NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
The Art of Healing Counseling Services
Effective Date: October 3, 2026
YOUR INFORMATION. YOUR RIGHTS. OUR RESPONSIBILITIES.
This notice describes how medical and mental-health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
Your Rights
· Get an electronic or paper copy of your health record.
· Ask us to correct your health record.
· Request confidential communications.
· Ask us to limit what information we use or share.
· Get a list of certain disclosures of your information.
· Get a paper copy of this notice.
· Choose someone to act for you.
· File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
Your Choices
For certain health information, you may tell us your choices about what we share. This can include sharing information with family, close friends, or others involved in your care or payment for your care, and certain disaster-relief situations.
We will not use or disclose your information for marketing purposes, sell your information, or disclose most psychotherapy notes unless you give us written authorization, except as otherwise permitted or required by law.
Our Uses and Disclosures
We may use and disclose your protected health information as permitted or required by law. Common purposes include the following:
Treatment: We may use your information and share it with other health professionals involved in your treatment when permitted by law.
Health Care Operations: We may use and share your information to operate the practice, improve care, manage services, and contact you when necessary.
Payment: We may use and share information to bill and obtain payment from health plans or other responsible parties.
Public Health and Safety: We may disclose information for legally authorized public-health and safety purposes, including certain reports of abuse or neglect and situations involving a serious threat to health or safety.
Legal Requirements: We will disclose information when federal or state law requires us to do so, including to health-oversight authorities when legally authorized.
Workers' Compensation, Law Enforcement, and Government Requests: We may use or disclose information for these purposes when the applicable legal requirements are met.
Judicial and Administrative Proceedings: We may disclose information in response to a valid court or administrative order, subpoena, or other lawful process when permitted or required by law.
Other Legally Permitted Purposes: Other uses or disclosures may include research, certain decedent matters, or other purposes specifically permitted by applicable law.
Special Protection for Mental-Health and Substance-Use Information
Mental-health records, psychotherapy notes, and substance-use-disorder information may receive protections in addition to the protections provided by HIPAA. The Art of Healing Counseling Services will follow applicable federal and state laws when those laws provide greater privacy protection.
To the extent we maintain substance-use-disorder patient records that are subject to 42 CFR Part 2, we will not use or disclose those records in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or proceedings against you without your written consent or as otherwise authorized by a qualifying court order and applicable legal process.
Your Rights in More Detail
Get a copy of your record
You may ask to see or obtain an electronic or paper copy of your health record and other health information we maintain about you. We generally will provide a copy or summary within the time required by law and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee when permitted.
Ask us to correct your record
You may ask us to correct information that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. We may deny the request in circumstances allowed by law, but we will explain a denial in writing.
Request confidential communications
You may ask us to contact you in a particular way or at a particular location. We will accommodate reasonable requests as required by law.
Ask us to limit what we use or share
You may ask us not to use or share certain information for treatment, payment, or health-care operations. We are not always required to agree. If you pay in full out of pocket for a service, you may ask us not to disclose information about that service to your health plan for payment or health-care operations, unless disclosure is required by law.
Get an accounting of disclosures
You may ask for an accounting of certain disclosures of your health information for the period allowed by law. Certain disclosures, including many made for treatment, payment, or health-care operations, are not included.
Get a copy of this notice
You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
Choose someone to act for you
If a person has legal authority to act as your personal representative, that person may exercise your privacy rights as permitted by law. We will verify that authority before acting.
Complaints
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may contact The Art of Healing Counseling Services using the contact information below. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
HHS Office for Civil Rights complaint information: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/
Our Responsibilities
· We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information.
· We will notify you as required by law if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
· We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in the notice currently in effect.
· We will not use or disclose your information other than as described in this notice unless you authorize us in writing or another use or disclosure is permitted or required by law.
· If you give written authorization, you may revoke it in writing as allowed by law.
Changes to This Notice
We may change the terms of this notice. Changes may apply to all protected health information we maintain, including information created or received before the change. The current notice will be available on our website and upon request.
Privacy Contact
The Art of Healing Counseling Services
Angela Stillwell, LPC — Privacy Contact
Email: office@angela-stillwell.com