Privacy policy

To use any of these rights, contact our Privacy Officer. Some requests must be in writing; we will tell you which and give you a simple form.

Get a copy of your records. You may ask to see or get a paper or electronic copy of your records. Send a written request; you do not need to sign a release to get your own records. We will respond within 30 days and usually sooner. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee. Separately kept psychotherapy notes are not included (see Section 5). If we deny access, we will explain why in writing and how to request a review.

Ask us to correct your records. You may ask in writing to change information you believe is wrong or incomplete. We will respond within 60 days. If we say no, we will explain why in writing, and you may submit a statement of disagreement for your record.

Ask for confidential communications. You may ask us to contact you a certain way, such as a specific phone number, email, or address. We will say yes to reasonable requests. Please tell us if voicemail, texts, mail, or reminders could put your privacy at risk.

Ask us to limit what we use or share. You may ask us not to use or share certain information for treatment, payment, or operations. We are not required to agree. However, if you pay for a service in full out of pocket and ask us not to share that information with your health plan, we will say yes unless the law requires us to share it.

Get a list of who we have shared your information with. You may ask for a list (an “accounting”) of certain disclosures from the past six years. It does not include most disclosures for treatment, payment, or operations, or ones you authorized. One list per year is free; we may charge a reasonable fee for more.

Get a copy of this Notice. You may ask for a paper copy at any time, even if you received it electronically.

Choose someone to act for you. A legal guardian or other legally authorized representative may use your rights on your behalf. We will confirm their authority first.

File a complaint. See Section 12. We will never retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Family and others involved in your care. You may tell us whether we may share information with family, friends, or others involved in your care or in paying for it. If you cannot tell us, such as in an emergency, we may share limited information if we believe it is in your best interest.

Things we will never do without your written permission:

• Sell your information
• Use your information for marketing (beyond talking with you about our own services)
• Share most psychotherapy notes
• Use your name, image, or story in testimonials, reviews, or promotional material

Fundraising. We do not use your information for fundraising.

Treatment. Your therapist and our clinical team use your information to provide and coordinate your care, including clinical consultation and supervision within our practice. Before we share information with a provider outside Tree City Wellness, such as a physician or psychiatrist, we will ask for your signed authorization, except in an emergency or where the law requires otherwise.

Payment. We use and share information to bill and collect payment for services. If you ask us for a superbill or submit an out-of-network claim, your insurance company may receive information such as your diagnosis, dates of service, and treatment details, and may request more records to decide on reimbursement.

Health care operations. We use information to run the practice and improve care, such as quality review, training, scheduling, compliance, and audits. We share only the minimum necessary.

Service providers (business associates). We use outside companies to help us, such as our electronic health record and client portal (SimplePractice), billing, and secure communication tools. They may access your information only to do that work and must sign agreements to protect it.

Appointment reminders and our services. We may contact you about appointments and about our own services, groups, and workshops, using the contact method you choose.

In limited situations, the law requires or allows us to share information without your written authorization. When we do, we share only what is necessary.

To protect someone from harm:

• Child abuse or neglect. Idaho law requires us to report suspected abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child under 18 to Idaho Child and Family Services or law enforcement (Idaho Code § 16-1605).
• Vulnerable adults. Idaho law requires reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult to Adult Protective Services or law enforcement (Idaho Code § 39-5303).
• Threats of serious harm. If a client communicates an explicit threat of imminent serious physical harm or death to a clearly identified or identifiable person, Idaho law may require us to take protective steps, such as warning that person and notifying law enforcement (Idaho Code § 6-1902 and following). We may also share information when needed to prevent a serious and imminent threat to a client’s own safety or someone else’s.

