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Privacy Policy

 

Effective Date: April  15, 2020

Cindy Lerner Counseling (“we,” “us” and “our”) provides mental health care services, including virtual services, intended to increase access to emotional and social support, as well as to promote early detection of mental health symptoms. Privacy is extremely important to us, and we have taken several steps to protect your information.

This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes how we collect, use, disclose and store the Personal Information you provide to us through the website and mobile application tools that provide the services described above (collectively, the “Services”). Please review this Privacy Policy carefully and in its entirety. If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at : cindy [at] cindylernercounseling [dot com].

This Privacy Policy describes:

  • The Personal Information we collect when you interact with the Services;
  • How we use and process the Personal Information that we collect;
  • How we may share Personal Information with third parties;
  • The security of your Personal Information;
  • Our social media policies.
  1. Acceptance of the Privacy Policy

PLEASE REVIEW THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. When you submit your Personal Information to or through the Services, you consent to the collection and processing of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy. By using the Services, you accept the terms of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.

  1. Effective Date and Changes to Privacy Policy

The Effective Date of this Privacy Policy is set forth at the top of this Privacy Policy. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time at our discretion and when required by law, we will notify you of changes to this Privacy Policy. Material changes will be posted to this page and will be emailed to registered users. Your continued use of the Services after the Effective Date constitutes your acceptance of the amended Privacy Policy. The amended Privacy Policy supersedes all previous versions.

  1. Personal Information We Collect

We require certain Personal Information to provide our Services to you. “Personal Information” may include contact information such as your first name, last name, email address, location, phone number, certain demographic information such as age, gender, race-ethnicity, primary language spoken, sexual orientation, disabilities, and veteran status, information about your health and medical history that you may input while using or communicating through the Services, and information about how you interact with and use your device. Personal Information that has been anonymized is not Personal Information as it does not allow for a specific individual to be identified.

Without providing your Personal Information, you may not access Services through Cindy Lerner Counseling, contact or correspond with us, other users, or utilize the therapy exercises and programs available on the Services.

  • Account Setup. When you sign up for an account with us, we ask for and collect Personal Information such as your name, a valid email address, phone number, birth date, and address. We need this information to provide you with the Services.
  • Paid Services. If you purchase paid services, such as therapy or other upgrades, Personal Information such as billing name, address, and credit card payment information will be collected to process payment.
  • Mental Health Services. We collect your Personal Information when you access mental health services through our Services when you contact or correspond with us.
  • Browser Information and Cookies. We use browser information (e.g., IP addresses and browser types), cookies and pixel tags to determine what data or information should be shown on your browser when you are visiting our Site. We may also use browser information, cookies and pixel tags: to determine how you arrived at our Site, to determine whether you are a return visitor, to help us improve our product and service offerings, for quality assurance and training purposes, to help diagnose problems with our servers, to gather broad demographic information, to administer and optimize our services, and for other lawful purposes. Please refer to the “Cookies” section below for more information.

Users can request a download of their own Personal Information that Cindy Lerner Counseling currently stores, and also request deletion of their account and associated Personal Information. We reserve the right to prevent a User from exercising such rights in certain circumstances, as permitted by law. For example, if the User in question has broken the terms laid out in the Terms, caused harm or has abused our Services, or has negatively impacted other members. In this case, we retain the right to keep some of your Personal Information in order to provide more security and safety to our members.

  1. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small files, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded onto your computer or mobile device when you visit certain websites.

  • How We Use Cookies. Generally, we use first-party and third-party cookies for the following purposes:
    • to make our Services function properly;
    • to provide a secure browsing experience during your use of our Services;
    • to collect passive information about your use of our Services;
    • to help us improve our Services; and
    • to remember your preferences for your convenience.
  • Types of Cookies on Our Services. We use the following types of cookies on our Services:
    • Strictly Necessary Cookies. These cookies are essential because they enable you to move around and use our Services. For example, strictly necessary cookies allow you to access secure areas on our Services. Without these cookies, some services cannot be provided. These cookies do not gather information about you for marketing purposes. This category of cookies is essential for our Services to work and they cannot be disabled.
    • Functional Cookies. We use functional cookies to remember your choices so we can tailor our Services to provide you with enhanced features and personalized content. For example, these cookies can be used to remember your name or preferences on our Services. We do not use functional cookies to target you with online marketing. While these cookies can be disabled, this may result in less functionality during your use of our Services.
    • Performance or Analytics Cookies. These cookies collect anonymous passive information about how you use our Services, including web pages you visit and links you click. We use the information collected by such cookies to improve and optimize our Services. We do not use these cookies to target you with online marketing. You can disable these cookies.
    • Third-Party Cookies. These are cookies that are provided by third-party service providers and belong in one of the cookie categories described above. These third-party providers process your Personal Information on our behalf pursuant to our instructions and obligations consistent with this Privacy Policy.
  • How to Manage Cookies. Depending on whether you would like to manage a first-party or third-party cookie, you will need to take the following steps:
    • First-Party Cookies. You can enable, disable or delete our cookies through the browser you are using to access our Services. To do this, follow the instructions provided by your browser (usually located within the “Help”, “Tools” or “Edit” settings). Please note, if you set your browser to disable cookies, you may not be able to access secure areas of our Services, and/or parts of the Services may not work properly for you. You can find more information about how to change your browser cookie settings at http://www.allaboutcookies.org.
    • Third-Party Cookies. Modern browsers also allow you to block third-party cookies using the steps described above.
  • Pixel Tags. We also use pixel tags throughout our Services. Pixel Tags are small graphic images that are embedded in a web page or email for purposes of tracking activity on web pages or whether a user has opened or accessed an email. A pixel tag may be set to identify on what browser and computer it was viewed, whether that browser has cookies received from a server associated with the pixel tag, and whether the web page or email with the pixel tag was forwarded or copied.
  1. Why We Collect Your Personal Information

