604.317.5781 info@annarichards.ca

Privacy Policy

Anna Richards Inc. (“we”, “us”, or “our”) is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy (this “Policy”) covers Personal Information we receive when you access and use www.annarichards.ca and when we provide the Service to you (as defined in the Terms of Use).  

Please read the following carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal information.

About Me:

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor. I hold a Master of Counselling Psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology. As a counsellor, it is my aim and my responsibility to work within the ethical framework of my profession toward helping clients meet their therapeutic goals. I believe that the most potent ingredient to successful counselling is a trusting and comfortable relationship between client and counsellor. With this in place, counselling can become a transformative space in which clients may improve their mental, emotional and physical health while strengthening relationships with themselves and others. In the spirit of facilitating personal growth and healing, I look forward to working with you.

Therapy: Role, Rights and Limitations 

Therapy is a privileged relationship between individuals that is guided by certain rights and responsibilities. These help to create the safety to take risks and the support necessary to becoming empowered to change. As a client in counselling, you have rights that are important for you to know about because this is your therapy, and our goal is your well-being. At the same time, there are legal limitations and risks, about which you must be aware. It is my responsibility to outline these clearly.

Confidentiality:

With a few exceptions outlined below, everything that is shared during counselling sessions remains confidential. I will not tell anyone else what you have told me, or even that you are in therapy without your written permission. In the case that I do get your written permission to share content with another party, only the content you have agreed upon will be made available. You may revoke that permission at any time. 

Legal limits to your right to confidentiality:

  1. It is my legal responsibility to report any current cases (even suspected cases) of child abuse or neglect to the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
  2. If you are involved in a lawsuit and I am subpoenaed to appear in court, I am legally obligated to attend. If my notes are subpoenaed I must submit them to the court. 
  3. If I believe that you are in imminent danger of harming yourself, I may break confidentiality and call the police. I will explore other options with you before I take this step.
  4. If I believe that you will harm another person, I must attempt to inform that person of your intentions and must also contact the police and ask them to protect your intended victim.

Record Keeping:

I keep brief record of each counselling session, noting the topics that we discussed. You have the right to a copy of your file at any time. You have the right to request that I make a copy of your file available to any other health care provider at your written request.  

Other Rights:

You have the right to end therapy at any point. You have the right to ask questions about my approach to your therapy and to request that we try an alternative approach. If you decide that I am not a good fit for you, you can request that I refer you to another counsellor. Conversely, if I realize that I am insufficiently trained to attend to your particular needs, it is my responsibility to help you find someone who is more qualified. 

I do not have sexual relationships or friendships with clients or former clients, as this would be an abuse of my role as your therapist.

In the event that I run into you in public, I will not acknowledge that I know you, unless you first initiate an interaction. I will respect your decision if you would prefer to act as strangers in public. In any interaction I will protect your confidentiality.

Contact and Communication:

I can be reached by phone at 604-317-5781. If I am not available to answer, please leave a detailed message or send me an email at anna@annarichards.ca. If making changes to same day appointments, please call as I do not check emails between sessions. I will respond to messages within 24 hrs or the next business day (i.e. calls/emails late in the day on Friday, may not get a response until the following Monday).

After Hours Policy:

If you are in distress outside of office hours and would like assistance, I encourage you to call the Vancouver Crisis Centre at 604-872-3311 or 1-866-661-3311. Trained crisis counsellors are available 24hrs / 7 days a week for support.

Risks of Therapy:

While the rewards can be great, success is not guaranteed and the process can at times feel difficult and uncomfortable. Making changes in our beliefs or behaviors can be scary, and sometimes disruptive to our relationships. You may find your relationship with me to be a source of strong feelings. Sometimes clients report feeling worse before feeling better while others might find themselves confronted with thoughts and feelings they have been avoiding. It is important that you consider carefully whether these risks are worth the benefits to you of changing. I encourage an open dialogue throughout the process so that I may assist in managing these risks while maximizing positive outcomes.

Consultation:

In an effort to maintain a high level of proficiency, I consult with other professionals to review cases and receive training. I may communicate relevant elements of your story during these consults. I will not, however, use your name or other identifying information.

Drugs and Alcohol:

In order that our session time be effective, I ask that clients refrain from attending sessions while affected by substances. This does not include prescription medication. 

Cancelled and/or missed appointments: 

If you miss a session without cancelling, or cancel with less than 48 hours notice, you will be charged the full amount of the missed session.

Complaints or questions

If you have a complaint or question, I hope you will talk about it with me first. If you would like to talk to someone else, you can contact the Canadian Counselling Association at 1-(877)-765-5565. 

INFORMATION WE COLLECT & HOW WE USE IT

We may collect and use personal and Non-Personal Information from you when you access or use the Service. In this section of the Policy, we will describe the type of information that may be collected and how that information may be used.

Personal Information

For the purposes of this Policy, “Personal Information” means personally identifiable information that specifically identifies someone as an individual and includes those items listed below.

