Gather & Ground
Privacy Policy:
This website (the “Site”) and all written and other materials and services made available through the Site and/or via the Site (the “Material”), is owned and operated by Gather & Ground Wellness (Gather & Ground Wellness, “we”, “us”). Gather & Ground Wellness is in the business of providing health and therapeutic services to our clients through hypnotherapy, reiki treatments, and clinical counselling.
Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy governs our online information collection practises. Specifically, it outlines the types of personal information that we gather about you while you are using the Site, and the ways in which we use and disclose this information.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By visiting and using the Site, you consent to the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is a part of our Terms of Use, so by accepting the Terms of Use you are also consenting to the use and disclosure of your personal information as outlined in this Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to any information you may provide to us or that we may collect offline and/or through other means. This Privacy Policy also does not apply when you engage with one of our health care practitioners (“Practitioner”) in a professional relationship. For greater certainty, this Privacy Policy does not apply to medical charts, appointment history or other patient data (collectively, “Client Data”). Client Data is collected from you when you visit a Practitioner. Practitioners are responsible for complying with laws and regulations governing the use of Client Data, and for determining the legal basis for such use.
Your Consent
When you provide us with your personal information, you consent to our collection, use, disclosure, and retention of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and as otherwise permitted by law.
Personal Information
"Personal information" means information about an identifiable individual that allows someone to identify or contact you, including, for example, your mailing address, telephone number, or e-mail address.
Collection of Your Personal Information
We may collect personal information that you voluntarily supply to us online while using the Site, including when you purchase products or services from us, or when you sign up for our email marketing services. All collection and storage of your Personal Information is in accordance with PIPA. You can choose not to provide certain requested personal information, but then you may not be able to purchase products or services, or access or use certain features of the Site. Personal information may include the following:
- Personal details such as name, country of residence, date of birth.
- Contact information such as email address, phone number, address.
- Payment information such as credit card information.
- Any other information you willingly submit to us.
Use of Your Personal Information
Gather & Ground Wellness uses your personal information for various purposes in connection with our relationship with you for the provision of our products and services, including: (a) to contact and correspond with you regarding your transactions and your use of our products and services; (b) to provide you with information regarding our announcements, promotions, upcoming events, new products, and special features; (c) to facilitate transactions and process orders and payments for products and services purchased by you; (d) to process and respond to your specific suggestions, comments, inquiries and requests, and to otherwise administer our relationship with you; (e) to personalize and improve your experience while visiting the Site; (f) to administer and facilitate your participation in questionnaires; (g) to administer and facilitate your participation in contests and promotions; (h) to create and manage your account; and (i) to develop, deliver, and improve our products, services and advertising.
Gather & Ground Wellness may use personal information to create non-personal information, and we may then use, disclose, transfer, and retain the non-personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Non-Personal Information is information that is not associated with or linked to your personal information, including personal information that has been aggregated or otherwise anonymized so that it no longer relates to an identifiable individual. We may use, disclose, transfer and retain non-personal information for any purpose and in any manner whatsoever.
Should you decided to see a Practitioner at Gather & Ground Wellness, your Personal Information is collected and recorded electronically in the secure Canadian based online practice management system Jane App. If you are placed on a waiting list, clients may remove themselves from the Gather & Ground waiting list at any time by connecting with us directly or by managing your online account through the Jane App.
Cookies and Other Technologies
We may use "cookies" and other similar technologies, such as web beacons, pixel or gif tags, and action tags to assist us to improve products and services, advertising, and user communications and experience.
You may choose to decline or disable cookies if your web browser permits, but doing so may affect your ability to access or use certain features of our Site.
We may use web beacons, pixel or gif tags, and action tags to confirm that e-mail messages have been delivered and opened. You may opt-out of receiving e-mails in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Information provided by cookies and other similar technologies may be collected and processed by us or by our third-party service providers.
Third-Party Analytics and Ad Serving Services
We may use certain third-party analytics and/or ad serving services on our Site. The providers of these services may independently collect, use, and disclose your IP address and the general location of the IP address, together with information about your visits to this Site in accordance with their own privacy policies. These services may use their own cookies and other data collection technologies. They may use this information in order to improve your experience, to gain a view of how people are using websites that they service so that improvements can be made, and as otherwise permitted in their privacy policies. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information with service providers who assist us in operating our Site and conducting our business, for example website hosting partners, payment processing services, customer communications, data processing and data management, marketing, and advertising services. We require our service providers to agree to use your personal information only for the purposes for which it is provided to them, and to protect the privacy of your personal information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy. Our service providers may have their own privacy policies and we encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.
We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or subpoena. If we are required to disclose personal information without your consent, we will not disclose more information than is minimally required in the applicable circumstances.
Social Networking and Similar Situations
When you use certain aspects of our Site or other services, or post information to other social networking sites (e.g., there may be links to our social media pages or you may be able to join a member group), the personal information that you post or share in connection with these third-party sites is visible to other persons and can be read, collected, used and disclosed by other persons, including to send unsolicited messages. In such a case, you will be leaving our Site and going to the third-party's website. Any information provided to such third-party social networking sites and other sites is governed by their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to read on the applicable site. You are solely responsible for the personal information that you choose to post or share in those situations. We cannot be responsible for any third-party use of such information. The use, disclosure, and retention of the disclosed information is not subject to this Privacy Policy. Please be careful when disclosing your personal information in those situations.
