Online Compliant Privacy Polices
* Signable version will be sent to potential clients through our portal after you make an appointment. *
June 12, 2024
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. values its users' privacy. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") will help you understand how we collect and use personal information from those who visit our website or make use of our online facilities and services, and what we will and will not do with the information we collect. Our Policy has been designed and created to ensure those affiliated with Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. of our commitment and realization of our obligation not only to meet, but to exceed, most existing privacy standards.
We reserve the right to make changes to this Policy at any given time. If you want to make sure that you are up to date with the latest changes, we advise you to frequently visit this page. If at any point in time Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. decides to make use of any personally identifiable information on file, in a manner vastly different from that which was stated when this information was initially collected, the user or users shall be promptly notified by email. Users at that time shall have the option as to whether to permit the use of their information in this separate manner.
This Policy applies to Hope In Healing Therapy Inc., and it governs any and all data collection and usage by us. Through the use of https://hopeinhealingtherapy.org, through our Electronic Health Record (EHR) and through text on our HIPAA compliant phone lines, you are therefore consenting to the data collection procedures expressed in this Policy.
Please note that this Policy does not govern the collection and use of information by companies that Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. does not control, nor by individuals not employed or managed by us. If you visit a website that we mention or link to, be sure to review its privacy policy before providing the site with information. It is highly recommended and suggested that you review the privacy policies and statements of any website you choose to use or frequent to better understand the way in which websites garner, make use of and share the information collected.
Specifically, this Policy will inform you of the following
1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through our website;
2. Why we collect personally identifiable information and the legal basis for such collection;
3. How we use the collected information and with whom it may be shared;
4. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data; and
5. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
Information We Collect
It is always up to you whether to disclose personally identifiable information to us, although if you elect not to do so, we reserve the right not to register you as a user or provide you with our services.
In addition, Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. may have the occasion to collect non-personal anonymous demographic information, such as age, gender, household income, political affiliation, race and religion, as well as the type of browser you are using, IP address, or type of operating system, which will assist us in providing and maintaining superior quality service.
Why We Collect Information and For How Long
We are collecting your data for several reasons:
· To better understand your needs and provide you with the services you have requested;
· To fulfill our legitimate interest in improving our services;
· To send you promotional emails containing information we think you may like when we have your consent to do so;
· To contact you to fill out surveys or participate in other types of market research, when we have your consent to do so;
· To customize our website according to your online behavior and personal preferences.
The data we collect from you will be stored for no longer than necessary. The length of time we retain said information will be determined based upon the following criteria: the length of time your personal information remains relevant; the length of time it is reasonable to keep records to demonstrate that we have fulfilled our duties and obligations; any limitation periods within which claims might be made; any retention periods prescribed by law or recommended by regulators, professional bodies or associations; the type of contract we have with you, the existence of your consent, and our legitimate interest in keeping such information as stated in this Policy.
Use of Information Collected
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. does not now, nor will it in the future, sell, rent or lease any of its customer lists and/or names to any third parties.
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. may collect and may make use of personal information to assist in the operation of our website and to ensure delivery of the services you need and request. At times, we may find it necessary to use personally identifiable information as a means to keep you informed of other possible products and/or services that may be available to you from https://hopeinhealingtherapy.org
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. may also be in contact with you with regards to completing surveys and/or research questionnaires related to your opinion of current or potential future services that may be offered.
Disclosure of Information
Anything said in therapy is confidential and may not be revealed to a third party without written authorization, except for the following limitations:
· Child Abuse: Child abuse and/or neglect, which include but are not limited to domestic violence in the presence of a child, child on child sexual acting out/abuse, physical abuse, etc. If you reveal information about child abuse or child neglect, the therapists at Hope in Healing Therapy Inc are required by law to report this to the appropriate authority.
· Vulnerable Adult Abuse: Vulnerable adult abuse or neglect. If information is revealed about vulnerable adult or elder abuse, the therapists at Hope in Healing Therapy Inc required by law to report this to the appropriate authority.
