Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective date: September 29, 2026

This Notice of Privacy Practices explains how Align Counseling LLC may use and share your protected health information, how you can access it, and the rights you have under federal and applicable Pennsylvania law. Please read it carefully.

This notice applies to Align Counseling LLC and the clinicians and staff who provide or support care through the practice. It covers health information we create or receive when you inquire about or obtain services, including information in clinical, scheduling, and payment records. Our separate Website Privacy Policy explains routine website data practices.

Your rights

You have the rights described below. Contact our Privacy Contact at the end of this notice to make a request or ask how to exercise a right.

Access your information. You may ask to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of health information in the records we use to make decisions about your care. We generally respond within 30 days. In limited circumstances, access may be denied as permitted by law; we will explain any denial and available review rights. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee when permitted.

Ask for a correction. If you believe information is inaccurate or incomplete, you may ask us to amend it. We may deny the request in some circumstances, but we will explain why in writing, generally within 60 days.

Request private communications. You may ask us to contact you by a particular method or at a particular place. We will accommodate reasonable requests. Tell us if leaving a voicemail, sending a text, or using a particular email address could compromise your privacy.

Request limits on use or sharing. You may ask us to restrict information used or shared for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We will consider the request but generally are not required to agree. If you pay in full out of pocket for a service and ask us not to disclose information about that service to a health plan for payment or operations, we will honor that request unless disclosure is required by law.

Receive a record of certain disclosures. You may ask for an accounting of certain disclosures made during the six years before your request. The accounting does not include every use or disclosure, such as many for treatment, payment, or operations. One accounting in a 12-month period is free; a reasonable fee may apply to additional requests.

Receive this notice. You may request a paper copy at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.

Choose a representative. A person legally authorized to act for you may exercise your rights, subject to verification and applicable law. Special rules may apply to minors and to information obtained in couples or family services.

File a complaint. You may complain to us using the contact information below or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your choices and written authorization

When the law allows you to decide whether we share information with a family member, partner, friend, or another person involved in your care or payment, tell us your preference. We will follow applicable law and your instructions. If you cannot tell us and the law permits disclosure, we may use professional judgment to share information relevant to your care or safety.

We generally need your written authorization for uses or disclosures of health information for marketing, for any sale of protected health information, and for most uses or disclosures of psychotherapy notes maintained separately from the clinical record. We do not sell protected health information. We do not use your clinical records to send fundraising solicitations. An authorization may be revoked in writing, except to the extent we have already acted on it.

Participation in couples or family counseling does not by itself give one participant unlimited access to another participant’s individual information. We handle requests and disclosures under applicable law, authorizations, and the practice’s treatment agreements.

How we ordinarily use and share health information

Treatment. We may use information to provide care and, as permitted by law, coordinate with clinicians or other providers involved in your treatment. For example, your therapist may review information you provided at intake.

Practice operations. We may use information to manage the practice, support clinicians, improve quality, maintain records and systems, and contact you about your care. Staff and service providers receive access appropriate to their roles. Service providers handling protected health information for us must meet applicable privacy obligations.

Payment. We may use and share the information needed to collect payment, send invoices, and process transactions. Align Counseling operates as a private-pay practice and does not routinely submit claims to insurers. If a particular disclosure to a health plan is requested or required, we will apply your rights and the law.

Other uses and disclosures permitted or required by law

Subject to the conditions and limits in applicable law, we may use or share information to report suspected abuse or neglect; address a serious threat to health or safety; comply with public health reporting; respond to health oversight activities; comply with workers’ compensation law; respond to lawful requests from a court, law enforcement, or another government authority; or comply with another legal requirement. We may disclose information to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when permitted by law. Any use for research would have to meet the applicable legal requirements.

Pennsylvania law may provide stronger confidentiality protections for mental health and substance use treatment information than HIPAA. When a stronger law applies, we follow it and obtain written permission when required. We do not assume that a subpoena alone authorizes release of all counseling records; we review legal requests under the applicable requirements.

Records subject to 42 CFR Part 2. If we receive or maintain substance use disorder patient records protected by the federal Part 2 rules, additional protections apply. Those records generally cannot be used or disclosed in a civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigation or proceeding against you without your written consent or a court order and subpoena that meet Part 2 requirements. Other uses and disclosures of Part 2 records are subject to the consent and exception rules that apply to those records.

Our responsibilities

We are required to protect the privacy and security of your protected health information and follow the terms of this notice. We will notify you as required by law if a breach of unsecured protected health information occurs. We will not use or disclose your information in a way not described here unless the law permits it or you authorize it in writing.

We may revise this notice. A revised notice will apply to information we already hold as well as information received later. We will make the current version available upon request and on our website. Because we provide services by telehealth, we provide the notice electronically in connection with the first service request and make a good faith effort to obtain acknowledgment of receipt, as applicable.

Questions, requests, and complaints

Privacy Contact: Patricia (Pat) Tolle, MSW, LCSW Align Counseling LLC 2173 Embassy Drive Lancaster, PA 17603 Phone: 717-871-9220 Email: admin@aligncounselinglancaster.com

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