PRIVACY POLICY (Updated and amended 1-16-2023)

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Connected Thoughts Counseling PLLC dba Connected Thoughts Counseling (CTC) and Website are owned and managed by Connected Thoughts Counseling PLLC.  Connected Thoughts Counseling PLLC makes every reasonable effort to keep your personal information protected and private.  We do not share personal information collected unless prior authorization is given.

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This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) applies to our websites available at:  https://connectedthoughtscounseling.com and https://www.therapynotes.com/app/login/Connectedthoughts2024 and/or any other website or mobile application to which this Policy applies to (collectively the “Sites”). This Policy will not apply to any of your interaction with CTC offline.

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This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process and distribute your information, including Personal Data (as defined below) used to access this Website. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. The use of information collected through our Website shall be limited to the purposes under this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use for clients.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy on the Website at any time without notice. In the event of a material change, we will  update the notice on our Website.

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Use of any personal information or contribution that you provide to us, or which is collected by us on or through our Website or its content is governed by this Privacy Policy.  By using our Website or its content, you consent to this Privacy Policy, whether or not you have read it.

BY USING ANY OF OUR SITES YOU CONSENT TO THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY AND TO TPOT’S COLLECTION AND PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES STATED BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS POLICY PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SITES.

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Information Collected

We generally collect two types of information from users of the CTC sites: 1) Personal Information ( your name, email address, payment information); and, 2) Non-Personal Information (e.g. cookies or IP address). Additional information may be requested if services are being requested. Currently we are redirecting clients to Alma at https://secure.helloalma.com/providers-landing/ who handles administrative tasks, working with insurance and other administrative supportive tasks.  The Electronic Healthcare System that CTC utilizes is a HIPAA compliant Telehealth Platform through Therapy Notes https://www.therapynotes.com/app/login/Connectedthoughts2024 where additional information will be requested if services are requested and agreed on.

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Personal Information

“Personal Information” is defined as information that identifies you personally, such as your name, address, phone numbers, or email address. CTC collects and stores the Personal Information that you have provided to us. Here are some examples of manners in which we may collect your Personal Information on the Sites:

1. A name and an email address so we can deliver our newsletter to you – you would be affirmatively consenting to this by providing this to us in our contact forms. At this time, no newletters are being sent out.

2. Billing information including name, address and credit card information so that we can process payment to deliver our products or services to you under our contractual obligation.

3. A name and an email address if you complete our contact form with a question. We may send you marketing emails with either your consent or if we believe we have a legitimate interest to contact you based on your contact or question.

4. Information from you from a co-branded offer.  In this case, we will make clear as to who is collecting the information and whose privacy policy applies. If both / all parties are retaining the information you provide, this will also be made clear as will links to all privacy policies.

 

Please note that the information above (“Personal Data”) that you are giving to us is voluntarily, and by you providing this information to us you are giving consent for us to use, collect and process this Personal Data. You are welcome to opt-out or request for us to delete your Personal Data at any point by contacting us.

If you choose not to provide us with certain Personal Data, you may not be able to participate in certain aspects of our Website or content.

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Retention and Deletion

We retain your Personal Data for the minimum amount of time necessary to provide you with the information and/or services that you requested from us. We may include certain Personal Data for longer periods of time if necessary for legal, contractual and accounting obligations.

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Sensitive Information

We ask that you not send us, and you do not share any sensitive Personal Information (e.g., Social Security numbers)

Anonymous Data Collection and Use

To maintain our Website’s high quality, we may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer the Website by identifying which areas of the Website are most heavily used, and to display content according to your preferences. Your IP address is the number assigned to computers connected to the Internet. This is essentially “traffic data” which cannot personally identify you, but is helpful to us for marketing purposes and for improving our services. Traffic data collection does not follow a user’s activities on any other websites in any way. Anonymous traffic data may also be shared with business partners and advertisers on an aggregate basis.

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Non-Personal Information

“Non-Personal Information” can be technical information or it can be demographic information, such as your age, gender, ZIP code or other geolocation data, or interests. Non-Personal Information does NOT identify you personally. Here are some examples of the Non-Personal Information that is collected via the Sites and a description of how this information is used: 

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Internet Protocol (IP) address — Your IP address is a number that lets computers attached to the Internet know where to send you data — such as the webpages you view. We use this information to deliver our webpages to you upon request, to tailor our Sites to the interests of our users and to measure traffic within our Sites.

