Privacy Policy

Depending on the services you receive, Sage & Sow Counselling may collect information such as your name and contact information, date of birth, emergency contact information, intake and consent forms, relevant health and treatment history, clinical notes, correspondence, appointment information, and billing or payment information.

Information may be collected through intake forms, appointments, email, telephone, text message, video sessions, or the secure client portal. Information may also be obtained from another healthcare provider or authorized third party with your knowledge and consent, or where otherwise permitted or required by law.

Personal health information is collected only when reasonably necessary to provide counselling services, including to:

• communicate with you and schedule appointments;

• assess your concerns, needs, and goals;

• develop and provide appropriate treatment;

• maintain clinical documentation;

• coordinate care where authorized;

• respond to emergencies or safety concerns;

• process payments and provide receipts; and

• meet legal, ethical, insurance, and professional obligations.

Your knowledge and consent will generally be obtained before personal health information is collected, used, or disclosed unless otherwise permitted or required by law.

You may withdraw or limit consent for certain future uses or disclosures. Withdrawal does not apply retroactively and may be subject to professional or legal recordkeeping requirements.

Reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are used to protect personal health information. These may include password-protected accounts and devices, encryption, secure electronic platforms, multi-factor authentication, access controls, secure storage and backups, and secure destruction practices.

No electronic communication or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Sage & Sow Counselling uses selected electronic service providers to support services such as scheduling, clinical records, virtual appointments, email, payment processing, and invoicing. Providers are selected with consideration for privacy, security, and their suitability for handling personal health information.

Email, text, voicemail, and other forms of electronic communication can carry privacy risks. Clients are encouraged to use the secure client portal for sensitive information whenever possible.

Sessions or clinical information will not be recorded, transcribed, or processed using AI-assisted documentation tools without informing you and obtaining any consent required for that specific use. Declining optional recording or AI-assisted documentation will not prevent you from receiving counselling services.

Personal health information will not ordinarily be disclosed outside Sage & Sow Counselling without your knowledge and consent.

There are limited circumstances where information may be disclosed without consent where permitted or required by law, including certain situations involving significant risk of serious bodily harm, child protection concerns, regulatory or legal requirements, or other mandatory reporting obligations.

Clinical supervision or professional consultation may be used to support safe, competent, and ethical care. Information shared will be limited to what is reasonably necessary, and identifying information will be omitted whenever practical.

Clinical records are retained for at least 10 years following the last interaction with a client. Different retention requirements apply when a client was under 18 at the time of the last interaction.

You may request access to your personal health information or ask that factual information in your record be corrected. Certain limitations permitted by law may apply.

If a privacy breach occurs, Sage & Sow Counselling will take reasonable steps to contain and investigate the breach, reduce the risk of further unauthorized activity, notify affected individuals where required, and report the breach to the appropriate authority where legally required.