privacy policy

 

Revised March 31st, 2023

Your information will never intentionally be shared or sold to a third party by Sjo.

The privacy policy of Samara J Orr, MA, LPC-S; also known as Sjo, (the therapist), and samaraorr.com (the site) utilized for the collection, transfer, and processing of personal information or data between the therapist and affiliates who are collectively referred to as we or us, that are contracted to perform a utility for the therapist and the site as initiated by users.

Headway, Alma, Square, SimplePractice, SquareSpace, SquareSpace Analytics, Google and their products such as Chrome, Google My Business, Google Ads, Google Analytics, Google Maps, Google Voice; Facebook, LinkedIn, Linktree, and all other forms of online advertisements, directories, listings, social media sites, or other miscellaneous sites that reference the site, or where the therapist is published therein with or without the therapist’s consent, and any other public electronic or physical publication whether or not specifically described herein are defined as affiliates.

Unless specifically described, the nouns and pronouns of the client, you, your, or user are used interchangeably herein and represent a singular party opposite of the therapist.

The therapist desires to utilize HIPAA-compliant products for the collection, storage, and processing of all client data. Occasionally, the site and affiliates may not be fully HIPAA-compliant regardless of the vigilant efforts by the therapist. Users and clients will be given notice for platforms that do not meet HIPAA-compliant status.

Refer to the privacy policies of Square, Headway, Alma, SquareSpace, SimplePractice, Calendly, GoogleFacebookLinkedIn, Linktree. The site is hosted by SquareSpace.

Payments are collected through Square, SimplePractice, Headway, or Alma that require certain personal information such as your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, credit card number, credit card security number, credit card expiration, and billing address information for payment processing.

Scheduling is performed by the therapist through SimplePractice, and occasionally Calendly, and is replicated with truncated appointment information depicting the client’s initials to Google Calendar. No other personal information is documented in Google Calendar for appointment scheduling.

All email data is provided and processed through Google for the site and its respective servers. Emailing the therapist to an alias of the site’s domain may be archived indefinitely regardless of intent.

It is important to understand that users' privacy is important to the therapist, however, be advised that users do not have congruent privileges as clientele. All users are required to leave a voicemail when making contact via phone detailing the contact method in which to reply. The therapist will not return a user's call without a contact name or alias to promote privacy. Emails will contain ambiguous subject lines disassociated with therapy for a user’s protection. Be advised that communicating by email or text may notify to a user’s phone when locked which may compromise privacy. The therapist will respond to a direct solicitation from a client or user by the method they initiate contact.

The safety of the client or user is important to the therapist. It is important to exercise prudence while viewing the site and affiliate products with respect to the viewer's domestic situation. Use private viewing modes or features including Google Chrome's Incognito Mode or refer here for more information for the user's protection. 

The therapist and the site may use ambiguous data collected by Google, SquareSpace, and other search engines that gather user information such as the user’s operating platform, geography, device type, and other analyses while engaging the site. There is no active attempt by the therapist or the site to collect personal information or to maliciously retrieve and disseminate electronic data other than for the express innocent purposes herein described.

It is the choice of the client or user to engage with the therapist via the site, affiliates, or other forms of communication that may expose the user’s personal information. The therapist reserves the right to protect the therapist, the therapist's clients, and the site from social engagement according to the statutory ethics governing the therapist. The therapist and the site reserve the right to remove posts, comments, and reviews regardless of the user's perceived positive or negative inflections.

Client records will be retained according to the policies outlined in SimplePractice.

SimplePractice will retain executed client intake forms defining the current policies of the therapist and describe the client’s statutory rights, notices, and other obligations. Clients will be notified of policy changes in SimplePractice as they occur in real time.

Clientele have the right to present an adverse claim against the therapist if they feel their rights have been violated. The procedure to express a grievance is defined in the client’s intake forms in SimplePractice or may be found at the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council’s site.

HIPAA notices are defined in SimplePractice.

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The ideas described herein are not all-inclusive and are subject to revision. Contact for questions regarding user privacy. Contact if you feel there is erroneous information stated in this policy.