We may use Personal Information that we collect about you for various purposes, including:

  • To operate, provide and improve our Services;
  • To communicate with you regarding our Services promotions;
  • To ensure network and information security;
  • To provide customer support and respond to your inquires; and
  • To protect you, us, and other users.
  1. Personal Information We Share

We may share and disclose Personal Information as follows:

  • Third-Party Service Providers Performing Services on Our Behalf. We share Personal Information, with certain third-party service providers that assist us in providing the Services and which are bound by duties of confidentiality. For example, we may use third parties to host the Services, to send out email updates about the Services, administrative services, financial services, quality assurance, data aggregation or remove repetitive information from our user lists.
  • Healthcare Providers. If you have been referred to the Services as part of a care plan by your healthcare provider, we may share your Personal Information with your healthcare provider to facilitate care.
  • For Legal Purposes. We will disclose your Personal Information as we deem necessary to respond to a subpoena, regulation, binding order of a data protection agency, legal process, governmental request or other legal or regulatory processes. We may also share your Personal Information as required to pursue available remedies or limit damages we may sustain.
  • Welfare Assurance. We may disclose your Personal Information directly to law enforcement or local authorities in the event that it has been reasonably determined that your safety or the safety of others may be at risk.
  • Business Transfer. In the event of a merger, reorganization, consolidation, restructuring, bankruptcy, sale of substantially all interests or assets, or other similar transaction, we may transfer you Personal Information to the subsequent owner or operator of the Services.
  • Anonymized Data. We may de-identify your Personal Information, in compliance with applicable law and aggregate such de-identified data with the de-identified data of other users.Such anonymized, aggregated data is no longer considered Personal Information. We may then share such anonymized aggregated data with the sponsors of programs that facilitate your access to the Services, such as government health agencies, researchers or healthcare providers.
  1. Security of Your Personal Information

While using any Internet-based service carries inherent security risks that cannot be 100% prevented, we use systems, infrastructure, encryption technology, operation, and processes that are designed, built, and maintained with your security and privacy in mind. We apply industry standards and best practices to prevent any unauthorized access, use, and disclosure. We comply with or exceed all applicable federal laws, state laws, and regulations regarding data privacy.

To protect you and your Personal Information we may suspend your use of our services, without notice, pending an investigation, if any breach of security is suspected.

  • Your Responsibilities. Users of the Services are responsible for maintaining the security of any password, user ID, or other forms of authentication involved in obtaining access to password-protected or secure areas of any of the Services.
  • Unauthorized Access. Access to and use of password-protected and/or secure areas of the Services are restricted to authorized users only. Unauthorized access to such areas or information is prohibited.
  • Encryption and Firewalls. All information, including but not limited to chat transcripts and personal information is encrypted during transmission. We use standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption that encodes information for such transmissions. All information received is maintained on secure servers in an encrypted format. Access to stored information is protected by multi-layered security controls including firewalls, encryption, role-based access controls, and passwords.
  1. Retention Period

Generally, we will retain your Personal Information for as long as your account or profile is active, or for the length of time needed to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Private messages are stored for up to one year.

  1. Nondiscrimination

Cindy Lerner Counseling does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

  1. Children’s Data

Cindy Lerner Counseling complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and Our Site and Services clearly specifies that users must be at least 18 years old. Children between the ages of 13-17 years old may only participate in our Services with parental consent. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with Personal Information without their consent, he or she should contact us at cindy [at] cindylernercounseling [dot com]. If we become aware that a child under 18 (or between the ages of 13-17 years old without parental consent) has provided us with Personal Information, we will take steps to delete such information from our files.

  1. Therapists as Mandated Reporters

Therapists are mandated reporters. Because of their profession, they have a legal obligation to report to authorities any signs of child abuse or vulnerable adult abuse. However, members cannot be forced to give any Personal Information. Adults who are in therapy provide Personal Information which will only be disclosed to the therapist if they or someone else is in imminent danger.

  1. Social Media Policies
  • Confidentiality is of the utmost importance in any therapeutic relationship. Therefore, we do not accept any requests for contact on any social networking sites.
  • Contact between sessions may be done by secure messaging or email. Please see the instructions in “Resources.”
  • Searching for client information by using search engines such as Google will only be done in times of crisis, when there is sufficient reason for concern about your safety, and available contact information is inadequate. In such a case, the incident will be documented.
  • Cindy Lerner Counseling may appear on business review sites, such as Yelp, Healthgrades, or other sites that may request reviews and/or ratings. We do not actively participate and do not request your endorsement. You have the right to use these sites as you see fit, but we recommend cautious language to protect your privacy.
  1. Notices

Please send all questions, comments, and notices regarding this Privacy Policy to cindy [at] cindylernercounseling. [dot com],  or call  434-226-0206.

 

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