GRIMSBY COUNSELLING CENTRE
PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CLIENTS
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION MAY BE COLLECTED, USED, AND DISCLOSED, AND HOW YOU CAN ACCESS THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
INTRODUCTION
Grimsby Counselling Centre is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of your personal health information. This notice explains your rights and our obligations under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) of Ontario. By receiving services from Grimsby Counselling Centre, you acknowledge that your personal health information will be collected, used, and protected as described in this notice.
The privacy officer for Grimsby Counselling Centre is Jacqueline Boyer, MSW, RSW. If you have questions about this notice or about how your information is handled, please contact us at jacqueline@grimsbycounsellingcentre.com or by phone at 365-384-4325, or by mail at 13 Windward Drive, Grimsby, Ontario, L3M 0J4.
OUR LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
Grimsby Counselling Centre is required by PIPEDA and PHIPA to collect, use, and disclose your personal health information only in ways described in this notice or as otherwise permitted or required by law. We are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information and to provide you with this notice at or before the time we first collect your personal health information. We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice. Any changes will apply to information we already hold about you as well as information we collect in the future. We will post any updated notice on our website and make a copy available upon request.
WHAT IS PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION
Personal health information means any information that identifies you or could be used to identify you, and that relates to your physical or mental health, the provision of health care to you, or the payment for health care services. This includes your name, date of birth, contact information, health history, session notes, diagnoses, treatment plans, and billing records.
HOW WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION
We collect personal health information directly from you, or with your consent from other health care providers involved in your care. We may collect information when you book an appointment, complete intake forms, participate in counselling or therapy sessions, or communicate with our team by phone, email, or through our client portal.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION WITHOUT ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION
We may use and disclose your personal health information in the following circumstances without obtaining additional written authorization from you:
Treatment: We may use your information to provide you with counselling and therapeutic services. With your consent, we may share information with other health care providers involved in your treatment, such as your family physician or a psychiatrist, for the purpose of coordinating your care.
Payment and insurance billing: We may use and disclose your information to process payment for services, to submit claims to your insurance provider, and to administer billing through our practice management system. We use Jane App to manage scheduling, billing, and client records. For more information, see the section below on third-party platforms.
Healthcare operations: We may use your information for internal purposes such as quality improvement, training of supervised students and therapists, and practice administration. Grimsby Counselling Centre is an approved practicum site for Yorkville University's Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology program. Supervised students work under the direct oversight of a registered supervisor and are bound by the same confidentiality obligations as other members of our team.
As required by law: We may disclose your information in response to a court order, subpoena, or other lawful legal process.
Mandatory reporting obligations: We are required by Ontario law to report suspected abuse or neglect of a child to the relevant child protection authority under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act. We are also required to report where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a regulated health professional has sexually abused a patient.
Serious threat to safety: We may disclose information without your consent if we believe on reasonable grounds that disclosure is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your safety or the safety of another person.
Psychotherapy notes and records of mental health treatment receive additional protection under PHIPA. Disclosure of these records generally requires your explicit written authorization, except in the circumstances described above.
USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRING YOUR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION
We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your information for any purpose not described in this notice, including for marketing purposes or for the sale of your information to any third party. You may revoke any authorization you have provided at any time by contacting us in writing. Revocation will apply to future uses and disclosures but will not affect actions we have already taken in reliance on your authorization.
YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION
Right to Access: You have the right to request access to your personal health information held by Grimsby Counselling Centre. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable fee for providing access to records.
Right to Correction: You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete information in your records. If we are unable to make the correction, we will note your request in your file.
Right to Withdraw Consent: You have the right to withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal health information at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions. Please be aware that withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide services to you.
Right to Request Restrictions: You may request that we limit how we use or disclose your personal health information. We will consider your request but are not always able to agree to restrictions, particularly where disclosure is required by law.
Right to a Copy of This Notice: You have the right to receive a copy of this privacy notice at any time. Please contact us at jacqueline@grimsbycounsellingcentre.com to request a copy.
Right to File a Complaint: You have the right to file a complaint about our privacy practices without fear of retaliation. Please see the complaints section below.
To make any request regarding your rights, please contact our privacy officer at jacqueline@grimsbycounsellingcentre.com. We will respond within 30 days.
THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS THAT HANDLE YOUR INFORMATION
Grimsby Counselling Centre uses the following platforms to manage client records, scheduling, and service delivery. Each platform is described below.
Jane App: We use Jane App as our practice management platform for client records, appointment scheduling, intake forms, billing, and telehealth video sessions. Jane App stores your health and appointment information securely in Canadian data centres and complies with PIPEDA and applicable provincial privacy laws including PHIPA. We have a privacy agreement in place with Jane App. For more information, visit jane.app/legal/privacy-notice.
Jane Payments: We use Jane Payments to process self-pay payments. Payment information is transmitted directly through Jane App using industry-standard encryption. We do not store your full credit card number. Jane Payments is PCI-DSS compliant. For more information, visit jane.app/legal/privacy-notice.
We require all platforms that handle your personal health information to maintain appropriate privacy and security standards consistent with PIPEDA and PHIPA.
DATA RETENTION
We retain your personal health information for a minimum of 10 years following the last date of service, in accordance with applicable Ontario law and professional standards. Records for clients who were minors at the time of service are retained until the client reaches the age of 18 plus 10 years, or for 10 years from the last date of service, whichever is longer. Financial and billing records are retained for a minimum of 7 years. At the end of the applicable retention period, records are securely destroyed.
DATA SECURITY
We take the security of your personal health information seriously. We use the following safeguards to protect your information: encryption of data in transit and at rest through our practice management system, access controls limiting access to your records to authorized team members only, privacy agreements with all platforms that handle your personal health information, and PIPEDA and PHIPA-compliant platforms for all clinical operations.
No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. If you have concerns about communicating sensitive information electronically, please speak with your therapist.
BREACH NOTIFICATION
In the event of a privacy breach affecting your personal health information, we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible in accordance with our obligations under PHIPA. Our notification will describe the nature of the breach, the information affected, the steps we have taken or are taking to address it, and what you can do to protect yourself. We will also report the breach to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario where required by law.
HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT
If you have concerns about how we have handled your personal health information, we encourage you to contact our privacy officer first so we can address your concern directly:
Jacqueline Boyer, MSW, RSW
Privacy Officer, Grimsby Counselling Centre
13 Windward Drive, Grimsby, Ontario, L3M 0J4
Phone: 365-384-4325
Email: jacqueline@grimsbycounsellingcentre.com
You also have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) at ipc.on.ca, or with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at priv.gc.ca. Filing a complaint will not result in any retaliation against you.
UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE
We reserve the right to change the terms of this notice at any time. Any revised notice will apply to information we already hold about you as well as information collected in the future. We will post any updated notice on our website and make a copy available in our office upon request.
Effective Date: June 4, 2026
WHEN YOU'RE READY
YOUR PRIVACY IS PROTECTED HERE
Reading through privacy policies takes trust. We want you to know that protecting your information is something we take seriously, not because we have to, but because the work we do together only happens in safety.
If you have questions about how your information is handled, we are always happy to talk.
