Can my therapy records be subpoenaed?

A: A subpoena can ask; California's psychotherapist-patient privilege usually lets you refuse.¹ Your therapist must protect the records and assert the privilege on your behalf unless a court orders otherwise. The main way protection is lost: you put your mental state at issue in a lawsuit — claiming emotional-distress damages in an injury case, for example, can open related records. Custody disputes and criminal cases produce the hardest fights, decided by judges, often with private review of records first.

Worked example: your employer's lawyer subpoenas records in a wage dispute → privilege asserted → records stay closed; your mental state isn't at issue in unpaid overtime.

Do this: if you're in or expecting litigation, tell your lawyer you're in therapy before records questions arise, and tell your therapist a subpoena arrived the day it does. Neither is a crisis; both have routines.

Source: 1. Cal. Evidence Code §§1014, 1016 — leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. This is general information, not legal advice — a lawyer can apply it to your case.