This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Stepping Stones Family Therapy is committed to protecting your privacy. Federal law requires us to maintain the privacy of Protected Health Information (“PHI”), which is information that identifies or could be used to identify you. Stepping Stones Family Therapy is required to provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices, which explains Stepping Stones’ legal duties and privacy practices and your rights regarding PHI that we collect and maintain.

The federal law which requires us to tell you about privacy is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA requires us to keep your PHI private and to give you this notice about our legal duties and our privacy practices. We will obey the rules described in this notice. If we change our privacy practices, they will apply to all the PHI we keep. We will also post the new notice of privacy practices in our office where everyone can see. You or anyone else can also get a copy from our privacy officer at any time. It is also posted on our website at www.simplythrivepsychotherapy.com/privacy-policy. 

This notice will tell you how we handle your medical information, including how we use this information here in this office, how we share it with other professionals and organizations, and how you can see it. Because privacy is both an important concern and complicated, some parts of this notice are very detailed. If you have any questions, our privacy officer will be happy to help you understand our procedures and your rights. Their name and address are at the end of this notice. 

What is protected health information (PHI)?

Each time you visit us or any other health care provider, information is collected about you and your physical and mental health. It may be information about your past, present, or future health or conditions, about the tests and treatment you receive, or about payment for health care. The information we collect from you is called “PHI,” which stands for “protected health information.” This information goes into your medical or health care records in our office. When you understand what is in your record and what it is used for, you can make better decisions about who, when, and why others should have this information. 

In this office, your PHI is likely to include information such as:

• Your personal history: This includes events from your childhood, your school and work experiences, your marriage or other relationships, and other information about the events of your life

• Reasons you came for treatment: Your problems, complaints, symptoms, and needs

• Diagnoses: The medical terms for your symptoms and conditions

• A treatment plan: A description of the treatments and other services that we plan to provide to address your concerns

• Progress notes: Descriptions from each time you come in of how you are doing, what you tell us, what we observe from you, and what we work on

• Records we receive from others who treated you or evaluated you

• Psychological test scores, school records, and other reports

• Information about medications you took or are taking

• Legal matters

• Billing and insurance information

• Other information related to your health care or therapy treatment

Your rights

Your rights regarding PHI are explained below. To exercise these rights, please submit a written request to Stepping Stones Family Therapy at the address noted below.

To inspect and copy PHI

• Although your records in our office, including health care and billing records, are our physical property, the information belongs to you. You may ask to read your records, and you may ask for an electronic or paper copy of your records. 

• We may charge you for the costs of copying and mailing records as applicable.

• In some rare situations, you cannot see all of what is in your records if Stepping Stones Family Therapy believes allowing you to do so will endanger your life or another person's life. You may have a right to have this decision reviewed.

To amend PHI

• If you find anything in your records that you believe is incorrect or incomplete, you can ask us to amend (add information to) your records.

• We require that clients make requests in writing when they wish to amend records and that they provide a reason for the request.

• In some situations, Stepping Stones Family Therapy may deny your request to amend your records. You will receive a written explanation for the denial and be allowed to submit a written statement of disagreement.

To request confidential communications

• You can ask Stepping Stones Family Therapy staff to communicate with you in a specific way about your health and related issues. For example, you can ask us to call you at home rather than at work to schedule or cancel an appointment. 

• We will agree to reasonable requests regarding communication using methods allowed within our practice policies. We may consider other communication methods if we believe they allow for sufficient protection of the information being shared. For example, we will not agree to communicate over a social media platform.

To limit what is used or shared

• You can ask Stepping Stones Family Therapy not to use or share your PHI for treatment, payment, or business operations. We are not required to agree if it would affect your care.

• If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share PHI with your health insurer.

• You can ask us not to share your PHI with family members or friends by stating the specific restriction requested and to whom you want the restriction to apply.

• When we do agree with a request to limit the sharing of PHI, we will honor this agreement except when it is against the law, in an emergency, or when the information is necessary to treat you.

To obtain a list of those with whom your PHI has been shared

• You can ask for a list, called an accounting, of the times your health information has been shared. 

• You can receive one accounting every 12 months at no charge, but you may be charged a reasonable fee if you ask for one more frequently.

To receive a copy of this notice

• You can ask for a paper copy of this notice, even if you agreed to receive the notice electronically.

• If we change this notice, we will post the new one in our office and on our website.

To choose someone to act for you

• If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights.

• We may ask for written confirmation of power of attorney or legal guardianship to ensure that we are acting in accordance with the law and your wishes.

To file a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

• You can file a complaint by contacting the Practice using the following information:

Stepping Stones Family Therapy, PLLC
1020 5th. Ave SW, Ste. 101
Olympia, WA 98502
Privacy Officer: Valkyrie Benson
Telephone number: 564-464-3418

• You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.

• All complaints must be in writing

• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint; this means that your complaint will not change the health care we provide to you.

You may have other rights that are granted to you by the laws of our state, and these may be the same as or different from the rights described above. We will be happy to discuss these situations with you now or as they arise. 

How your information may be used and shared

Except in some special circumstances, when we use your PHI in this office or disclose it to others, we share only the minimum necessary PHI needed for those other people to do their jobs.

Routine uses and disclosures of PHI

We will use and disclose your PHI for routine purposes to provide for your care, such as disclosures made for treatment, payment, and the operation of our business. Federal law allows these disclosures without your written authorization. Purposes of routine uses and disclosures of your medical information include:

• To treat you

  • Providing you with mental health therapy or counseling treatments or services. These may include individual, family, couples, or group therapy; testing or assessment services; treatment planning; or measuring the benefits of our services.

