privacy policy

Hannah Curwin is committed to maintaining privacy for her clients, in accordance with applicable provincial and federal legislation, and with the highest levels of accountability and transparency. This Privacy Policy applies to Hannah Curwin, as well as the website www.hannahcurwin.com, and governs all manner of data collection and usage.

Collection of Personal Information

In order to deliver services to clients, Hannah Curwin collects personally identifiable information such as email address, name, phone numbers, etc., directly from clients. This information may be provided to Hannah Curwin in a variety of formats, including electronic, verbal, or written. In cases where information is collected from other sources, Hannah Curwin endeavours to ensure that client permission via informed consent has been secured. Hannah Curwin securely stores client information using her online practice management system Jane-app which has secure servers located in Canada. Hannah Curwin may also have paper files holding rough session notes. These notes are kept in a locked filing cabinet when not in use and archived for a period of seven (7) years after service has ended.

While this site does not actively collect personal or identifiable information about you, it is important to note that Google analytics does collect statistics on popular webpages, search terms, browsers, operating systems and devices used. Internet browsers may also passively collect IP addresses and locations. This information is given to Hannah Curwin as aggregate data and is not personally identifiable.

Use of Personal Information

Personal information is collected solely for the purpose of providing services to clients, and to adhere to the legal and ethical obligations of the counselling profession. Hannah Curwin does not sell, rent, lease, or otherwise make available to any outside party, any client information. The only exceptions to this would be when Hannah Curwin is aware of a risk of imminent harm to self or other, a risk of harm to a child, or a risk of harm to a vulnerable adult. Hannah Curwin may also disclose personal information without notice, in rare cases where such disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal order, or to protect the business assets of Hannah Curwin. These exceptions are explained verbally to clients during the intake process.

Access to Personal Information

Clients maintain the right to access their personal information and to determine whether or not to share their private information with anyone else. Hannah Curwin will not disclose clients’ personal information to a third party without clients’ express written and signed consent. On rare occasions, if Hannah Curwin believes that the release of your file would result in harm to either you or another party, Hannah Curwin reserves the right under PIPA to refuse the release of a copy of the file.

Disposal of Personal Information

Any disposal of client information is undertaken with the highest standards of privacy in mind. Hannah Curwin is required by law to securely store client files for a period of at least seven (7) years after the most recent client contact, before confidentially disposing of the documents. Hannah Curwin is also vigilant about destroying any client payment information as soon as it is made clear that those details are no longer required. Clients are able to revoke payment-related permissions at any time.

Additional Layers of Protection

Numerous administrative, technical, and physical measures are taken to safeguard your information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These tools include (but are not limited to) policies and procedures relating to storage and security of files, limiting staff access to client information, guidelines for transmission of client files, training for staff on confidentiality and privacy, using only third party vendors who abide by all legal requirements for client privacy in Canada and British Columbia, and provision of this Privacy Policy to any client who requests it.

Measures You Can Take

While Hannah Curwin takes all reasonable steps to secure and manage her clients’ privacy, it is essential that clients consider protecting their own information. Please be thoughtful about protecting email accounts and technology with high security passwords and consider how the use of public internet connections and other forms of shared technology may put one’s privacy at risk. Computer and e-mail communication can be accessed by unauthorized people which can compromise the privacy and confidentiality of counsellor-client communication. For the protection of one’s privacy, please do not email any private information you would not be comfortable sharing in a more public domain. Emails, faxes, and text messages are included in client counselling records.

Social Media

Hannah Curwin does not accept friend or contact requests from, nor does she interact with, current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, instagram, etc). Adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can not only compromise client confidentiality and privacy, but also blur the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship.

Hannah Curwin does not view the profiles of nor follow current or former clients on any forms of social media. Viewing clients’ online activities without their consent and without the explicit arrangement towards a specific purpose could potentially have a negative influence on the working relationship. If a client chooses to follow Hannah Curwin on social media, it is assumed that the client understands the risks to their own confidentiality and privacy that this may pose.

Use of Search Engines

It is not a regular part of Hannah Curwin’s practice to search for clients on Google or Facebook or other search engines. Extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis. If there is reason to suspect a client is in danger and they have not been in touch with Hannah Curwin via the usual means (attending appointments or communicating via email or phone) there might be an instance in which using a search engine (to find a client, find someone close to a client, or to check on any recent status updates) may become necessary as part of ensuring client welfare. These are unusual situations and if Hannah Curwin ever resorts to such means, she will fully document it and discuss it with her client.

Business Review Sites

If Hannah Curwin is listed on Yelp, Google, Yahoo Local, Bing, or other places which list businesses, please know that, per BCACC guidelines, the listing is NOT a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement from anyone as Hannah Curwin’s client. Due to confidentiality, Hannah Curwin cannot respond to any reviews on any of these sites whether it is positive or negative. If clients are using these sites to communicate indirectly with their counsellor about their feelings about their work, there is a good possibility that Hannah Curwin may never see it. Clients are encouraged to bring their feelings and reactions directly into the therapy process. This can be an important part of therapy, even if clients decide in the end Hannah Curwin is not a good fit.

Clients are welcome to tell anyone they wish about their experience with Hannah Curwin in any forum of their choosing. If clients choose to write something on a business review site, please keep in mind that they may be sharing personally revealing information in a public forum. Hannah Curwin urges you to take your own privacy as seriously as she takes her commitment of confidentiality to clients. To protect one’s privacy, clients can create a pseudonym that is not linked to their regular email address or friend networks.

Location-Based Services

If clients use location-based services on their phones, they may wish to be aware of the privacy issues related to using these services. If GPS tracking is enabled on one’s device, it is possible that others may surmise one is a therapy client due to one’s location.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

The information above is subject to periodic revision and changes. The current version will always be posted at this page on www.hannahcurwin.com. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Hannah Curwin directly at hannah@hannahcurwin.com. Should requests to resolve any questions or concerns about client privacy not be sufficiently addressed by Hannah Curwin, contact details for the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia will be provided.