Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MENTAL HEALTH AND MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION.  PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

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Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC believes it may be a covered entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”).  As a result, Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC provides its clients with this Notice of Privacy Policies & Practices and complies with the procedures and protocols listed herein. If Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC is determined not to be a covered entity under HIPAA, it will still follow this Notice of Privacy Policies & Practices regarding use and disclosure of PHI; however, you may not be entitled to the rights set forth in the “Your Rights as a Client” section.

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In the course of providing services to you, Strength In Your Story Counseling Services LLC, and Monica Stuchlik, NCC, LPC (CO), LPCA (SC), will obtain, record, and use mental health and medical information about you that is considered Protected Health Information, or “PHI.”  PHI is defined as “individually identifiable health information” that is created or received by a healthcare provider and which relates to past, present, or future health, provision of healthcare, or payment for provision of healthcare and that either identifies the individual or could be used to identify the individual.  HIPAA and other laws regulate the use and disclosure of PHI when it is transmitted electronically.  This Notice describes Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC’s policies related to the use and disclosure of your PHI.

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Uses and Disclosures Not Requiring Consent

Providing treatment services, collecting payment and conducting healthcare operations are necessary activities for quality care.  State and federal laws allow me to use and disclose your health information for these purposes.  In most cases, I am limited to disclosing the minimum information necessary to accomplish these purposes.  To help clarify these terms, here are some examples:

•           Treatment is when I use and disclose health information to provide, coordinate or manage your health care and other services related to your health care.  If I decide to consult with another licensed health care provider about your condition, I would be permitted to use and disclose your personal health information, which is otherwise confidential, in order to assist me in the diagnosis or treatment of your mental health condition.

Disclosures for treatment purposes are not limited to the minimum necessary standard, because physicians and other health care providers need access to the full record and/or full and complete information in order to provide quality care. The word “treatment” includes, among other things, the coordination and management of health care among health care providers or by a health care provider with a third party, consultations between health care providers, and referrals of a patient for health care from one health care provider to another.

•           Payment is when I use and disclose health information to obtain reimbursement for your healthcare.  Examples of payment are when I disclose your PHI to your health insurer to obtain reimbursement for your health care or to determine eligibility or coverage.

•           Health Care Operations refers to the use and disclosure of health information for activities that relate to the performance and operation of my practice.  Examples of health care operations are review of treatment procedures or business operations, quality assessment and improvement activities, and staff training.

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PLEASE NOTE: I, or someone from Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC acting with my authority, may contact you to provide appointment reminders or respond to your inquiry.  Prior written authorization is not required for responses to your initial contact.   

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Uses and Disclosures Requiring Authorization

I may use or disclose PHI for purposes outside of treatment, payment, or health care operations when your appropriate authorization is obtained.  In those instances when I am asked for information for purposes outside of treatment, payment or health care operations, I will obtain an authorization from you before releasing this information.  I will also need to obtain an authorization before releasing your Psychotherapy Notes.  “Psychotherapy Notes” are notes I have made about our conversation during a private, group, joint, or family counseling session, which I have kept separate from the rest of your medical record.  These notes are given a greater degree of protection than PHI.  I will also obtain an authorization from you before using or disclosing PHI in a way that is not described in this Notice.  You may revoke all such authorizations at any time, provided each revocation is in writing.  You may not revoke an authorization to the extent that (1) I have relied on that authorization; or (2) if the authorization was obtained as a condition of obtaining insurance coverage, law provides the insurer the right to contest the claim under the policy.

Uses and Disclosures with Neither Consent nor Authorization

I may use or disclose PHI without your consent or authorization in certain circumstances, including, but not limited to:

•           Child or At-Risk Adult Abuse: If I have reasonable cause to know or suspect that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect or an at-risk adult has been mistreated, self-neglected, or financially exploited or is at imminent risk of mistreatment, self-neglect, or financial exploitation, then I must report this to the appropriate authorities.

•           Health Oversight Activities: If the South Carolina or Colorado state licensing board or an authorized professional review committee is reviewing my services, I may disclose PHI to that board or committee.

•           Judicial and Administrative Proceedings:  If you are involved in a court proceeding where you are being evaluated for a third party or where the evaluation is court ordered, I may disclose PHI to the court.  You will be informed in advance if this is the case.

•           Serious Threat to Health or Safety: If you communicate to me a serious threat of imminent physical violence against a specific person or persons, including those identifiable by association with a specific place, I have a duty to notify any person or persons specifically threatened, as well as a duty to protect by taking other appropriate action.  If I believe that you are at imminent risk of inflicting serious harm on yourself, I may disclose information necessary to protect you.  In either case, I may disclose information in order to initiate hospitalization.

