Privacy Policy
The Well Counselling and Recovery Services is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding your personal information. This is one of the main tenets of our services and is therefore one of our highest priorities. The privacy policy of The Well Counselling and Recovery Services is comprehensive and complies with the requirements of PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004) and the 10 principles appended to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”).
PHIPA provides the rules for the collecting, using and disclosing of personal health information: protecting the confidentiality of the individual’s information and the privacy of the individual with respect to that information, while ensuring that effective health care is provided. Personal Health Information (PHI) refers to information both oral and written, that identifies an individual and relates to the person’s physical or mental health. At The Well Counselling and Recovery Services this information includes demographics, medical and mental health histories, insurance information and payments and is used to help determine appropriate levels of care.
How information is collected and used
- Client Information is collected primarily through intakes and regular sessions. Other means include appointment requests and disclosure of information to persons to whom there is express authorization to do so.
- The information collected is used to provide a service that is suitable for the client including but not limited to therapy, collaborating with other professionals involved in the care of the client, and invoicing third parties for payment.
Disclosing information and exceptions
Information shared in therapy is treated as confidential and will not be shared with any office or individual outside The Well Counselling and Recovery Services without the client’s signed and informed consent. Clients in couple, family or group therapy are responsible for the confidentiality of information they share in the group.
Under some circumstances, therapists are legally and ethically bound to disclose certain specific and relevant information to appropriate individuals or agencies. These circumstances include: reason to believe the client in therapy is a danger to themselves or may do harm to another person; reason to believe a minor has been, is, or may be in danger of neglect or abuse; response to a court order; a client reports reasonable suspicion or knowledge that a resident in a Long Term Care facility in Ontario is suffering or has suffered harm as a result of abuse or negligence by staff in the home; the therapist has reasonable grounds to believe another regulated health professional has sexually abused a client or patient.
In other cases, your therapist may share specific and relevant information with appropriate organizations without your consent. These circumstances include: reason to believe that another therapist has caused or is likely to cause you harm, a medical emergency, a court subpoena of your records or in response to a missing person investigation.
How information is kept private
Visual and auditory privacy are taken into consideration throughout The Well Counselling and Recovery Services and are enhanced by the use of closed office spaces and white noise. Offsite locations used for online therapy meet requirements for visual and auditory privacy. All client records and therapy-related material are securely and confidentially maintained for a minimum of ten years following the completion of the last therapy session, after which time, under normal circumstances, they are destroyed in a complete, responsible and professional manner. Any audio/video recordings are deleted on a regular basis.
Clients access to their records
Clients have a right to access their information and to correct errors in the presence of a therapist, supervisor, manager or director. The process is initiated by a written request from the client. Clients have a right to make a complaint if they identify errors in their personal health information.
Privacy breach
Should you feel that there is a breach of your personal health information, please contact Susan Zuidema, Owner. You may also contact the CRPO: 375 University Avenue, Suite 803, Toronto, ON M5G 2J5, (Tel:1–844–712–1364 or 416–479–4330), and the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC): 2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8 (Tel: 416–326–3333). In the event of a privacy breach, The Well Counselling and Recovery Services will notify the clients affected.
Cookies and Online Tracking Technologies
Our website uses cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to improve the functionality of the site and to understand how visitors interact with our content.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. They help the site function properly (e.g., keeping you logged in) and can collect information about how you use the site, such as pages visited and links clicked.
Types of cookies we use:
Essential cookies: Necessary for the operation of the website.
Analytics cookies: Used to collect information about how visitors use the site, such as page views, browser type, and device information. We may use tools such as Google Analytics to collect this data. These cookies do not directly identify you but may be considered personal information under Canadian privacy laws in some contexts. DOBRMAN
Why we use cookies:
We use cookies to:
Improve your experience on our website
Understand website usage and trends
Support website security and performance
Third-party services and tracking:
Our website may use third-party services (for example Google Analytics) that place cookies on your device. These third parties may collect and process data about your use of the site. We do not control these third parties’ practices, and we recommend reviewing their privacy policies.
Your choices:
Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically choose to block or delete cookies, though this may affect how the website functions. To learn more about managing cookies, consult your browser’s support documentation.
Google Analytics
Consent:
By using our website, you consent to the use of cookies and tracking technologies as described in this section.
Changes
When changes are made to our Privacy Policy, we will make the updated version available.