Pa. Cons. Stat. » 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. (JUDICIARY) / Chapter 59
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5944 (2026)

 Confidential communications to psychiatrists or licensed psychologists.

✓ current as of May 2026
Coverage note: this corpus holds the consolidated Pa.C.S. titles only. Unconsolidated P.S. statutes (UTPCPL 73 P.S. § 201-1, Liquor Code, wage payment laws) are not included; a miss here does not mean the statute does not exist. Check palegis.us.
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section PA-LEGpalegis.us JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§ 5944.  Confidential communications to psychiatrists or licensed psychologists.

No psychiatrist or person who has been licensed under the act of March 23, 1972 (P.L.136, No.52), to practice psychology shall be, without the written consent of his client, examined in any civil or criminal matter as to any information acquired in the course of his professional services in behalf of such client. The confidential relations and communications between a psychologist or psychiatrist and his client shall be on the same basis as those provided or prescribed by law between an attorney and client.

(Dec. 22, 1989, P.L.722, No.96, eff. 60 days)

 

Cross References.  Section 5944 is referred to in sections 4415, 4436, 6352.2 of this title; sections 566, 586 of Title 2 (Administrative Law and Procedure).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 101 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 1983–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Sanchez, 610 A.2d 1020 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Commonwealth v. Sanchez, 610 A.2d 1020 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992). · cites it 30× “Appellant also contends that statements which he made in the prison psychiatric unit were protected from disclosure by the statutory psychiatrist-patient privilege found at 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944 and by the confidentiality provisions of the Mental Health Procedures Act.”
Zane v. Friends Hosp., 836 A.2d 25 (Pa. 2003). · cites it 9× “, as well as the statutory provision regarding confidential communications to psychiatrists and licensed psychologists found at 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944. For the reasons stated below, we reverse the order of the Superior Court.”
Commonwealth v. Patosky, 656 A.2d 499 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995). · cites it 14× “In 1989, the legislature amended 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944 to read as follows: No psychiatrist or person who has been licensed .”
Gates v. Gates, 967 A.2d 1024 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2009). · cites it 5× “§ 7111(a) (Confidentiality of records) and 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944 (Confidential communications to psychiatrists or licensed psychologists) ] by ordering Mother to execute releases making her psychiatric treatment records available to the court and to Father? II.”
Com. v. Segarra, B., 228 A.3d 943 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2020). · cites it 4× “Regardless, as discussed infra, all confidential communications made and information given by D.G. to her entire mental health treatment team at the Horsham Clinic are absolutely privileged under section 5944 of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.”
Commonwealth v. Kennedy, 604 A.2d 1036 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1992). · cites it 6× “Pertinent to our case, the supreme court also stated: It is without question that the privilege would exist if the victims had sought private psychotherapeutic treatment.”
Com. v. Lehman, P., 275 A.3d 513 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022). · cites it 2× “In Flynn, a criminal case, this Court held that a psychiatrist’s testimony, offered to rebut the defendant’s ____________________________________________ 10 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944 prohibits the examination of a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist “in any civil or criminal matter as…”
Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996). · cites it 2× “1; 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5944 (1982); R. I. Gen.”
Commonwealth v. Wilson, 602 A.2d 1290 (Pa. 1992). · cites it 4× “It is without question that the privilege would exist if the victims had sought private psychotherapeutic treatment.”
Gormley v. Edgar, 995 A.2d 1197 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2010). · cites it 3× “S. § 7101 et seq., the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act, 50 P.”
In re T.B., 75 A.3d 485 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013). · cites it 5× “also alleged that the record provided to the SOAB “contained confidential communications from a delinquent child to a psychiatrist or licensed psychologist derived from the course of treatment and therefore should have been redacted pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944,” which pertains…”
M.M. v. L.M., 55 A.3d 1167 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2012). · cites it 4× “§ 7111(a) 2 and the statutory privileges outlined in the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5944, 3 regarding confidential communications to psychiatrists or licensed psychologists.”
Show all 101 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.