  • contact information such as name, email address, mailing address, phone number;
  • billing information such as credit card number, and billing address;
  • any other information required to provide the Service.

We may collect this Personal Information to respond to your inquiry, fulfill your requests for products, services and information, validate your user rights, and collect payments.

Non-Personal Information

For the purpose of this Policy, “Non-Personal Information” means: (1) information that does not directly identify you; and (2) “aggregate” and “de-personalized” information, which is data we collect about the use of the Service from which personally identifiable information has been removed. 

Cookies, Beacons and Tracking

When you access or use the Service, we (or a third party provider) may use “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags, locally shared objects, clear GIFs and web beacons, to track what you view and interact with on the Service. We treat information collected by cookies and similar technologies as Non-Personal Information.

A “cookie” is a small bit of record-keeping information that is sent to your computer. The cookies that we use do not include Personal Information and may be used to: (1) help you navigate around the Service, (2) monitor how many people are using the Service, and (3) track trends.

Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can disable cookies or set your browser to indicate when a cookie is being sent.  However, disabling cookies may affect your ability to access the Service.

Server Logs

Our servers may log Non-Personal Information about your use of the Service, such as: (1) your, or your customers’, if applicable, search activity, pages viewed, date and time of activity; and (2) any information provided by your, or your customers’, if applicable, computers or mobile devices in connection with your use of the Service, such as browser type, browser language, IP address, mobile carrier, unique device identifier, location, and requested and referring URLs.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

How/When the Collected Information is Disclosed

We will never sell, share, transfer or rent your Personal Information for secondary purposes. In certain circumstances, we may share any or all information we have collected, including Personal Information. For example: 

  • your Personal Information may be transferred to anyone who is helping us make our website and the Service available and functional, like technical agents, payment processing vendors, other subcontractors, and our affiliates and consultants;
  • as in any transaction, if you provide your credit card information to us for purchases, your credit card company will be provided with all relevant information about us, item(s) purchased, cost and other information necessary to process the transaction; and
  • if we are under a duty to disclose or share your Personal Information under a legal obligation, in order to enforce or apply our contractual agreements or without your consent pursuant to any of the exceptions in the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”) and the AB Personal Information Protection Act (“PIPA”).

CHOICES FOR PERSONAL INFORMATION

If we propose to collect, use or disclose Personal Information for any purpose other than those described in this Policy, we will obtain your consent or offer you an effective way to “opt-out” of the use of Personal Information for those other purposes.

You may choose to withdraw your consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your Personal Information as outlined in this Policy at any time.  If you withdraw consent, then we may no longer be able to provide you with full or any access to the Service. 

Users are also given the opportunity to “opt-out” of having their Personal Information used for specific purposes such as receiving newsletters or other information from us.

Withdrawals of consent will not have an effect on personal or other data that we have used or disclosed in accordance with this Policy prior to such withdrawals.

DATA STORAGE

We commercially reasonable steps as necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely in accordance with this Policy and applicable privacy legislation. Please be aware that no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit on or through our website or the Service and you do so at your own risk.

Your Personal Information may be transferred to and maintained on servers or databases located outside your province, state or country or to a jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your location. If you are located outside of Canada, please be advised that we process and store information in Canada and/or the US and/or the EU and your use of our website or the Service constitutes your consent to and understanding of this processing and storage.

INFORMATION SECURITY

We take appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of personal information.  We use physical, electronic and/or procedural safeguards to protect our systems and all Personal Information under our control against unauthorized access and use. We only use third party server hosts with certified facilities that contain the industry standard physical, operational and digital security and restriction protocols. All safety and security measures are reasonable and appropriate to the sensitivity level of the information collected.

ACCURACY AND ACCESS/CONTROL OVER PERSONAL INFORMATION

We will take reasonable steps to ensure that the Personal Information collected by us or on our behalf is accurate and complete, as required pursuant to the PIPA.

We will allow you to access your Personal Information in our custody or control, and you may request that we:

  • update or correct such personal information;
  • change your preferences with respect to communications and other information received from us; or delete your Personal Information on our primary system, by submitting a request to Customer Support, though this may result in your inability to use the Service.

If we are satisfied on reasonable grounds that your request to update or correct your information should be implemented, we will correct your Personal Information on our primary system as soon as reasonably possible. We may retain an archived copy of your records as required or authorized by law.

COMMUNICATING WITH YOU BY EMAIL

By providing your email address to us or communicating with us via email, you are deemed to expressly consent to receiving email communications from us in conjunction with the Service that we provide to you.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION 

We retain Personal Information collected pursuant to this Policy only as long as is reasonably required to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required or authorized by law. 

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY 

We reserve the right to modify this Policy at any time. We may provide you with notice of such modifications, by sending you an email message or otherwise bringing it to your attention in the Service. Your continued use of the Service will signify your acceptance of the modifications to this Policy.  If you disagree with any changes to this Policy, you will need to stop using the Service.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Should you have any questions relating to this Policy or our privacy practices, please send correspondence to: anna@annarichards.ca