Additional Consent for Electronic Communication

I am holding online therapy sessions and I want to be sure I have your consent to communicate through electronic means, and that you are aware of the limitations of electronic communications. Your privacy is important to me, and I want to do what I can to be clear about the limitations of protecting your privacy when we communicate electronically.

Definition of Electronic Communications: Electronic communications refers to any form of electronic means or devices through which you and I communicate, including but not limited to cell phones, texting, email, social media, video conferencing, and other related electronic media.

Use of Electronic Communications: I use electronic communications (email or text) to communicate with clients to schedule, reschedule, or cancel sessions. Now, I am providing virtual therapy via electronic communication through a secure video link.

If you email or text me, be aware emails and texts are not a confidential means of communication. I will always email or text a confirmation if we are using these formats to schedule, re-schedule, or cancel sessions. In addition to privacy concerns, email and text can lead to misunderstandings and confusion for more complex or nuanced communication, so I generally use them to address scheduling changes and ask clients to do the same. I do not use either of these modes of communication to conduct therapy sessions.

Consent for electronic communication

If you choose to contact me electronically;

If you consent for me to contact you electronically;

If you consent to having electronic therapy sessions, please be aware of the following:

1. The secure video platform I am using (https://zoom.us) states in its policies that it meets PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act 2004) requirements for privacy and confidentiality, but I still cannot guarantee privacy; it’s possible for electronic media to be hacked, or for other unforeseeable breaches that are out of my control.
   2. Cell phones, text, and email also cannot be guaranteed to be 100% secure or confidential, despite my compliance to the required PHIPA protocols.
   3. You can revoke consent at any time; If you revoke consent, I will gladly discuss other means for communication.

Automated Note-Taking Services
I utilize a secure third-party service for automated note-taking, which streamlines the documentation of
your therapy sessions. The service gathers notes through Text-Based Entries, Dictation, Manual
Uploads and through Video Calls.

All records are securely stored and managed in compliance with applicable privacy laws.