•           Business Associates:  Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC may enter into contracts with business associates to provide billing, legal, auditing, and practice management services that are outside entities. In those situations, protected health information will be provided to those contractors as is needed to perform their contracted tasks.  Business associates are required to enter into an agreement maintaining the privacy of the protected health information released to them.

•           In Compliance with Other State/Federal Laws and Regulations: When the use and disclosure is allowed under other sections of Section 164.512 of the Privacy Rule and the state’s confidentiality law - This includes certain narrowly-defined disclosures to law enforcement agencies, to a health oversight agency (such as HHS), to a medical examiner, for public health purposes relating to disease or FDA-regulated products, or for specialized government functions (fitness for military duties, eligibility for VA benefits, etc.)

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Client Rights

When it comes to your PHI, you have certain rights.  This section explains your rights and some of Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC’s responsibilities to help you.

•           Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures of protected health information regarding you.  The request must be in writing, and I am not required to agree to a restriction you request.

•           Right to Receive Confidential Communications by Alternative Means and at Alternative Locations: You have the right to request and receive confidential communications of PHI by alternative means and at alternative locations.  (For example, you may not want a family member to know that you are seeing me.  On your request, I will send your bills to another address.)

•           Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect or obtain a copy (or both) of PHI in my mental health and billing records used to make decisions about you for as long as the PHI is maintained in the record.  I may deny your access to PHI under certain circumstances, but in some cases, you may have this decision reviewed.  On your request, I will discuss with you the details of the request and denial process.

•           Right to Amend: You have the right to request an amendment of PHI for as long as the PHI is maintained in the record.  I may deny your request.  On your request, I will discuss with you the details of the amendment process.

•           Right to an Accounting: You generally have the right to receive an accounting of disclosures of PHI.  On your request, I will discuss with you the details of the accounting process.

•           Right to a Paper Copy: You have the right to obtain a paper copy of the notice from me upon request, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically.

•           Right to Restrict Disclosures When You Have Paid for Your Care Out-of-Pocket: You have the right to restrict certain disclosures of PHI to a health plan when you pay out-of-pocket in full for my services.

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Provider’s Duties

As a mental health provider, I have certain duties to you related to your PHI.  These are described below.           

•           I am required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with a notice of my legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI.

•           I am required to notify you if: (a) there is a breach (a use or disclosure of your PHI in violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule) involving your PHI; (b) that PHI has not been encrypted to government standards; and (c) my risk assessment fails to determine that there is a low probability that your PHI has been compromised.

•           I reserve the right to change the privacy policies and practices described in this notice.  Unless I notify you of such changes, however, I am required to abide by the terms currently in effect.

•           If I revise my policies and procedures, I will send a revised Notice of Privacy Practices by mail or email to the address I have in your record.

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Questions and Complaints

If you have questions about this notice, disagree with a decision I make about access to your records, or have other concerns about your privacy rights, you may contact MONICA STUCHLIK, NCC, LPC (CO), LPCA (SC), at 720.441.4280.

If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated and wish to file a complaint with my office, you may send your written complaint to MONICA STUCHLIK, NCC, LPC (CO), LPCA (SC) at monica@strengthinyourstory.com. You may also send a written complaint to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The person listed above can provide you with the appropriate address upon request.  Strength In Your Story Counseling Services PC will not retaliate against you for exercising your right to file a complaint.

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This Notice is effective March 2019.

For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/noticepp.html

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Terms of Service

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Agreement between User and www.strengthinyourstory.com

Welcome to www.strengthinyourstory.com. The www.strengthinyourstory.com website (the "Site") is comprised of various web pages operated by Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC. www.strengthinyourstory.com is offered to you conditioned on your acceptance without modification of the terms, conditions, and notices contained herein (the "Terms"). Your use of www.strengthinyourstory.com constitutes your agreement to all such Terms. Please read these terms carefully, and keep a copy of them for your reference.

www.strengthinyourstory.com is an informational website which may contain blog postings.

To provide general information about services provided by Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC.

Privacy

Your use of www.strengthinyourstory.com is subject to Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC's Privacy Policy. Please review our Privacy Policy, which also governs the Site and informs users of our data collection practices.

Electronic Communications

Visiting www.strengthinyourstory.com or sending emails to Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC constitutes electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically, via email and on the Site, satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

Children Under Thirteen

Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC does not knowingly collect, either online or offline, personal information from persons under the age of thirteen. If you are under 18, you may use www.strengthinyourstory.com only with permission of a parent or guardian.

Links to Third Party Sites/Third Party Services

www.strengthinyourstory.com may contain links to other websites ("Linked Sites"). The Linked Sites are not under the control of Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC and Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC is not responsible for the contents of any Linked Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Linked Site, or any changes or updates to a Linked Site. Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC of the site or any association with its operators.