Other situations:

• When a federal, state, or local law requires it
• Health oversight agencies, such as licensing boards or auditors, acting within their legal authority
• Lawsuits and legal proceedings, as described in Section 7
• Workers’ compensation claims, when we provide treatment related to the claim and receive a proper request
• If a client files a complaint or lawsuit against us, to the extent needed to respond
• Public health and safety activities, coroners or medical examiners, and specialized government functions, only as the law allows

These examples do not give anyone open access to counseling records. We review each request under HIPAA and Idaho law before sharing anything.

Some therapists keep private notes, separate from your main record, to analyze what was discussed in session. HIPAA calls these “psychotherapy notes” and gives them extra protection. They are different from progress notes, treatment plans, diagnoses, and billing records. In most cases we will not use or share psychotherapy notes without your written authorization. They are generally not included when you request a copy of your records.

Certain substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records are protected by a separate federal law, 42 CFR Part 2. Not every counseling record that mentions substance use is a Part 2 record. If we create, receive, or keep Part 2 records:

• We use and share them only as Part 2 allows, and we ask for your written consent when the law requires it.
• SUD counseling notes kept separately need your separate consent to share.
• Part 2 records, or testimony about their contents, generally may not be used against you in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings without your specific written consent or a court order that meets Part 2 requirements.
• If you consent to sharing Part 2 records for treatment, payment, or operations, the recipient may share them further as HIPAA allows, but the protections against use in proceedings against you remain.

Counseling privilege and legal requests. Idaho law protects confidential communications between clients and licensed counselors and marriage and family therapists in legal proceedings, with limited exceptions. If we receive a subpoena, court order, or request from an attorney, we will not release privileged information without your written authorization or a valid court order, unless another legal exception applies. When possible, we will notify you so you can respond. If you are involved in, or expect to be involved in, a legal case such as a divorce or custody matter, please talk with us and with your attorney before you authorize any release.

Adults only. Tree City Wellness provides services only to adults 18 and older. We do not provide counseling to minors.

Data breaches. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you as required by HIPAA and by Idaho Code § 28-51-105.

When more than one person takes part in counseling, the record may include information about each participant.

• Couples and family counseling. We follow a no-secrets policy: in couples counseling, the relationship is the focus of care. If one partner shares information privately with the therapist, such as in an individual session, phone call, or message, the therapist will not keep it secret from the other partner when it is relevant to the couples work. The therapist will usually encourage and support you in sharing it yourself in session. Our intake paperwork explains this policy in more detail. A request to copy or release records from couples or family counseling may require each adult participant’s authorization.
• Group counseling. Group members agree to keep what they hear in group confidential. We cannot guarantee that other members will honor that agreement, though we will address any breach we learn about.

This Notice does not, by itself, give one participant the right to another participant’s separately protected information.

Telehealth sessions use a secure video platform, and we share forms and documents through our secure client portal in SimplePractice. Please join sessions from a private space.

Our public website, including contact forms, the chat feature, and the insurance benefits checker, is not a secure way to share health information. Please do not include health details there. Use the client portal or call the office instead. Our separate Website Privacy Policy, at www.treecitywellnessid.com/privacy-policy, explains how the website collects and uses visitor information.

For any use or sharing not described in this Notice, we will ask for your written authorization first. You may cancel an authorization in writing at any time. Canceling stops future sharing but does not undo sharing we already did in reliance on it.

• We are required by law to keep your PHI private and secure.
• We will tell you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised your information.
• We must follow the terms of this Notice and give you a copy.
• We will not use or share your information in ways not described here unless you authorize it in writing.

Changes to this Notice. We may change this Notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The current version will be posted on our website and in our office, available in the client portal, and given to you on request.

If you have questions, or believe your privacy rights have been violated, contact:

Tree City Wellness, LLC, Privacy Officer
Krysteena Wilson, Practice Owner
1614 W. Jefferson Street, Boise, ID 83702
Phone: (208) 817-0234 | Email: [email protected]

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint, or by calling 1-877-696-6775. Concerns about a clinician’s professional conduct may also be directed to the Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (Idaho Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists).

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.