1. I am committed to the protection of your right to privacy.  I treat your personal information with the utmost respect and operate in accordance with all privacy legislation. I alone have access to your file notes, including information obtained from you during our counseling sessions.
2. When you commence counseling with me, I collect personal information from you that is pertinent to our therapeutic relationship. This includes your name, mailing address, telephone numbers, date of birth, names of family members, medical information and information relevant to your reason for seeking counseling. As our therapeutic relationship continues, I also retain copies of assessments, progress notes, referral notes and reports.
3. I use this personal information to identify you and plan counseling goals. These files are kept in a locked file drawer in my office and information in them is not shared with anyone else without your express written consent. I store names, addresses, phone numbers, fees set and frequency of appointments electronically for purposes of issuing invoices and receipts and writing referrals and reports. I also track my practice in terms of income and workload electronically.
4. I use some aspects of your personal information during my supervision appointments with my supervisor. I share only as much as is relevant to assess the quality of my work with my clients.  My supervisor is also constrained by your right to privacy and the principles outlined in this policy.
5. If it would be beneficial to you that I share your personal information with a third party, eg your doctor, I require you to sign a written “Consent to Release Information” form. Except for circumstances outlined in #7, you may withdraw your consent for the use or disclosure of your personal information at any time.  Such withdrawal must be in writing and with reasonable notice.
6. In our ongoing therapeutic relationship, you will have reason to contact me by telephone and e-mail.  Voice mail is received on a dedicated line to which I alone have access, and messages are deleted once I have heard them and taken appropriate action- eg, returning your call, recording your concern or information in your file.  E-mails containing information relevant to our work together are printed to be included in your file and deleted from my computer. I alone can access electronic information.
7. I am allowed, or may be required, to give out your personal information without your written consent under the following conditions:
• To process payments through a third party
• When I suspect you are an imminent danger to yourself or someone else
• If you are a minor and I suspect abuse of any kind
• In the unlikely situation that I am required to legally share your file in response to a subpoena or court order
8. I retain your records for 10 years following your final appointment with me. They are then shredded and disposed of.
9. This privacy policy may be changed from time to time to ensure the protection of your personal information and compliance with privacy legislation. I will notify you of these changes.
10. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please discuss it with me, Pat Yuill. You may call me at 416-449-8540 or speak to me during a counseling appointment.
11. You may also contact
1. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, 112 Kent St. Ottawa, Ont. K1A 1H3 or call at 1-800-282-1376.
2. The Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario, 2 Floor St. W. Suite 1400, Toronto, Ont.  M4W 1A8 or call at 416-326-3333

This privacy policy was developed in response to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) Jan 1, 2004.