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Cookies — our Sites use “cookies” to improve functionality and usability. We use this information for planning, tracking and to improve the technical functions of our Sites and products. By using our products and agreeing to this Policy, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with the terms of this Policy.

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About Cookies

Cookies are text files sent by Web servers to Web browsers and are stored on the user’s computer or mobile device. If the browser is loading a page and the server requests the information stored in the cookie, the cookie is sent back to the server.

Cookies contain data about the user’s activities on the website, and can be used by Web servers to identify and track users as they navigate different pages on a website, and to identify users returning to a website.

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Cookies may be either “persistent” or “session” cookies. A persistent cookie will remain valid until its set expiration date (unless deleted by the user). A session cookie will expire at the end of the user session, when the Web browser is closed.

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Blocking cookies

Most browsers allow users to refuse to accept cookies.

• In Google Chrome, you can adjust your cookie permissions by clicking “Options,” “Under the hood” and Content Settings in the “Privacy” section. Click on the Cookies tab in the Content Settings.

• In Safari, you can block cookies by clicking “Preferences,” selecting the “Privacy” tab and “Block cookies.”

• In Internet Explorer, you can refuse all cookies by clicking “Tools,” “Internet Options,” “Privacy,” and selecting “Block all cookies” using the sliding selector.

• In Firefox, you can block all cookies by clicking “Tools,” “Options,” and un-checking “Accept cookies from sites” in the “Privacy” box.

• Blocking all cookies will, however, have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites. If you block cookies, you may not be able to log on, access content or use search functions, for example.

 

Deleting cookies

Users can also delete cookies already stored on their computers:

• In Google Chrome, you can adjust your cookie permissions by clicking “Options,” “Under the hood,” and Content Settings in the “Privacy” section. Click on the Cookies tab in the Content Settings.

• In Safari, you can delete cookies by clicking “Preferences,” selecting the “Privacy” tab and selecting “Remove All Website Data.”

• In Internet Explorer, you must manually delete cookie files.

• In Firefox, you can delete cookies by first ensuring that cookies are to be deleted when you “clear private data” (this setting can be changed by clicking “Tools,” “Options” and “Settings” in the “Private Data” box) and then clicking “Clear private data” in the “Tools” menu.

• Doing this may have a negative impact on the usability of many websites.

 

 Use of Information Collected Via the Sites

 Personal Information

We use your Personal Information that we collect on the Sites primarily for the following purposes:

• To deliver services, such as educational programs, information or newsletters you request or purchase;

• To let you know about updated information and other new services from CTC or other third parties or to forward promotional materials;

• To process your order and, if necessary, to contact you regarding the status of your order;

• To fulfill the terms of a promotion;

• To ensure the Sites are relevant to your needs;

• To help us create and publish content most relevant to you;

• To contact you regarding additional services and features;

• To request your feedback about your experience with CTC;

• To notify you about a material change to this Policy, if necessary; and

• To allow you access to limited-entry areas of the Sites.

 

Non-Personal Information

• Non-Personal Information is used as described above and in other ways as permitted by applicable laws, including combining Non-Personal Information with Personal Information.

• Release of Information to Third Parties

• By using the Sites you grant CTC the right to use your Non-Personal Information for marketing and to improve the Sites. This use may involve the disclosure of your Non-Personal Information to third parties. CTC will not share or disclose your Personal Information with third parties.

 

Third Party Websites and Advertisers

The Sites may provide you with links to other websites, although we do not necessarily advise that you link to another website. In the event that you choose to access such websites, CTC is not responsible for any actions or policies of those sites. Further, please note that the third party’s privacy policies and security practices may differ from CTC standards. CTC neither assumes responsibility for, nor does it control, endorse or guarantee any aspect of your use of any linked sites. We recommend that you check the privacy policy of such a party before providing Personal Information to it.

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The CTC may also permit advertisers, third party ad networks or other advertising companies to serve advertisements on the Sites. Please be advised that such advertising companies may gather information about your visit to the Sites or other sites (such as through cookies, Web beacons and other technologies) to enable such advertising companies to market products or services to you, to monitor which ads have been served to your browser and which Web pages you were viewing when such ads were delivered. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS POLICY DOES NOT COVER THE COLLECTION AND USE OF INFORMATION BY SUCH ADVERTISING COMPANIES.