· Self-Harm: Threats, plans or attempts to harm oneself. The therapists at Hope in Healing Therapy Inc are permitted to take steps to protect the client’s safety, which may include disclosure of confidential information.
· Harm to Others: Threats regarding harm to another person. If you threaten bodily harm or death to another person, the therapists at Hope in Healing Therapy Inc are required by law to report this to the appropriate authority.
· Court Orders & Legal Issued Subpoenas: If the therapists at Hope in Healing Therapy Inc receive a subpoena for your records, they will contact you so you may take whatever steps you deem necessary to prevent the release of your confidential information. They will contact you twice by phone. If they cannot get in touch with you by phone, they will send you written correspondence. If a court of law issues a legitimate court order, your therapist or a therapist from Hope in Healing Therapy Inc is required by law to provide the information specifically described in the order. Despite any attempts to contact you and keep your records confidential, your therapist and Hope in Healing Therapy Inc is required to comply with a court order.
· Law Enforcement and Public health: A public health authority that is authorized by law to collect or receive such information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability; to a health oversight agency for oversight activities authorized by law, including audits; civil, administrative, or criminal investigations; inspections; licensure or disciplinary actions; civil, administrative, or criminal proceedings or action; limited information (such as name, address DOB, dates of treatment, etc.) to a law enforcement official for the purpose of identifying or locating a suspect, fugitive, material witness, or missing person; and information that your clinician believes in good faith establishes that a crime has been committed on the premises.
· Governmental Oversight Activities: To an appropriate agency information directly relating to the receipt of health care, claim for public benefits related to mental health, or qualification for, or receipt of, public benefits or services when your mental health is integral to the claim for benefits or services, or for specialized government functions such as fitness for military duties, eligibility for VA benefits, and national security and intelligence.
· Upon Your Death: To a law enforcement official for the purpose of alerting of your death if there is a suspicion that such death may have resulted from criminal conduct; to a coroner or medical examiner for the purpose of identifying a deceased person, determining a cause of death, or other duties as authorized by law.
· Victim of a Crime: Limited information, in response to a law enforcement official's request for information about you if you are suspected to be a victim of a crime; however, except in limited circumstances, we will attempt to get your permission to release information first.
· Court Ordered Therapy: If therapy is court ordered, the court may request records or documentation of participation in services. The therapists at Hope in Healing Therapy Inc will discuss the information and/or documentation with you in session prior to sending it to the court.
· Written Request: Clients must sign a release of information form before any information may be sent to a third party. A summary of visits may be given in lieu of actual “psychotherapy/progress notes”, except if the third party is part of the medical team. If therapy sessions involve more than one person, each person over the age of 18 MUST sign the release of information before information is released.
· Fee Disputes: In the case of a credit card dispute, Hope in Healing Therapy Inc. reserves the right to provide the necessary documentation (i.e. your signature on the “Therapy Consent & Agreement” that covers the cancellation policy to your bank or credit card company should a dispute of a charge occur. If there is a financial balance on account, a bill will be sent to the home address on the intake form unless otherwise noted.
· Couples Counseling & “No Secret” Policy: When working with couples, all laws of confidentiality exist. Hope in Healing Therapy Inc requests that neither partner attempt to triangulate your therapist into keeping a “secret” that is detrimental to the couple's therapy goal. If one partner requests that therapist keep a “secret” in confidence, the therapist may choose to end the therapeutic relationship and give referrals for other therapists as our work and your goals then become counter-productive. However, if one party requests a copy of couples or family therapy records in which they participated, an authorization from each participant (or their representatives and/or guardians) in the sessions before the records can be released.
· Dual Relationships & Public: Our relationship is strictly professional. In order to preserve this relationship, it is imperative that there is no relationship outside of the counseling relationship (i.e.: social, business, or friendship). If you run into any employer or employee of Hope in Healing Therapy Inc in a public setting, They will not acknowledge you as this would jeopardize confidentiality. If you were to acknowledge them, your confidentiality could be at risk.