Certain services made available via www.strengthinyourstory.com are delivered by third party sites and organizations. By using any product, service or functionality originating from the www.strengthinyourstory.com domain, you hereby acknowledge and consent that Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC may share such information and data with any third party with whom Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC has a contractual relationship to provide the requested product, service or functionality on behalf of www.strengthinyourstory.com users and customers.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use/Intellectual Property

You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use www.strengthinyourstory.com strictly in accordance with these terms of use. As a condition of your use of the Site, you warrant to Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You may not use the Site in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Site or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Site. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Site.

All content included as part of the Service, such as text, graphics, logos, images, as well as the compilation thereof, and any software used on the Site, is the property of Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC or its suppliers and protected by copyright and other laws that protect intellectual property and proprietary rights. You agree to observe and abide by all copyright and other proprietary notices, legends or other restrictions contained in any such content and will not make any changes thereto.

You will not modify, publish, transmit, reverse engineer, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit any of the content, in whole or in part, found on the Site. Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC content is not for resale. Your use of the Site does not entitle you to make any unauthorized use of any protected content, and in particular you will not delete or alter any proprietary rights or attribution notices in any content. You will use protected content solely for your personal use, and will make no other use of the content without the express written permission of Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC and the copyright owner. You agree that you do not acquire any ownership rights in any protected content. We do not grant you any licenses, express or implied, to the intellectual property of Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC or our licensors except as expressly authorized by these Terms.

International Users

The Service is controlled, operated and administered by Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC from our offices within the USA. If you access the Service from a location outside the USA, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws. You agree that you will not use the Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC Content accessed through www.strengthinyourstory.com in any country or in any manner prohibited by any applicable laws, restrictions or regulations.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC, its officers, directors, employees, agents and third parties, for any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) relating to or arising out of your use of or inability to use the Site or services, any user postings made by you, your violation of any terms of this Agreement or your violation of any rights of a third party, or your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations. Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC in asserting any available defenses.

Arbitration

In the event the parties are not able to resolve any dispute between them arising out of or concerning these Terms and Conditions, or any provisions hereof, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise at law or in equity for damages or any other relief, then such dispute shall be resolved only by final and binding arbitration pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act, conducted by a single neutral arbitrator and administered by the American Arbitration Association, or a similar arbitration service selected by the parties, in a location mutually agreed upon by the parties. The arbitrator's award shall be final, and judgment may be entered upon it in any court having jurisdiction. In the event that any legal or equitable action, proceeding or arbitration arises out of or concerns these Terms and Conditions, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The parties agree to arbitrate all disputes and claims in regards to these Terms and Conditions or any disputes arising as a result of these Terms and Conditions, whether directly or indirectly, including Tort claims that are a result of these Terms and Conditions. The parties agree that the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. The entire dispute, including the scope and enforceability of this arbitration provision shall be determined by the Arbitrator. This arbitration provision shall survive the termination of these Terms and Conditions.

Class Action Waiver

Any arbitration under these Terms and Conditions will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class/representative/collective actions are not permitted. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT A PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN EACH'S INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PUTATIVE CLASS, COLLECTIVE AND/ OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING, SUCH AS IN THE FORM OF A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION AGAINST THE OTHER. Further, unless both you and Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.

Liability Disclaimer

THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES INCLUDED IN OR AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. STRENGTH IN YOUR STORY COUNSELING SERVICES, PC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES IN THE SITE AT ANY TIME.

STRENGTH IN YOUR STORY COUNSELING SERVICES, PC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. STRENGTH IN YOUR STORY COUNSELING SERVICES, PC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL STRENGTH IN YOUR STORY COUNSELING SERVICES, PC AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE, WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE OR RELATED SERVICES, THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF STRENGTH IN YOUR STORY COUNSELING SERVICES, LLC OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THE SITE, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE.

Termination/Access Restriction

Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Site and the related services or any portion thereof at any time, without notice. To the maximum extent permitted by law, this agreement is governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts in South Carolina in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of the Site. Use of the Site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these Terms, including, without limitation, this section.

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC as a result of this agreement or use of the Site. Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC's performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC's right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Site or information provided to or gathered by Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC with respect to such use. If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall continue in effect.

Unless otherwise specified herein, this agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the user and Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC with respect to the Site and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between the user and Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC with respect to the Site. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. It is the express wish to the parties that this agreement and all related documents be written in English.

Changes to Terms

Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to change the Terms under which www.strengthinyourstory.com is offered. The most current version of the Terms will supersede all previous versions. Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC encourages you to periodically review the Terms to stay informed of our updates.

Contact Us

Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC welcomes your questions or comments regarding the Terms:

Strength In Your Story Counseling Services, PC

1050 Fording Island Road Ste C 1002

Bluffton, South Carolina 29910

Email Address:

monica@strengthinyourstory.com

Telephone number:

7204414280

Effective as of September 25, 2022