Confidentiality & Privacy Policy

The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission.

Exceptions include:

• Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse, for which I am required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, I must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
• If a client intends to harm himself or herself, I will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, I will take further measures without their permission that are provided to me by law in order to ensure their safety.

To protect your confidentiality and to uphold my professional ethics and to avoid dual relationships, I do not communicate with patients using social media.  Other than receiving emails to initiate services, I do not text or email patients around clinical matters.  With your permission, appointment reminders will be sent via text, phone, and email.  Text and email are not secure forms of communication, as records of text messages can be accessed by your cell phone carrier and by the holder of the cell account.  Regarding websites which grade providers, such as Healthgrades, I do not respond to any comments written online about me in order to protect patient confidentiality.  Please contact me directly if you have questions about any information regarding me or New Leaf Institute on those sites.