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Opt-Out

We communicate with our members on a regular basis via email. For example, we may use your email address to confirm your request, to send you notice of payments, to send you information about changes to our products and services, and to send notices and other disclosures as required by law. Generally, members cannot opt-out of these communications, but they will be primarily informational in nature rather than promotional.

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However, we provide you the opportunity to exercise an opt-out choice if you do not want to receive other types of communications from us, such as messages or updates from us regarding new services and products offered on the Sites. For emails, you may opt-out by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link within the text of an email. We will process your request to unsubscribe as soon as possible, but please be aware that in some circumstances you may receive a few more messages until the unsubscribe is processed. Please note that electing to opt-out of our promotional emails does not mean that we will delete or remove your email address from our systems.

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Changes in Our Privacy Policy

CTC reserves the right to make changes to this Policy at any time and for any reason without prior notice. Any changes to this Policy will be posted on this page so that you are always aware of our current policies. We may also contact you by email with changes. Additionally, we will update the “last updated” date below.

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Website Security

No data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you understand that any information that you transfer to CTC is done at your own risk. However, CTC uses website security measures consistent with current best practices to protect the Sites, email and mailing lists. These measures include technical, procedural, monitoring and tracking steps intended to safeguard data from misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, loss, alteration or destruction.

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PLEASE NOTE THAT THE SITES DO NOT USE SSL ENCRYPTION. THE SITES DO NOT PROCESS PURCHASES.  THE SITES USE THIRD PARTY VENDORS (such as, PayPal, Square, etc.) TO PROCESS PURCHASES. User and purchaser information is a high priority and we use our own protective measures, as well as the capabilities of our software and hardware vendors.

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We realize there can be incidents of misuse or unauthorized program incursions, as almost every website, service and user encounters. In those instances, our goals are to move quickly to isolate the problem, ensure or restore proper functionality and minimize any inconvenience to our users. As appropriate and necessary, CTC will notify the relevant authorities of these incidents of misuse or unauthorized program incursions of the CTC Sites.

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 Assignment

In the event that all or part of CTC’s assets are sold or acquired by another party, or in the event of a merger, you grant CTC the right to assign the Personal and Non-Personal Information collected via the Sites.

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Addendum (2/6/2023)

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What We Do With Information We Collect

Contact You

We may contact you with information that you provide to us based on these lawful grounds for processing:

1. Consent. We may contact you if you give us your clear, unambiguous, affirmative consent to contact you.

2. Contract.  We will contact you under our contractual obligation to deliver goods or services you purchase from us.

3. Legitimate Interest.  We may contact you if we feel you have a legitimate interest in hearing from us.  For example, if you sign up for a webinar, we may send you marketing emails based on the content of that webinar.  You will always have the option to opt out of any of our emails.

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Process Payments

We will use the Personal Data you give to us in order to process your payment for the purchase of goods or services under a contract. We only use third party payment processors that take the utmost care in securing data and comply with the GDPR.

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Targeted Social Media Advertisements

We may use the data you provide to us to run social media advertisements and/or create look-alike audiences for advertisements.

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Share with Third Parties

We may share your information with trusted third parties such as our newsletter provider in order to contact you via email, our merchant accounts to process payments, and Google / social media accounts in order to run advertisements and our affiliates.

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Viewing by Others

Note that whenever you voluntarily make your Personal Data available for viewing by others online through this Website or its content, it may be seen, collected and used by others, and therefore, we cannot be responsible for any unauthorized or improper use of the information that you voluntarily share (i.e., sharing a comment on a blog post, posting in a Facebook group that we manage, sharing details on a group coaching call, etc.).

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Submission, Storage, Sharing and Transferring of Personal Data

Personal Data that you provide to us is stored internally or through a data management system. Your Personal Data will only be accessed by those who help to obtain, manage or store that information, or who have a legitimate need to know such Personal Data (i.e., our hosting provider, newsletter provider, payment processors or team members).

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It is important to note that we may transfer data internationally. For users in the European Union, please be aware that we transfer Personal Data outside of the European Union. By using our Website and providing us with your Personal Data, you consent to these transfers in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

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Data Retention

We retain your Personal Data for the minimum amount of time necessary to provide you with the information and / or services that you requested from us. We may include certain Personal Data for longer periods of time if necessary for legal, contractual and accounting obligations.