Retention, Location, and Protection of Your Personal Information
We will retain your personal information for as long as it remains necessary or relevant for the purposes we have identified in this Privacy Policy or as permitted/required by applicable law.
We will store and process your personal information in Canada, the United States, and other countries. The laws of other countries regarding the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information may be different from the laws of Canada and the United States, and their laws may be different from the laws of your country. The disclosure of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy may result in your personal information being transferred outside of Canada, the United States, or your country.
We use reasonable safeguards to protect your information from unauthorized access, collection, use, and disclosure. While we use reasonable efforts to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, and therefore, we cannot guarantee absolute security of your personal information.
Other Matters
Personal Information of Children
Gather & Ground Wellness does not knowingly collect personal information from children who are under 19 years of age. Please immediately contact us at the email address noted below if you believe that we have unintentionally collected personal information from a child under 19 years of age. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected the personal information of a child under 19 years of age, we will use reasonable efforts to delete that information from our systems. The collection of Information for Children under this age may be done with the consent of a legal guardian.
Other Websites/Online Services
The Site may include links to other websites and provide access to products and services offered by third-parties, whose privacy policies we do not control. When you access another website or purchase third-party products or services through the Site, use of any information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the site you are visiting or the provider of such products or services.
Unsubscribing to Newsletters and Messages
All of the marketing and promotional emails that are sent to you by Gather & Ground Wellness include an unsubscribe link in them. You can remove yourself at any time from our mailing list by clicking on the unsubscribe link that can be found in email communication that we send to you.
Policy Changes
This Privacy Policy is subject to change at any time. If we make changes to this Privacy Policy, such changes will be posted here. Your continued use of the Site indicates your acceptance of the Policy.
This Privacy Policy was last updated August 25th, 2023.
Questions
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the contents thereof, email alycia@gatherandground.ca.
Gather & Ground
Social Media Policy:
The purpose of Gather & Ground’s social media is to help people become more educated, aware, and engaged with their mental health. I believe it is important to have a social media presence to provide education to people who may not be able to afford one-on-one counselling. We all deserve to have access to this knowledge and I am dedicated to provide this to you.
Please note that the use of social media is not intended to substitute therapy and is only a source of knowledge and a sense of community. You must filter information through your own worldview. It is impossible to provide all details in one post therefore it is okay to question or disagree with any writing provided. Every post will not resonate with you and it is okay to take what you need and leave the rest.
As a mental health professional, it is my role to keep our relationship completely confidential. The exceptions to this rule are when I believe you may harm yourself or others, when the safety of a child is at stake and if you are involved in a court proceeding where a Court of Law subpoenas me to provide counselling records. Social media is a public forum and therefore it is not a secure and confidential platform. Conversational interactions with me on social media could be seen my others, which may expose our therapeutic relationship (if one already exists). If you would like to book a session please email me at alycia@gatherandground.ca to protect your privacy.
As a Registered Clinical Counsellor, my professional association (BCACC), requires that I have a social media policy. This policy delineates how I conduct myself on the internet as a mental health professional, and how you can expect me to respond to interactions that occur between us through social media. You have a choice as to what you reveal about yourself online. My public engagement needs to end at the invitation to private connections.
FRIENDING
I will not accept friend requests from current or former clients on any social networking sites. Friending may blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you need to contact me between sessions, the best way to do so is by email.
FOLLOWING
I have no expectation that you as a client will follow my business social media accounts. You may choose whether to use your discretion in choosing whether you want to follow me, and please note I will not follow you back due to my ethical code of conduct.
SEARCH ENGINES
I do not google my clients or look up information for any reason. Extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis. If your counsellor has a reason to suspect that you are in danger and you have not been in touch with them via your usual means (coming to appointments, or phone contact) there might be an instance in which using a search engine (to find you, find someone close to you, or to check on your recent status updates) becomes necessary as part of ensuring your welfare. These are unusual situations and if your counsellor ever resorts to such means, they will fully document it and discuss it with you when you next meet.
BUSINESS REVIEW SITES
You may find my psychology practice on sites such as Yelp, Google, Yahoo, Local, Bing or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums in which users rate their providers and add reviews. Many of these sites comb search engines for business listings and automatically add listings regardless of whether the business added itself to the site. If you should find my listing on any of these sites, please know that my listing is NOT a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement from you as my client.
The BCACC Standard for Promoting and Advertising Services states, “an RCC should never solicit testimonials, expressly or by implication, from clients or other persons who, because of their particular circumstances, may be vulnerable to undue influence” (BCACC Code of Ethical Conduct and Standards of Clinical Practice and Guidelines for Registered Clinical Counsellors, 2011).
You have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. However, due to confidentiality, I cannot respond to any review on these sites whether it is positive or negative. I urge you to take your own privacy seriously as I take my commitment to confidentiality to you. Also, be aware that if you are using these sites to communicate indirectly with me about your feelings about our work, there is a good possibility that I may never see it.
If we are working together, I hope that you will bring your feelings and reactions to our work directly into the therapy process. This can be an important part of therapy, even if you decide that we are not a good fit.
This policy is not meant to keep you from sharing that you are in therapy with me. That is your discretion. The policy is simply to let you know that I will maintain confidentiality by not revealing that you are my client and by not requesting testimonials.
If you do choose of your own volition to write something on a business review site, I hope you will keep in mind that you may be sharing personally revealing information in a public forum. I urge you to create a pseudonym that is not linked to your regular email address or friend networks for your own privacy and protection.