· Social Media: No friend requests on our personal social media outlets (Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) will be accepted from current or former clients. If you choose to comment on our professional social media pages or posts, you do so at your own risk and may breach confidentiality. Hope in Healing Therapy Inc. cannot be held liable if someone identifies you as a client. Posts and information on social media are meant to be educational and should not replace therapy. Please do not contact me through any social media site or platform. They are not confidential, nor are they monitored, and may become part of medical record.
· Electronic Communication: If you need to contact your therapist outside of sessions, please do so via phone.
· Clients often use text or email as a convenient way to communicate in their personal lives. However, texting introduces unique challenges into the therapist–client relationship. Texting is not a substitute for sessions. Texting and communicating outside a secure portal is not confidential. Phones can be lost or stolen and emails can be intercepted. DO NOT communicate sensitive information over text. The identity of the person texting is unknown as someone else may have possession of the client’s phone.
· Do not use email for emergencies. In the case of an emergency call 911, 988 or go to the nearest emergency room. Additionally, e-mail is not a substitute for sessions. If you need to be seen, please call to book an appointment.
· E-mail is not confidential. Do not communicate sensitive medical or mental health information via email. Furthermore, if you send email from a work computer, your employer has the legal right to read it. E-mail is a part of your medical record.
Non-Marketing Purposes
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. greatly respects your privacy. We do maintain and reserve the right to contact you if needed for non-marketing purposes (such as bug alerts, security breaches, account issues, and/or changes in Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. products and services). In certain circumstances, we may use our website, newspapers, or other public means to post a notice.
Children under the age of 13
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc.'s website is not directed to, and does not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from, children under the age of thirteen (13). If it is determined that such information has been inadvertently collected on anyone under the age of thirteen (13), we shall immediately take the necessary steps to ensure that such information is deleted from our system's database, or in the alternative, that verifiable parental consent is obtained for the use and storage of such information. Anyone under the age of thirteen (13) must seek and obtain parent or guardian permission to use this website.
Unsubscribe or Opt-Out
All users and visitors to our website have the option to discontinue receiving communications from us by way of text, email, or newsletters. To discontinue or unsubscribe from our website please send an email that you wish to unsubscribe to admin@hopeinhealingtherapy.org. If you wish to unsubscribe or opt-out from any third-party websites, you must go to that specific website to unsubscribe or opt-out. Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. will continue to adhere to this Policy with respect to any personal information previously collected.
Links to Other Websites
Our website does contain links to affiliate and other websites. Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. does not claim nor accept responsibility for any privacy policies, practices and/or procedures of other such websites. Therefore, we encourage all users and visitors to be aware when they leave our website and to read the privacy statements of every website that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy Agreement applies only and solely to the information collected by our website and through our Electronic Health Record (EHR) portal on Theraplatform.
Notice to European Union Users
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc.'s operations are only located in the United States. If you provide information to us, the information will be transferred out of the European Union (EU) and sent to the United States. (The adequacy decision on the EU-US Privacy became operational on August 1, 2016. This framework protects the fundamental rights of anyone in the EU whose personal data is transferred to the United States for commercial purposes. It allows the free transfer of data to companies that are certified in the US under the Privacy Shield.) By providing personal information to us, you are consenting to its storage and use as described in this Policy.
Security
Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. takes precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website or EHR, your information is protected both online and offline. Wherever we collect sensitive information (e.g. credit card information), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for "https" at the beginning of the address of the webpage.
While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers and servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment. This is all done to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure or modification of the user's personal information under our control.
Acceptance of Terms
By using this website or the portal for our EHR, you are hereby accepting the terms and conditions stipulated within the Privacy Policy Agreement. If you are not in agreement with our terms and conditions, then you should refrain from further use of our sites. In addition, your continued use of our website following the posting of any updates or changes to our terms and conditions shall mean that you agree and acceptance of such changes.
How to Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Privacy Policy Agreement related to our website, please feel free to contact us at the following email, telephone number or mailing address.
Email: admin@hopeinhealingtherapy.org
Telephone Number: 8602654146
Mailing Address: Hope In Healing Therapy Inc. 49 Putnam BLVD #1025 Glastonbury, Connecticut 06033