The privacy of personal information is an important principle to CBT Psychology for Personal Development. We are committed to collecting, using, and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the services we provide. We strive to be open and transparent regarding how we handle personal information. This document describes our privacy policies.

What is Personal Information? 

Personal information is information about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes information that relates to an individual’s personal characteristics (e.g., name, age, home address, phone number); health (e.g., health history); or activities and views (e.g., situations, thoughts, emotions). We collect, use, and disclose personal information in order to serve our clients. This includes developing the psychological treatment individual plan, keeping track of treatment goals, documenting topics addressed in session and treatment progress, and engaging in supervision. Our organization includes psychologists, therapists, administrative, and support staff. We restrict our staff access to information based on their roles. Everyone at CBT Psychology is committed to following our privacy policies and principles.

Your clinical file may be kept both in electronic form and/or in hard copy. Your file is retained in a secure location for a minimum of 10 years after the last date of contact. Office staff, consultants, and agencies may, in the course of their duties, have limited access to your personal health information. These may include computer consultants, office security and maintenance, bookkeepers and accountants, lawyers, temporary workers to cover holidays and office administration, credit card companies, practice management solution providers, suppliers of cloud technology such as internet faxing, email and web hosting, and cleaners. Their access to any personal information will be granted only on an as-needed basis governed by appropriate privacy principles.

Protecting Personal Information

We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, we have taken the following steps:

• Our staff is trained to collect, use, and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy.
• Paper information is secured in locked cabinets and locked rooms until it can be securely destroyed.
• As we transitioned into a paperless practice, all the information that was kept on paper was uploaded to our electronic health record system and the papers were shredded or kept in a double-locked cabinet/room in order to protect the confidentiality of the information.
• Encrypted systems and passwords are used to protect electronic information.
• We use client initials and numbers in internal communications.

Retention & Destruction Of Personal Information

You Can View Your Information

With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. Often all you have to do is ask. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with this access. We charge a fee for such requests.

If there is a problem, we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30 days if at all possible, and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access. If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make the correction and, where appropriate, notify anyone to whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we have made a mistake, we will agree to include in our file a brief statement from you on the point and, as appropriate, we will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.

Any Concerns? 

Our Privacy Information Officer is Silvina Galperin. Dr. Galperin can be reached by email at silvina@cbtpsychology.com to address any questions or concerns you might have. If you wish to make a formal complaint about our privacy practices, you may make it in writing to our Information Officer. She will acknowledge the receipt of your complaint and respond. If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of our services, we ask that you discuss those concerns with us. If we cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to complain to the College of Psychologists of Ontario, which is the regulatory body of Psychologists and Psychological Associates.