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Confidentiality

We aim to keep the Personal Data that you share with us confidential. Please note that we may disclose such information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that: (1) such action is necessary to protect and defend our rights or property or those of our users or licensees, (2) to act as immediately necessary in order to protect the personal safety or rights of our users or the public, or (3) to investigate or respond to any real or perceived violation of this Privacy Policy or of our Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, or any other terms of use or agreement with us.

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Passwords

To use certain features of the Website or its content, you may need a username and password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the username and password, and you are responsible for all activities, whether by you or by others, that occur under your username or password and within your account. We cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your username, password or account information. If you share your username or password with others, they may be able to obtain access to your Personal Data at your own risk.

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You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized or improper use of your username or password or any other breach of security. To help protect against unauthorized or improper use, make sure that you log out at the end of each session requiring your username and password.

We will use our best efforts to keep your username and password(s) private and will not otherwise share your password(s) without your consent, except as necessary when the law requires it or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary, particularly when disclosure is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to others or interfering with our rights or property.

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How You Can Access, Update or Delete Your Personal Data

You have the right to:

1. Request information about how your Personal Data is being used and request a copy of what Personal Data we use.

2. Restrict processing if you think the Personal Data is not accurate, unlawful, or no longer needed.

3. Rectify or erase Personal Data and receive confirmation of the rectification or erasure. (You have the “right to be forgotten”).

4. Withdraw your consent at any time to the processing of your Personal Data.

5. Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you feel we are using your Personal Data unlawfully.

6. Receive Personal Data portability and transference to another controller without our hinderance.

7. Object to our use of your Personal Data.

8. Not be subject to an automated decision based solely on automatic processing, including profiling, which legally or significantly affects you.

 

Unsubscribe

You may unsubscribe from our e-newsletters or updates at any time through the unsubscribe link at the footer of all email communications. If you have questions or are experiencing problems unsubscribing, please contact us at [help@Private Practice Workshop.com].

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Security

We take commercially reasonable steps to protect the Personal Data you provide to us from misuse, disclosure or unauthorized access. We only share your Personal Data with trusted third parties who use the same level of care in processing your Personal Data.  That being said, we cannot guarantee that your Personal Data will always be secure due to technology or security breaches. Should there be a data breach of which we are aware, we will inform you immediately.

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Anti-Spam Policy

We have a no spam policy and provide you with the ability to opt-out of our communications by selecting the unsubscribe link at the footer of all e-mails. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that we are compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 by never sending out misleading information. We will not sell, rent or share your email address.

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Third Party Websites

We may link to other websites on our Website. We have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of any other individual, company or entity whose website or materials may be linked to our Website or its content, and thus we cannot be held liable for the privacy of the information on their website or that you voluntarily share with their website. Please review their privacy policies for guidelines as to how they respectively store, use and protect the privacy of your Personal Data.

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Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance

We do not collect any information from anyone under 18 years of age in compliance with COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) and the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation of the EU). Our Website and its content is directed to individuals who are at least 18 years old or older.

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Notification of Changes

We may use your Personal Data, such as your contact information, to inform you of changes to the Website or its content, or, if requested, to send you additional information about us. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify or otherwise alter our Website, its content and this Privacy Policy at any time. Such changes and/or modifications shall become effective immediately upon posting our updated Privacy Policy.  Please review this Privacy Policy periodically. Continued use of any of information obtained through or on the Website or its content following the posting of changes and/or modifications constituted acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. Should there be a material change to our Privacy Policy, we will contact you via email or by a prominent note on our Website.

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Data Controller and Processors

We are the data controllers as we are collecting and using your Personal Data.  We use trusted third parties as our data processors for technical and organizational purposes, including for payments and email marketing. We use reasonable efforts to make sure our data processors are GDPR- compliant.

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Contacting Connected Thoughts Counseling PLLC

You may contact us by mail at 732 Thimble Shoals Blvd. Ste 302 A 1005 Newport News, VA 23606 with any questions. Email any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy to admin@connectedthoughtscounseling.com. While we may not be able to respond to every report, we take each report seriously and will investigate it thoroughly.