
It is clarified that information from joint sessions is not individual
What happens if you want to stop treatment?

Psychodiagnosis evaluations

The consent must specify:

Which tests or techniques are to be applied
Who's gonna get the report?
What information will the report contain?

Then we leave you a basic model that you can adapt to your practice. Remember that it is a general guide — consult with your professional college to bring it into line with the rules of your jurisdiction.

Professional: Lic. [Name and Surname] — M. P. [professional license number]

Patient: [Name and Surname] — DNI [Number]

1. Treatment information

The Lic. [Last name] informs you that the proposed treatment consists of orientation psychotherapy [theoretical approach], with a frequency of [quantity] session/s weekly/s of [duration] minutes each. The modality will be [presential / online / mixed].

The general objectives of the treatment are: [describe briefly].

2. Expected benefits and limitations

Psychotherapy can contribute to improving emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships, and coping strategies. However, the results are not guaranteed and the process may involve moments of emotional discomfort as part of therapeutic work.

3. Confidentiality

Everything shared in session is confidential. Exceptions to confidentiality include:

Imminent risk of harm to the patient or third parties
Suspected of abuse or ill-treatment of children or vulnerable persons
Legal requirement by written order

4. Handling of personal data

The clinical records are stored in a [digital/physical] manner with the security measures that guarantee their integrity and confidentiality (Art. 9, Law 25.326). The patient has the right to access, rectify or request the deletion of his data (Art. 14 and 16, Law 25.326). The deletion does not apply when there is a legal obligation to keep them (Art. 16.5).

[If you use Brauni or other software:] The platform [name] is used for the management of the digital medical records, which complies with [mention certifications or security measures].

5. Fees and cancellations

The value of each session is $[mount]. Cancellations must be made at least [quantity] hours in advance; otherwise, the session is deemed to have been made.

6. Patient rights

You have the right to:

Revocation of this consent at any time
Ask for information about your treatment
Access your medical records
Request referral from another professional

7. Declaration

I declare that I have read and understood the information provided. I have had the opportunity to ask questions and these have been answered satisfactorily. I give my free and voluntary consent to begin treatment.

	Patient	Professional
Signature	_________________	_________________
clarification	_________________	_________________
DNI	_________________	M. P. ________________
Date	//________	//________

A copy of this document is given to the patient.

Council

With Brauni, you can generate informed consent directly from the profile of each patient. The professional and patient data are automatically completed, and the document is linked to the digital medical records.

For: [Name of minor]

Date: ___________________

Hello [Name]. My name is [Professional name] and I am a psychologist.

Your [paps/mom/papa/tutor] asked me to meet you to talk. I want to explain how these meetings work:

What are we going to do? We are going to have talks where you can tell me how you feel, what happens to you and what things worry you. Sometimes we will use games, drawings or other activities.
Is it mandatory? No. If at any point you don't want to keep coming, we can talk about it.
What we talk about is private? Yes. What you tell me is between us. I am not going to tell your [paps/mom/pah] what we talked about, except that you or someone is in danger — in that case, I am going to seek help to take care of you.
Can you ask questions? Yes, whatever you want. Now or anytime.

Do you agree that we should start meeting?

Yes, I agree.
I prefer not to participate for now

Signature or name: _____________________

Date: ___________________

Here are the problems we see most frequently:

Customizable templates: Create your own consent model with the fields you need
Autocompleted Data: Professional and patient data are automatically loaded
Digital signature: The patient can sign from his device
Safe storage: The document is linked to the medical records with end-to-end encryption
Versed: If you update the consent, the previous versions are retained

Free Brauni test for 30 days, no card

Automatic session notes, digital medical records and more.

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Summary

Concept	Description
Informed consent	Voluntary agreement of the adult patient after receiving clear information on treatment
Informed consent	Explanation adapted for minors (usually from 12 years) — complements the consent of the responsible adult
Is it mandatory?	Yes, by Law 26.529 (Art. 6), Law 26.657 and codes of professional ethics
Written or verbal?	Verbal by default (Art. 7). Written only for hospitalization, surgery, invasive procedures. In psychotherapy it is verbal, but it is recommended written as good practice
Can it be revoked?	Yes, at any time (Art. 10, Law 26.529)
Exceptions to confidentiality	Risk of life, child abuse, court order

Informed consent in psychology: what is it, when to use it and downloadable model

Is it mandatory in Argentina?

National Mental Health Act 26.657

Patient Rights Act 26.529

Personal Data Protection Act 25.326

Codes of professional ethics

1.

2. Patient data

3. Treatment information

4. Limits of confidentiality

5. Handling of personal data

6. Patient's rights

7. Signature and date

How to write an informed assent?

Special situations

Online therapy

Couple or family therapy

Psychodiagnosis evaluations

Using a generic model without adapting

Do not explain verbally

Do not include exceptions to confidentiality

Do not save a signed copy

Summary

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