OUR PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY & ONLINE COUNSELLING
UNDERSTANDING YOUR PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY
Privacy, Confidentiality & Your Rights
At Switzer Counselling & Psychotherapy Associates, we are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal health information responsibly. We collect, use, store, and disclose your information in accordance with applicable privacy legislation, including the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and, where applicable, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), as well as the professional standards of our regulating college.
Your information is collected and used to provide safe, professional, and responsible psychotherapy services. Electronic records are securely maintained through OWL, our professional practice management system. Paper records are securely stored in locked, protected areas. OWL is operated by a Canadian company with servers located in Canada.
We are required to retain your records for a specified period of time. When your records are no longer required to be retained, they are securely destroyed in accordance with applicable requirements.
Your Right to Access Your Information
You have the right to request access to your personal health information and to request corrections if you believe your information is inaccurate or incomplete, subject to limited legal exceptions.
If you have questions about your information, your records, privacy, or confidentiality, please contact our office.
Confidentiality & Limits to Confidentiality
Your privacy and confidentiality are an important part of psychotherapy. We do not disclose your personal health information without your consent unless disclosure is permitted or required by law.
There are certain circumstances where your therapist may be required or permitted to share information with another person, organization, or authority. These may include:
- Serious risk of harm: Where there are reasonable grounds to believe disclosure is necessary to reduce or eliminate a significant risk of serious bodily harm to you or another person.
- Child or vulnerable-person protection: Where the law requires your therapist to make a report concerning a child or another person who may be in need of protection.
- Mandatory professional reporting: Certain circumstances may require your therapist to report information about another regulated health professional to their regulatory college.
- Legal requirements: Your therapist may be required to provide information in response to a valid court order, subpoena, or other legal authority.
When information must or may be disclosed without your consent, only the information reasonably necessary for the purpose of the disclosure will be shared, where permitted by law.
Whenever possible and appropriate, your therapist will talk with you about the situation and explain what information may need to be shared and why.
HOW WE STORE AND PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS STORED, PROTECTED & RETAINED
We use OWL, a secure telemedicine platform integrated with our practice management system, to provide online and virtual psychotherapy. OWL is a secure, web-based platform that can be accessed from a computer, tablet, or other compatible device using an internet connection. You do not receive a new meeting link for each appointment. Instead, you access your scheduled session through your Switzer Client Portal and join your appointment directly from your account.
Your electronic client records are stored securely on protected servers. In accordance with applicable requirements, your clinical records are retained for 10 years after the end of your treatment, after which they are securely destroyed.
Email, Text & Social Media
For your privacy and security, we recommend that you avoid sharing personal, clinical, or sensitive information by regular email or text message. Email and text messages may not provide the same level of security as our secure client portal and telemedicine platform.
Please be aware that all electronic communications related to your care—including emails, text messages, portal messages, and other electronic correspondence—become part of your clinical record and are retained as part of your file. These records are subject to the same retention and secure destruction requirements as the rest of your clinical record.
Social media should not be used to communicate confidential or clinical information with your therapist. We do not use social media platforms to provide psychotherapy or communicate about your treatment.
If you choose to communicate with us by email or text, you understand that these methods may carry privacy and security risks and that any communication related to your care will become part of your clinical record.
If you are unsure about the safest way to communicate with us, please contact our office.