Trust is the ground that therapy stands on. The practices below describe how information is handled in this practice, in plain language. The full informed consent document is reviewed with you at intake, there is space there to ask anything that matters to you.

Practice location

Therapy is provided virtually from Strathmore, Alberta. Sessions are offered across Canada subject to the regulatory requirements of the client's location.

Governing privacy law

Personal information is handled in accordance with Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and, where a client resides outside Alberta, the privacy legislation of that client's own province or territory.

Confidentiality

What you share in therapy is held in confidence within the limits required by applicable law and CRPO professional standards. Limits to confidentiality are reviewed at the first session and documented in informed consent.

Virtual therapy

Sessions are delivered by encrypted video through Cliniko Telehealth. No recording of a session is created or kept, and there is no video recording of any session. Session audio may be processed for one narrow purpose only, drafting the therapist's clinical notes, and only where the client has separately consented to that. See below.

Session audio, for drafting notes

With the client's separate, optional consent, the audio of a session may be processed so that a first draft of the therapist's clinical note is written for her, rather than her typing during the session. Neither the audio nor the transcript is retained. Both are destroyed as soon as the draft has been produced, normally within a minute of the session ending, and there is no storage location in the platform where either could be kept. The only record retained is the note the therapist has read, corrected and approved herself, held in Cliniko exactly as if she had typed it, and every draft is clearly marked as unreviewed until she does so. Audio is processed by OpenAI on servers in the United States, under a data processing agreement, and is not used to train its models or retained by it once the request has been answered. No Canadian processing region is available from that service at present. This consent is separate from consent to treatment, is recorded with a date and time, and may be withdrawn at any time from the client portal, without any effect on care. Where consent is absent or withdrawn, the feature is unavailable and notes are written manually. The start and end of every capture, the creation of every draft, and every grant or withdrawal of consent are logged, as events only, with no session content.

Attendance information

The platform records administrative attendance information only, that a session link was opened and when, by whom, and from what device. This supports scheduling, attendance, and cancellation policy decisions. It contains no session content.

Records and clinical custody

Clinical notes, assessments, and treatment plans are held in Cliniko, a practice management platform that supports Canadian data residency and addresses PIPA and PIPEDA. Access is limited to Marcia and, where required, her clinical supervisor. Booking, scheduling, payment, and receipts are handled within the Beside You Therapy client portal on secure, access-controlled infrastructure.

Payment and receipts

Payments are processed at the time of booking and receipts are issued through your client portal for submission to extended health benefit plans.

Christian faith integration

Christian faith integration is opt-in and consent-based. It is never imposed and may be adjusted or removed at any time without affecting the therapeutic relationship.

Client rights

You have the right to ask questions, withdraw consent, request your records, and end therapy at any time. These rights are reviewed at intake.

Concerns and complaints

If you have a privacy concern, please raise it with Marcia first. If you remain dissatisfied, you may contact the privacy commissioner with oversight in your jurisdiction, or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Concerns about professional conduct may be directed to the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO).

Cancellation policy

A 24-hour cancellation policy applies. Cancellations and reschedules can be made through your client portal or by contacting Marcia directly.