TECHNOLOGY STATEMENT
In our ever-changing technological society, there are several ways we could potentially communicate and/or follow each other electronically. It is of utmost importance to us that we maintain the client's confidentiality, respect both of your boundaries, and ascertain that your relationship with the client's therapist remains professional. Therefore, we’ve developed the following policies:
Cell phones: It is important for you to know that cell phones may not be completely secure or confidential. However, we realize that most people have and utilize a cell phone. The client's therapist may also use a cell phone to contact you. If this is a problem, please feel free to discuss this with the client's therapist.
Text Messaging and Email: Both text messaging and emailing are not secure means of communication and may compromise confidentiality. We realize that many people prefer to text and/or email because it is a quick way to convey information. However, please know that it is our policy to utilize these means of communication strictly for appointment confirmations (nothing that could be inferred as therapy). Please do not bring up any therapeutic content via text or email to prevent compromising confidentiality. If you do, please know that the client's therapist will not respond. You also need to know that we are required to keep a summary or a copy of all emails and texts as part of the client's clinical record that address anything related to therapy.
Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Etc: It is our policy not to accept requests from any current or former clients on social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. because it may compromise confidentiality. The Resilience Group has a business Facebook page and Instagram account. You are welcome to follow us on any of these pages. However, please do so only if you are comfortable with the general public being aware of the fact that your name is attached to The Resilience Group. Please refrain from making contact with us using social media messaging systems such as Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct Message. These methods have insufficient security, and we do not watch them closely. We would not want to miss an important message from you.
Google, Bing, etc.: It is our policy not to search for our clients on Google or any other search engine. We respect your privacy and make it a policy to allow you to share information about yourself to the client's therapist as you feel appropriate. If there is content on the Internet that you would like to share with the client's therapist for therapeutic reasons, please print this material and bring it to your session.
Faxing Medical Records: If you authorize us (in writing) via a "Release of Information" form to send your medical records or any form of protected health information to another entity for any reason, we may need to fax that information to the authorized entity. It is our responsibility to let you know that fax machines may not be a secure form of transmitting information. Additionally, information that has been faxed may also remain in the hard drive of our fax machine. However, our fax machine is kept behind two locks in our office. And, when our fax machine needs to be replaced, we will destroy the hard drive in a manner that makes future access to information on that device inaccessible.
Recommendations to Websites or Applications (Apps): During the course of treatment, the client's therapist may recommend that you visit certain websites for pertinent information or self-help. They may also recommend certain apps that could be of assistance to you and enhance your treatment. Please be aware that websites and apps may have tracking devices that allow automated software or other entities to know that you've visited these sites or applications. They may even utilize your information to attempt to sell you other products. Additionally, anyone who has access to the device you used to visit these sites and/or apps, may be able to see that you have been to these sites by viewing the history on your device. Therefore, it is your responsibility to decide and communicate to the client's therapist if you would like this information as adjunct to treatment or if you prefer that the client's therapist does not make these recommendations.
In summary, technology is constantly changing, and there are implications to all of the above that we may not realize at this time. Please feel free to ask questions, and know that we are open to any feelings or thoughts you have about these and other modalities of communication.