OUR PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY & online counselling
collection & storage of personal information
At Switzer Counselling & Psychotherapy Associates, we are committed to collecting, using, storing, and disclosing client personal information responsibly and in compliance with our regulating college and privacy laws. Our psychotherapy services and document management system comply with Federal and Provincial privacy legislation, including Personal Protection of Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). We are required by law to retain personal information gathered during your treatment and store it securely for a specific period of time, after which your file is destroyed. We use a secure, web-based professional practice management system called OWL to store electronic client records and we securely store/lock paper format client information. OWL is operated by a Canadian based company with servers in Canada. The information collected by our system and in paper format when you register as well as during and after services have ended is used solely for the purpose of providing professional and responsible psychotherapy.
Right to Access Your Personal Information
You have the right to access and view the personal information that we collect. You may also ask for any information to be corrected. Please contact us with questions and concerns.
secure web-based videoconference psychotherapy
We use the secure telemedicine platform that is integrated with our practice management system - OWL - to provide online/virtual psychotherapy services. OWL is used and trusted by many Canadian mental health professionals. OWL is an easy to use secure web-based platform that clients can access via any device using a web browser and wifi/internet connection. We do not send links for each appointment, rather each client logs into their account through our Client Portal: https://oab.owlpractice.ca/switzercounselling at the time of their session and joins the session from the portal.
We chose OWL for our online/virtual psychotherapy services for several reasons: ease of use, functionality and security and encryption protocols, which are compliant with PIPEDA and PHIPPA. We want to assure the integrity of data and that client privacy is maintained at all times during your treatment.
email, text & Social media
We recommend that clients limit the personal information shared via general email or text, as these are not a secure form of communication. While our offices use email that is compliant with PEPEDA and PHIPA, we are aware that most client emails may not have extra data security protools. If you consent to the use of email or text communication during your treatment, and upon completing our consent form, you thereby assume responsibility for the risk involved in communicating through email or text that may not be entirely secure.
For your privacy & protection, we do not provide psychotherapy or discuss client's clinical issues via text or email. We also do not respond to client contact that is made through a therapist's personal social media or email accounts.
confidentiality & limits to confidentiality
We do not share client information without their written consent. However, there are limits to confidentiality and circumstances that require we share client information with third parties without a client's consent. Any disclosure that is made as a result of those circumstances will be limited to information that is necessary while protecting personal details of a client's treatment. The limits to client confidentiality are as follows:
- If your therapist believes you are in immediate and serious risk of harming yourself or another(s).
- If you disclose that a minor under the age of 18 years, or another vulnerable person, is being abused or is at risk of harm, as Registered Psychotherapists are required by law to report this to authorities, such as your Emergency Contact, Children's Aid and/or the police.
- If you disclose inappropriate sexual conduct of a medical doctor or other regulated health professional, Registered Psychotherapists must alert the regulating body of that professional.
- Registered Psychotherapists must surrender client information, in some cases entire case files, if ordered to do so by court order or subpoena.
Please contact us for further information or clarification at 905.598.1859 or info@switzercounselling.ca.