  • Sharing PHI with other professionals who are treating you. For example, your primary care doctor may ask about your mental health treatment.

  • Collaborating with members of a treatment team so that the services you receive will work best together.

  • Providing referrals to other professionals or consultants for services we cannot provide.

  • Providing information to professionals you receive treatment from in the future.

• For payment and billing for services you receive

  • Using and sharing PHI to bill and get payment from insurance, health plans, or others. For example, we may need to share information with your health insurance plan about your diagnoses, treatments you have received, your progress, changes expected in your condition, and other similar information so that your insurance will pay for your services.

  • Contacting your insurance company to find out details on what your insurance covers.

• To run health care operations

  • Running our business, improving your care, and contacting you. For example, we use PHI to schedule appointments and to send you appointment reminders if you choose. We may also use PHI to see where we can make improvements in the care and services we provide.

  • Recommending or telling you about possible treatments or alternatives that may be of help to you or about other health-related benefits or services that may be of interest to you.

  • Working with “business associates,” other businesses that may do some jobs for us, such as electronic health records companies, billing services, and email providers. To protect your privacy, business associates have agreed in their contracts with us to safeguard your information.

Uses and disclosures that require your authorization

For non-routine uses of your information, we typically must tell you about what information we are sharing and why and ask you to sign a written authorization form. We must also request your written authorization to use and/or disclose PHI for marketing or sales purposes. 

If you do allow us to use or disclose your PHI, you can cancel that permission in writing at any time. We will then stop using or disclosing your information for that purpose. We cannot take back any information we have already disclosed or used with your permission. 

Uses and disclosures that may be made without your authorization or opportunity to object

HIPAA law identifies some uses and disclosures that don’t need your consent or authorization. These uses and disclosures may include:

• When required by federal, state, or local laws or to comply with other government requests

  • We are required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect and the abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult. This is due to the same mandatory reporting laws that cover other professionals such as teachers, childcare workers, doctors, and nurses. We may also be required to report domestic violence.

  • If you are involved in a lawsuit or legal proceeding and we receive a court order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process, we may have to release some of your PHI. We will only do so after trying to tell you about the request, consulting your lawyer, or trying to get a court order to protect the information they requested.

  • Government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services may request information to ensure we are obeying privacy laws.

• For law enforcement purposes and specific government functions

  • We may release healthcare information if asked to do so by a law enforcement official to investigate a crime or criminal, locate an individual, or learn information about a victim of a crime.

  • We may release information for specialized government functions or national security and intelligence activities. This may include releasing information for military or national security concerns, including intelligence, counterintelligence, protective services for heads of state, or determining your security clearance.

  • We may release information to comply with workers’ compensation laws or support claims.

• To help with public health and safety issues

  • Public health officials may require us to disclose information to prevent the spread of disease, assist in product recalls, investigate injuries, and report adverse reactions to medication.

  • We may be required to supply some information to some government health agencies so that they can study disorders and treatment and make plans for services that are needed. If we supply this information, your name and personal information will be removed from what we send.

  • We may be required to provide information for audits, investigations, and inspections by government agencies that oversee the health care system, government benefit programs, other government regulatory programs, and civil rights laws.

• Relating to decedents

  • We may disclose PHI to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors, so they can perform their legally authorized duties.

  • We may disclose PHI to organizations relating to organ, eye, or tissue donations or transplantations.

• For research and training

  • We may give information to research related to improving treatments or to other research that has been approved by an institutional review board. In all cases, your name, address, and other personal information will be removed from all information given to researchers.

  • We may also provide de-identified information for the teaching and training of other health care professionals.

• To prevent a serious threat to health or safety

  • If a provider comes to believe there is a serious threat to your health or safety, or to the health or safety of another person or the public, we can disclose your PHI to persons who can help to prevent the danger.

Uses and disclosures of PHI where you have an opportunity to object

Unless you object, Stepping Stones Family Therapy may disclose PHI in the following instances:

• We may share information with your family, friends, or close others involved in your care if the PHI shared directly relates to that person's involvement. We will ask you whom you would like to involve in your treatment and what information you wish us to tell them about your condition or treatment.

• In the case of an emergency in which you are unable to state your preference, we can share information that we believe is in your best interest. If we do share information in an emergency, we will inform you as soon as we are able.

Our responsibilities

• Stepping Stones Family Therapy is required by law to maintain the privacy and security of PHI.

• Stepping Stones Family Therapy is required to abide by the terms of this notice currently in effect. Where more stringent state or federal law governs PHI, we will abide by the more stringent law.

• Stepping Stones Family Therapy reserves the right to amend this notice. All changes are applicable to PHI collected and maintained by the Practice. Should the Practice make changes, you may obtain a revised notice by requesting a copy from us, using the information above, or by viewing a copy on the website www.steppingstonesft.com/privacy-policy.

• Stepping Stones Family Therapy will inform you if PHI is compromised in a data breach.

If you have questions or problems

If you need more information or have questions about the privacy practices described above, please speak to the privacy officer whose name and telephone number are listed below. If you have a problem with how your PHI has been handled, or if you believe your privacy rights have been violated, contact the privacy officer. As stated above, you have the right to file a complaint with us and with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not in any way limit your care here or take any actions against you if you complain.

If you have any questions or problems about this notice or our health information privacy policies, please contact our privacy officer, Valkyrie Benson, LMHC. She can be reached by phone at 564-464-3418 or by e-mail at kyriebenson@steppingstonesft.com. 

This notice is effective on June 1, 2025.