According to mental health licensing statutes, the law protects the privacy of all communications between a Member and a Practitioner. PenPal Therapist takes confidentiality very seriously and all of our Contractors are expressly prohibited from discussing or releasing your information to any individual, agency, or corporation except if such release is requested by a signed authorization form; or if a Member indicates intent to do harm to her/himself or others.

 

PenPal Therapist ensures compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, and uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, which ensures the maximum protection of privacy, for credit card transmittal, protected health information (PHI), and all encrypted communication.

 

PenPal Therapist uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol for credit card transmittal, which ensures the maximum protection of privacy.

 

Limits of Confidentiality. There are some situations in which Practitioners are legally and ethically obligated to take actions they believe may be necessary to protect a Member or others from harm. If such a situation arises, Practitioner will make every effort to fully discuss the issue with the Member before taking any action and will limit disclosure to what is necessary. PenPal Therapist Practitioners utilize encryption, firewall, virus, and password protection in order to protect stored files and communication, as well as a commitment to destroy all records after a given period. We recommend Members take further steps to ensure confidentiality by changing their passwords and deleting their web browser's \"cookies\" regularly.

 

1) If a Practitioner has reason to believe that a child or vulnerable adult is being neglected or abused, the law requires that the situation be reported to the appropriate state agency.

 

2) If a Member presents a clear and substantial danger of harm to his/herself or others, Practitioners are ethically obligated to take protective actions.

 

These actions may include contacting family members, seeking hospitalization for the Member, notifying any potential victim(s), and notifying the police.

PenPal Therapist does not use cookies for collecting user information from the Site and we will not collect any information except that required for system administration of the Web server, or that which is provided by you knowingly and voluntarily.

 

Content. Information shared between Members and Practitioners during service is strictly confidential. No other users or practitioners, including the Site's administrator, have access to this information. Practitioners alone will have the ability to screen or edit information disclosed by Members.

 

Member Conduct. PenPal Therapist and its Contractors hold our services to a high standard, and expect the same standard from users of this service. Registered users must be respectful to PenPal Therapist Practitioners and Members. Members may not stalk, threaten, harass, abuse, slander, or violate the legal and civil rights of a PenPal Therapist Contractor or any other registered user. Absolutely no defamatory, racist, sexist, age-ist, size-ist, homophobic, vulgar or otherwise offensive statements will be tolerated or posted through this Site. Members may not gather or use information collected through the Site to sell or promote any goods or services for any commercial purpose. Nor will promotions unrelated to penpaltherapist.com, excessive forwarding, unsolicited mass distribution of email, junk mail, or spamming practices be permitted. PenPal Therapist will block any Member who engages in these practices from using this Site.

 

Personal Information. All PenPal Therapist practitioners are extensively trained, state-licensed and independently insured, and are required to treat all information disclosed by Members with the care and confidentiality required by these statutes. We encourage all members to learn more about these privacy practices at the American Counseling Association (ACA)'s website, www.counseling.org , or the American Psychology Association (APA)'s site, ww.apa.org. If you feel at any time that your privacy has been violated by a contractor or if you have any questions or comments about the above outline, you can contact us at: http://www.penpaltherapist.com/connect