Privacy Policy | My Mental PEACE

Effective date: June 1, 2026

Privacy and trust are essential to meaningful mental health care. At My Mental PEACE, LLP ("we," "us," or "our"), we are committed to protecting your information and explaining your rights in clear, accessible language.

This notice describes how we may use and share your information. It also explains your rights under HIPAA and other privacy laws that may apply.

Introduction

This policy covers two kinds of privacy:

Website Privacy: This is about information collected when someone visits our website, fills out a contact form, asks about services, or schedules an initial consultation.
HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices: This is about Protected Health Information, also called PHI. PHI is health information that can identify you and is created or used when you become a client or patient.

A person who visits our website or asks about services may not be a client yet. Not all website information is PHI. For example, a name, email address, or message sent through a general contact form to schedule an initial consultation may be website information, not patient information.

Who We Are

My Mental PEACE, LLP provides mental health services, consultation, and related programming. We aim to offer care that is respectful, culturally responsive, and easy to understand.

When we provide healthcare services, we follow the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, and other privacy laws that apply to our work.

Scope of This Policy

This policy applies to:

People who visit our website
People who contact us about services, programs, or consultation
Clients and patients who receive services from us
Protected Health Information, also called PHI, when HIPAA applies

This notice does not replace informed consent forms, service agreements, telehealth consent forms, or other documents you may receive as part of care.

Website Privacy

Information We Collect Through the Website

We collect the least amount of information needed to respond to your request, provide services, and operate our website.

We may collect:

Contact information: Your name, phone number, email address, mailing address, and other information you choose to share.
Scheduling information: Information you provide to request an initial consultation or ask about services.
Program or general inquiry information: Information you provide when asking about workshops, programming, consultation, or other non-clinical services.
Website usage data: Information about how visitors use our website, such as pages visited, browser type, device type, general location, referral source, and IP address.
Payment information: Information needed to process payment, if applicable.

Please do not send sensitive clinical information through a general website contact form unless we specifically ask you to do so.

Contact Forms and Initial Consultation Requests

When you complete a contact form, you consent to My Mental PEACE, LLP contacting you using the information you provide.

Email collected for initial consultation scheduling through general contact forms is not considered patient information by itself. A person does not become a client or patient simply by visiting our website, filling out a contact form, or requesting a consultation.

We may respond by email to:

Initial consultation requests
Programming interest
Workshop or training questions
General questions that are not clinical
Other non-clinical inquiries

Clinical information should only be shared through the client portal or another secure system when you are an established client.

Website Analytics, Cookies, and Advertising

We may use analytics or advertising tools to understand general website performance. These tools may help us learn things like which pages people visit, how visitors find our site, and how people interact with the site.

We may use tools such as Google Ads or similar services. Website usage data is aggregated or de-identified where feasible.

We do not knowingly use analytics or advertising tools to collect, share, or target advertising based on Protected Health Information or specific health conditions. Where available, we configure these tools to limit the collection of sensitive information.

Some tools may use cookies or similar technologies. Cookies are small files that help a website work or help us understand general website activity. You may be able to limit or block cookies through your browser settings.

Email, Texting, Contact Forms, and Portal Communications

Different communication methods have different privacy risks.

Email, text messages, and general website contact forms may not be encrypted. This means they may not be the safest way to send private health details.

Please do not submit sensitive clinical information through general website contact forms, email, or text unless we specifically direct you to do so.

For established clients, clinically relevant information will be communicated through the client portal or another HIPAA-compliant system. Our client portal is operated and maintained by SimplePractice.

Telehealth and client portal services are intended to support privacy and HIPAA compliance when used for clinical care. We use HIPAA-compliant vendors where required.

Appointment reminders may be sent by email, text, phone, or portal message. As a standard practice, reminders may be sent about 72 hours before appointments. These reminders use minimal information. They may include the name of the practice and the provider scheduled.

HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

Protected Health Information, or PHI, is health information that can identify you. PHI may include:

Your name, date of birth, contact information, and other identifying details
Medical and mental health history
Diagnoses
Treatment plans
Medications
Assessment information
Progress notes
Billing and payment information related to care
Other information created or received as part of your care

We collect and use the minimum necessary PHI needed to provide care, manage payment, support healthcare operations, and meet legal requirements.

