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Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

Effective date: January 5, 2026

MindSpace Counseling, LLC (“we,” “us,” “our”) is required by law to protect the privacy of your health information, to give you this notice explaining our privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

Your rights
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When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights.

Get a copy of your record. You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. We will provide a copy or a summary, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your record. You can ask us to correct health information you think is incorrect or incomplete. We may say no, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications. You can ask us to contact you in a specific way — for example, only by mobile phone, or not to leave voicemail at a particular number. We will say yes to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share. You can ask us not to use or share certain information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree, and may say no if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service entirely out of pocket, you can ask us not to share that information with your health insurer, and we will say yes unless a law requires us to share it.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information. You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information in the six years prior to your request, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all disclosures except those about treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain others. We’ll provide one accounting per year for free, and may charge a reasonable fee for additional requests.

Get a copy of this notice. You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically. We will provide one promptly.

Choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney, or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will verify their authority before we act.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. See Complaints below. We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your choices
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For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

You have both the right and the choice to tell us to share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care, or in a disaster relief situation.

If you are not able to tell us your preference — for example, if you are unconscious — we may share your information if we believe it is in your best interest, or when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

We never share your information in these cases unless you give us written permission:

  • Marketing purposes
  • Sale of your information
  • Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

Special protections for mental health information
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Psychotherapy notes. Psychotherapy notes are notes your therapist records during a counseling session that are kept separate from the rest of your record. These notes have extra protection under federal law. We will not share them without your specific written authorization, except in the limited circumstances the law requires — such as our own training or supervision, defending ourselves in a legal action you bring, or where the law otherwise compels disclosure.

State law. We provide services to clients located in Connecticut and Florida. Where state law gives your mental health information greater protection than federal law does, we follow the stricter state law.

Substance use disorder records. Records that come to us from a federally assisted substance use disorder treatment program carry additional protections under 42 CFR Part 2. We will not redisclose those records except as Part 2 permits.

How we typically use or share your health information
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To treat you. We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you — for example, coordinating with your psychiatrist about your medication.

To run our organization. We can use and share your information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary — for example, scheduling and appointment reminders.

To bill for your services. We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities — for example, submitting a claim to your insurance company for a session you attended.

How else can we use or share your information?
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We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways — usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. More detail is available at hhs.gov/hipaa/for-individuals/notice-privacy-practices.

To help with public health and safety issues, including:

  • Preventing disease and reporting to public health authorities
  • Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Our clinicians are mandated reporters in both states we serve. In Connecticut we are required to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families, and suspected abuse of elderly, disabled, or otherwise vulnerable adults to the appropriate state agency. In Florida we are required to report suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of children and of vulnerable adults to the Florida Abuse Hotline.
  • Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety. If we believe you present a serious and imminent danger to yourself or to an identifiable other person, we may disclose the information necessary to protect against that danger, including to potential victims, law enforcement, or others able to prevent the harm.

To comply with the law. We will share information about you if state or federal law requires it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

To respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share your information in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena where the law’s requirements for notice and protective orders have been satisfied.

For workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests. We can use or share your information for workers’ compensation claims, for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official, with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, and for special government functions such as military and national security.

With a medical examiner or coroner. We can share information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

Our responsibilities
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  • We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
  • We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
  • We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
  • We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time by letting us know in writing. Changing your mind does not affect information we already shared.

Telehealth and information we collect online
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All of our sessions are delivered by video. We use [Simple Practice] to conduct sessions, under a business associate agreement that requires the platform to protect your information.

If you contact us through the form on this website, the information you submit — including your name, email address, phone number, and anything you tell us about why you are seeking therapy — is transmitted through our website’s form provider and delivered to us by email.ß

We do not sell information collected through this website, and we do not use it for advertising.

Changes to the terms of this notice
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We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available on request, on this website, and on request from our office.

Complaints
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If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with us by contacting our Privacy Officer:

Dani Dimitrova, LCSW — Privacy Officer
MindSpace Counseling, LLC
dani.dimit@gmail.com · (203) 490-6860

You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights:

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, do not use this website or email. Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call 911.