Privacy Policy

PURPOSE

FreeBird Counselling is committed to upholding client confidentiality and protecting personal health information. The following is the Privacy Policy for FreeBird Counselling and exists to inform clients of our responsibilities and your rights around the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA), and the standards set out by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW). This policy applies to anyone who is a current or past client of FreeBird Counselling.

COLLECTING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

The primary purpose of collecting personal information is to provide therapeutic and consultation services. FreeBird Counselling will collect and use personal information only as it is relevant to the rendering of therapeutic services as requested by you. This personal information may be used for the purposes of providing psychotherapy services to you, responding to phone or email inquiries, to provide resources to augment your therapy experience, to organize consultations with other professionals, or to contact you in order to manage appointments and cancellations.

The information FreeBird Counselling collects about you may include your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, presenting concerns, medical history, records of your psychotherapy sessions and the supports or recommendations you have received during your interactions with FreeBird Counselling.

All personal information collected will be recorded electronically via the Jane Software Inc., a a SOC 2 Type 2 certified electronic health record platform. To learn more about Jane’s security measures, please visit: https://jane.app/security-and-trust. All client records are owned and retained by FreeBird Counselling unless a transfer is authorized by the client in writing.

EMAIL, INTERNET, ELECTRONIC DEVICES, TEXTING AND MESSAGING

Please note that there are risks to using technology to communicate. Texting, emails and messaging through social media sites are not considered secure and confidential. Computer and e-mail communication can be accessed by unauthorized people which can compromise the privacy and confidentiality of our communication. E-mails, in particular, are vulnerable due to the unlimited and direct access that email servers have.

For the protection of your privacy, please do not text, message, or email any private information you would not be comfortable sharing in a more public domain or any content related to your therapy session.

You may wish to protect your personal information by using pins and passwords, encryption and/or by deleting texts, messages, emails once you have completed the communication. If you must communicate confidential information through email, texts, or social media messages, FreeBird Counselling will assume that you understand the risks of this communication. Emails, texts, and social media messages or posts may be included in your client record.

Please DO NOT use e-mail, texts, or social media/website messaging for emergencies. If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 911 or go to your local emergency room. You can also call your local mental health crisis lines such as Distress Centres Lanark, Leeds & Grenville 1-800-465-4442 open 5pm – 12 am daily, The Suicide Crisis Hotline call or text 9-8-8, available 24/7/365, Lanark County Mental Health Crisis Services 613-283-2170 open Mon – Fri. 8am – 4pm.

www.freebirdcounselling.com exists for the purpose of educating potential and current clients regarding the services provided at FreeBird Counselling & Consultation Services. www.freebirdcounselling.com does not actively collect personal and identifiable information about you. Google analytics collects statistics on popular webpages, search terms, browsers, operating systems and devices used. This information is given as aggregate data and is not personally identifiable. Internet browsers may passively, and not at my request, collect IP addresses and locations.

PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION

FreeBird Counselling treats all aspects of your personal information with the greatest care and takes active steps to protect your information. As per the requirements of PIPEDA, PHIPA and OCSWSSW, FreeBird Counselling securely stores client/clinical information via the online practice management system, Jane Software Inc..

Data entered into the Jane platform is stored on secure SOC 2 audited servers In Montreal and Calgary. Jane Data is encrypted using 128-bit encryption when sent between your device and our servers, and stored with 256-bit encryption (in the same way as your banking information would be).

FreeBird Counselling may also have paper files holding rough session notes. These notes are either under direct supervision or secure in locked or restricted areas when not in use.

All electronic hardware is either under direct supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area when not in use. In addition, security access systems are used on all devices including computers and phones. Electronic information is transmitted through either a direct line or is anonymized or encrypted.

In the unlikely event that there is a breach of privacy with respect to your personal health information, FreeBird Counselling will notify you immediately of this breach.

RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

FreeBird Counselling is legally required to retain personal information for 10 years after the last client contact. Paper files are then subject to confidential shredding and disposal. Electronic information is destroyed by deleting it and when the hardware is eventually discarded, the hard drive is physically destroyed.

If Samantha Davidson, sole proprietor of FreeBird Counselling, were to pass away or become unable to practice for whatever reason, your file would become the responsibility of an alternate designated clinician. You may wish to ask who has been appointed as responsible for your file in this eventuality.

RELEASING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

All services at FreeBird Counselling are confidential, and our psychotherapists are not authorized to disclose your personal information to any third party without your informed, written, and signed consent. If you would like FreeBird Counselling to provide information from your file to another person, a Release of Information form must be filled out providing your written authorization. FreeBird Counselling will only release information that has been collected directly by FreeBird Counselling, while any other reports provided to us by allied health providers will not be released by FreeBird Counselling. Should you wish to review your file or the information that is being released in advance, your psychotherapist will review it with you before releasing the information. FreeBird Counselling reserves the right to charge a nominal fee for copying your file.

There are exceptions to confidentially wherein FreeBird Counselling has a legal duty to divulge personal information about you to a third party without your explicit consent. Your psychotherapist will do their best to notify you if one of these situations occurs. These exceptions include:

Risk of harm to self or others: If your psychotherapist has reason to believe that you are at risk of harming yourself or another person, they are obligated to take protective actions, which may include contacting family members, emergency services, potential victims, and/or the police.
Suspected abuse or neglect: If your psychotherapist has reasonable cause to believe that a child, elderly person, or vulnerable adult is being abused or neglected, they are required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities, such as Child Welfare or Adult Protective Services.
Legal proceedings: If you are involved in legal proceedings, your records may be subject to subpoena or court order. While your psychotherapist will make every effort to protect your privacy, they must comply with valid court orders.
Insurance billing requirements: If you are using insurance, your psychotherapist may be required to provide certain information to your insurance company, such as a diagnosis, treatment plan, or treatment summary.

Your psychotherapist may also discuss your personal information with a registered clinical psychologist/social worker acting as a supervisor or a peer supervision group, comprised of registered professionals, with whom FreeBird Counselling has entered consulting agreements. Personal identifiers are not revealed when discussing your case. Please note that these professionals are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as outlined above.

ACCESSING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

Clients have a right to view or receive a copy of their file, or portions of the file, if this information is still available. Clients also have the right to request a correction to their personal health information if it is inaccurate or incomplete.

Any information either given by third parties, or about third parties that is contained in the file, is required to be blacked out, to preserve the third party’s privacy.

Access requests by clients can be refused if there is a risk of significant harm to either the client or to others by releasing the information. If access cannot be provided, you will be informed within 30 days. FreeBird Counselling reserves the right to charge a nominal fee for copying your file.

QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS

The information contained in this policy is subject to periodic revision and changes. The current version will always be posted to www.freebirdcounselling.com and FreeBird Counselling will inform you of any changes during your next scheduled session. If you have any questions about this policy please contact FreeBird counselling directly at hello@freebirdcounselling.com. If you wish to make a formal complaint about this policy, please do so in writing to FreeBird Counselling. We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint, ensure that it is investigated promptly, and provide you with a formal response in writing.