How We Use Information

We may use your information for the following reasons:

To provide care: We use PHI to provide therapy, assessment, consultation, treatment planning, care coordination, and other clinical services.
To schedule and communicate: We use contact information to schedule appointments, send reminders, and share service-related updates.
To process payment: We use billing information to collect payment, submit claims, verify benefits, and communicate about billing.
For healthcare operations: We may use PHI to support quality review, staff training, supervision, documentation, compliance, and service improvement.
To respond to general inquiries: We may use website or contact form information to respond to non-clinical questions.
To follow the law: We may use or share information when federal, state, or local law requires or allows us to do so.

How We Disclose Information

We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal information or PHI.

We may use or disclose PHI as permitted or required by HIPAA, including for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. Other uses and disclosures generally require your written authorization unless otherwise permitted or required by law.

We may share PHI in the following situations:

Treatment: We may share information with other healthcare providers involved in your care.
Payment: We may share information with insurers, billing services, or payment processors.
Healthcare operations: We may share information for quality review, compliance, training, supervision, and business operations.
Business associates: We may work with vendors who help us provide services, such as billing, electronic health records, scheduling, telehealth, or secure communication. These vendors must agree to protect PHI when HIPAA requires it.
Required by law: We may share information when a law requires us to do so.
Public health activities: We may share information for public health reporting when required or allowed by law.
Abuse, neglect, or domestic violence reporting: We may share information when reporting is required or allowed by law.
Health oversight activities: We may share information with agencies that oversee healthcare systems or professional licensing.
Judicial or administrative proceedings: We may share information in response to a court order, subpoena, or other lawful process.
Law enforcement: We may share information with law enforcement when required or allowed by law.
Coroners or medical examiners: We may share information with coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors when allowed by law.
Serious threat to health or safety: We may share information if needed to prevent or reduce a serious threat to someone’s health or safety.
Workers’ compensation: We may share information for workers’ compensation claims when required or allowed by law.

Psychotherapy Notes

We generally will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes without your written authorization, except in limited circumstances permitted by law.

Your HIPAA Rights

You have rights related to your PHI. To use these rights, you may need to make a written request. We may need to verify your identity before responding. HIPAA timelines apply. Some requests may be denied in limited situations. Fees may apply for copies where allowed by law.

Your rights include:

Right to access your records: You can ask to see or receive a copy of your PHI.
Right to request electronic copies: If your records are kept electronically, you can ask for an electronic copy.
Right to request an amendment: You can ask us to correct information you believe is wrong or incomplete.
Right to an accounting of disclosures: You can ask for a list of certain times we shared your PHI.
Right to request restrictions: You can ask us to limit how we use or share your PHI. We are not required to agree to every request.
Right to restrict disclosure to a health plan: If you pay out of pocket in full for a service, you can ask us not to share information about that service with your health plan, when the law allows.
Right to confidential communications: You can ask us to contact you in a specific way or at a specific place.
Right to revoke authorization: If you gave written permission for a use or disclosure, you may revoke it in writing. This does not undo actions already taken.
Right to receive notice of a breach: You have the right to be notified if there is a breach of unsecured PHI as required by law.
Right to a copy of this notice: You can ask for a paper or electronic copy of this notice.
Right to be notified of changes: You have the right to be informed if this notice changes in a way that affects your privacy rights.

Minimum Necessary and Security Safeguards

We use the minimum necessary information needed for the purpose of the use or disclosure.

We also use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information and PHI. These may include:

Access controls
Secure storage systems
Confidentiality practices
Staff training
HIPAA-compliant vendors where required
Policies and procedures for privacy and security

While no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, we take reasonable steps to reduce risk.

Breach Notification

If there is a breach of unsecured PHI, we will notify you as required by HIPAA and applicable state laws.

When required, we will explain what happened, what information was involved, what we are doing to respond, and what steps you may take to help protect yourself.

Complaints and Non-Retaliation

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us.

You may also file a complaint with the SC Psycological Review Board

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy when laws change, our practices change, or we need to make the policy clearer.

Updates will be posted with a new effective date. If major changes affect your rights or privacy, we will notify you as required by law.

Emergency Disclaimer

Our website and contact forms are not intended for emergencies or crisis support.

If you are experiencing a medical or mental health emergency, call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Contact / Privacy Officer

For questions, concerns, requests, or complaints about this policy, please contact us via our contact form.