THERAPY WITH AKILAH, LLC
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Effective Date: September 1st, 2026
This Notice describes how medical and mental health information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR PRIVACY
Therapy with Akilah, LLC is committed to protecting the privacy of your health information. We are required by law to:
Maintain the privacy of your protected health information (PHI)
Provide you with this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices
Follow the terms of the Notice currently in effect
Notify you if we are unable to agree to a requested restriction
Accommodate reasonable requests to communicate with you by alternative means or at alternative locations
This Notice applies to all records of your care maintained by Therapy with Akilah, LLC, whether created by this practice or received from your previous healthcare providers.
WHAT IS PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION?
Protected Health Information (PHI) includes any information about your past, present, or future physical or mental health condition, the healthcare services you receive, or payment for those services.
Examples: diagnosis, treatment notes, appointment records, billing information, and identifying information such as your name, address, phone number, or email when combined with health information.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR PHI
For treatment. To provide, coordinate, or manage your mental health care. This includes maintaining clinical notes, coordinating with other providers when you authorize it, consulting with other mental health professionals about your care, and conducting sessions through our telehealth platform.
For payment. To obtain payment for services. This includes billing you or your insurance company, submitting claims, verifying coverage and benefits, and processing payments through the client portal.
For healthcare operations. To run the practice. This includes quality assessment, business planning, training and supervision, and compliance activities.
USES THAT REQUIRE YOUR WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION
For anything beyond treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, we will obtain your written authorization first. You may revoke an authorization at any time in writing.
We will never use or disclose your PHI without your authorization for:
Marketing purposes
Sale of your information
Psychotherapy notes, except as described below
Most other purposes not described in this Notice
USES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION
We are permitted or required by law to use or disclose your PHI without your authorization in these situations:
When required by law — federal, state, or local law requires it
To report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence as required by law
To avert a serious threat to your health or safety or that of another person
For law enforcement purposes when required by court order, subpoena, or other legal process
For legal proceedings in response to a court order, administrative order, subpoena, or other lawful process
To coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors as authorized by law
For workers' compensation when necessary to comply with those laws
YOUR RIGHTS
Right to inspect and copy. You may inspect and obtain a copy of your clinical record, including an electronic copy if we maintain it electronically. Submit a written request to the contact listed at the end of this Notice. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. In limited circumstances permitted by law we may deny a request, and you have the right to request review of any denial.
Right to amend. If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request in writing that we amend it, with a reason for the request. We may deny the request if the information was not created by us, is not part of the records we maintain, or is accurate and complete. If we deny it, you may submit a statement of disagreement.
Right to an accounting of disclosures. You may request a list of certain disclosures we have made of your PHI. This does not include disclosures for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, or disclosures made to you or with your authorization. Requests must be in writing and specify a period not exceeding six years.
Right to request restrictions. You may request limits on how we use or disclose your PHI. We are required to agree if the disclosure is to a health plan for payment or operations and the information pertains to services you paid for out of pocket in full. We are not required to agree to other restrictions, but if we do, we will honor them unless the information is needed for emergency treatment.
Right to request confidential communications. You may request that we contact you by alternative means or at alternative locations. For example, by email only, or at a specific phone number. Requests must be in writing and specify how or where. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Right to a paper copy of this Notice. You may request one at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.
Right to be notified of a breach. You will be notified if we discover a breach of your unsecured PHI.
Right to file a complaint. See the Complaints section below. You will not be retaliated against for filing one.
SPECIAL PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN INFORMATION
Psychotherapy notes. Personal notes kept separate from your clinical record have heightened protection. We will not use or disclose them without your written authorization except for your treatment by this practice, training programs for mental health professionals, defending against legal proceedings you bring, or where required by law.
Substance use disorder records (42 CFR Part 2). If your record includes information we receive from a federally assisted substance use disorder treatment program, that information carries additional federal protection.
Those records may not be used or disclosed in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceeding against you without your specific written consent or a court order meeting the requirements of 42 CFR Part 2. Unauthorized disclosure is a violation of federal law.
Any disclosure we make of such records carries a prohibition on redisclosure by the recipient. You have the right to an accounting of disclosures of these records, the right to request restrictions on their use and disclosure, and the right to file a complaint with the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding a violation of Part 2.
HIV/AIDS information. Information about HIV status receives additional protection under Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and District of Columbia law and generally requires your specific written authorization before disclosure.
TELEHEALTH SERVICES
Therapy with Akilah, LLC provides services exclusively by telehealth. Sessions are conducted through [SimplePractice / Google Meet], which is HIPAA-compliant and encrypted, and with which we maintain a Business Associate Agreement.
Sessions are never recorded without your written consent.
Your part in keeping sessions private: use a location where you can't be overheard, use a secure internet connection rather than public Wi-Fi, and protect your client portal login.
Limitations: technology can fail, and we maintain backup procedures for when it does. We cannot control the security of your own devices or network, and we are not responsible for breaches originating there.
EMAIL AND TEXT MESSAGES
Email. We use Google Workspace under a signed Business Associate Agreement for administrative communications such as appointment confirmations, forms, and general information. While our email environment is HIPAA-compliant, email sent to or from providers outside that environment is not fully secure once it leaves it. We will not discuss clinical information by email unless you specifically request it and acknowledge the risk.
Text messages. Appointment reminders may be sent by text through SimplePractice. These do not contain clinical information.
Your consent. By providing your email address and phone number, you consent to receive administrative communications through them. You may withdraw that consent at any time.
CLIENT PORTAL
We use SimplePractice as our secure client portal. Through it you can schedule and manage appointments, complete forms, view and pay invoices, and communicate securely with your therapist. The portal is password-protected and HIPAA-compliant. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential.
ADULT CLIENTS AND PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES
This practice serves adults only. We do not provide services to anyone under 18.
If you have a personal representative, such as a legal guardian or someone holding healthcare power of attorney, that person may exercise your rights regarding your PHI to the extent permitted by law.
STATE-SPECIFIC RIGHTS
You may have additional privacy rights under the laws of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or the District of Columbia, the jurisdictions where we are licensed to practice. Each provides additional protections for mental health records beyond what federal law requires. Where state law is more protective of your privacy than HIPAA, the state law applies.
If you have questions about your rights in your state, please ask.
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your PHI, notify you promptly of a breach that may have compromised it, follow the practices described in this Notice, and refrain from using or sharing your information other than as described here without your written permission.
We will not use or share your information for marketing or advertising, sell your information to any third party, or share your information with your employer.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
We may change this Notice at any time, and changes will apply to all PHI we maintain. When we make significant changes we will post the revised Notice at www.therapywithakilah.com, make copies available on request, and notify current clients by email or at their next session.
The effective date appears at the top of this document.
COMPLAINTS
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the federal government. You will not be penalized or retaliated against for doing so.
With this practice:
Akilah J. Pierre, LMFT, Privacy Officer
Therapy with Akilah, LLC
akilah@therapywithakilah.com · 610-227-5071
With the federal government:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201
1-877-696-6775 · www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints
QUESTIONS
Akilah J. Pierre, LMFT
Therapy with Akilah, LLC
akilah@therapywithakilah.com · 610-227-5071 · www.therapywithakilah.com