Notice of Privacy Practices for Contemporary Healing Spaces, Inc

EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS NOTICE: This notice went into effect on July 31, 2026

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.

I. OUR PLEDGE REGARDING HEALTH INFORMATION: 

At Contemporary Healing Spaces, Inc., we understand that health information about you and your mental health care is personal. We are committed to protecting the confidentiality of your health information. We create a record of the care and services you receive from us. We need this record to provide you with quality care and to comply with certain legal requirements.

This Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) applies to all records of your care generated by Contemporary Healing Spaces, Inc. This notice will inform you about the ways in which we may use and disclose your Protected Health Information (PHI), describe your rights concerning your PHI, and outline our legal obligations regarding the use and disclosure of your PHI.

We are required by law to:

• Ensure that Protected Health Information (PHI) that identifies you is kept private.

• Provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices.

• Follow the terms of the notice that is currently in effect. 

• We will also notify you if we become aware of a breach of your unsecured Protected Health Information (PHI).

We reserve the right to change the terms of this Notice, and such changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new Notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our website.

II. HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:

The following categories describe different ways that we use and disclose your health information. All permitted uses and disclosures of your information fall within one of these categories.

• For Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations (TPO): Federal privacy rules allow us to use or disclose your PHI without your written authorization to carry out our own treatment, payment, or health care operations. We may also disclose your PHI for the treatment activities of any other health care provider.

  • Treatment Example: If your clinician consults with another licensed health care provider about your condition, we may use and disclose your PHI to assist in your diagnosis and mental health treatment. Disclosures for treatment purposes are generally not limited by the minimum necessary standard, as therapists require access to the full or complete record to provide quality care.

• Lawsuits and Disputes: If you are involved in a lawsuit, we may disclose health information in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose PHI in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made to inform you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the information requested.

III. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION:

• Psychotherapy Notes: We do keep “psychotherapy notes” as that term is defined in 45 CFR § 164.501, and any use or disclosure of such notes requires your specific written Authorization unless the use or disclosure is:

  • a. For our use in treating you.

  • b. For our use in training or supervising mental health practitioners to help them improve their skills.

  • c. For our use in defending ourselves in legal proceedings instituted by you.

  • d. For use by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to investigate our compliance with HIPAA.

  • e. Required by law and limited to the requirements of such law.

  • f. Required by law for certain health oversight activities pertaining to the originator of the psychotherapy notes.

  • g. Required by a coroner who is performing duties authorized by law.

  • h. Required to help avert a serious threat to the health and safety of others.

• Marketing Purposes: We will not use or disclose your PHI for marketing purposes.

• Sale of PHI: We will not sell your PHI in the regular course of our business.

IV. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR AUTHORIZATION.

Subject to certain limitations in the law, we can use and disclose your PHI without your Authorization for the following reasons:

• Required by Law: When disclosure is required by state or federal law, and the use or disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant requirements of such law.

• Public Health Activities: Including reporting suspected child, elder, or dependent adult abuse, or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.

• Health Oversight Activities: Including audits and investigations.

• Judicial and Administrative Proceedings:Including responding to a court or administrative order, although our preference is to obtain an Authorization from you before doing so.

• Law Enforcement Purposes: Including reporting crimes occurring on our premises.

• Coroners or Medical Examiners:When such individuals are performing duties authorized by law.

• Research Purposes:Including studying and comparing the mental health of patients who received one form of therapy versus those who received another form of therapy for the same condition.

• Specialized Government Functions: Including ensuring the proper execution of military missions; protecting the President of the United States; conducting intelligence or counter-intelligence operations; or helping to ensure the safety of those working within or housed in correctional institutions.

• Workers’ Compensation Purposes: Although our preference is to obtain an Authorization from you, we may provide your PHI in order to comply with workers’ compensation laws.

• Appointment Reminders and Health Related Benefits or Services: We may use and disclose your PHI to contact you to remind you that you have an appointment with us. We may also use and disclose your PHI to tell you about treatment alternatives, or other health care services or benefits that we offer.

• Notice of Re-disclosure: Any Protected Health Information (PHI) that we disclose under the HIPAA Privacy Rule  may be subject to re-disclosure by the recipient and may no longer be protected by the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule.

IV.A. SPECIAL RULES FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER RECORDS (42 CFR Part 2)

If we receive or maintain records regarding your substance use disorder treatment that originated from a Part 2 program, we must comply with the special federal privacy protections under 42 CFR Part 2, which are designed to protect the confidentiality of these specific records.

• Permitted Uses and Disclosures: We may use and disclose Part 2 records for treatment, payment, and health care operations (TPO) as permitted by HIPAA, but only if you have provided a general written consent that complies with Part 2 for that specific purpose. Any other disclosure will require a specific authorization or court order.

• Prohibition on Use in Legal Proceedings:  We will not use or disclose your Part 2 records, or testimony based on them, in any civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings by any federal, state, or local authority against you, unless authorized by your written consent or a specific court order that meets Part 2 requirements.

V. CERTAIN USES AND DISCLOSURES REQUIRE YOU TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OBJECT.

• Disclosures to Family, Friends, or Others: We may provide your PHI to a family member, friend, or other person that you indicate is involved in your care or the payment for your health care, unless you object in whole or in part. The opportunity to consent may be obtained retroactively in emergency situations.

VI. YOU HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO YOUR PHI:

• The Right to Request Limits on Uses and Disclosures of Your PHI: You have the right to ask us not to use or disclose certain PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations purposes. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if we believe it would affect your health care.

• The Right to Request Restrictions for Out-of-Pocket Expenses Paid for In Full: You have the right to request restrictions on disclosures of your PHI to health plans for payment or health care operations purposes if the PHI pertains solely to a health care item or a health care service that you have paid for out-of-pocket in full.

• The Right to Choose How We Send PHI to You: You have the right to ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address, and we will agree to all reasonable requests.

• The Right to See and Get Copies of Your PHI: Other than “psychotherapy notes,” you have the right to get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other information that we have about you. We will provide you with a copy of your record, or a summary of it, if you agree to receive a summary, within 30 days of receiving your written request, and we may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for doing so.

• The Right to Get a List of the Disclosures We Have Made: You have the right to request a list of instances in which we have disclosed your PHI for purposes other than treatment, payment, or health care operations, or for which you provided us with an Authorization. We will respond to your request for an accounting of disclosures within 60 days of receiving your request. The list we will give you will include disclosures made in the last six years unless you request a shorter time. We will provide the list to you at no charge, but if you make more than one request in the same year, we will charge you a reasonable cost based fee for each additional request.

• The Right to Correct or Update Your PHI: If you believe that there is a mistake in your PHI, or that a piece of important information is missing from your PHI, you have the right to request that we correct the existing information or add the missing information. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days of receiving your request.

• The Right to Get a Paper or Electronic Copy of this Notice: You have the right to get a paper copy of this Notice, and you have the right to get a copy of this notice by e-mail. And, even if you have agreed to receive this Notice via e-mail, you also have the right to request a paper copy of it.

CLIENT & SITE VISITOR SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

This policy outlines how Contemporary Healing Spaces (“CHS,” “we,” or “our”) uses social media and digital platforms, and what you can expect regarding digital boundaries, confidentiality, and communication.

1. Social Media is for Education, Not Care

CHS maintains professional social media profiles (including Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook) to share mental health education, practice insights, and business resources.

• Not Therapy or Consultation: Consuming, liking, or commenting on our social media posts does not establish a therapist-client, supervisor-supervisee, or coaching relationship with CHS or its team.

• Not for Crises: Social media accounts are not monitored 24/7. Do not use social media channels to request clinical help or report a crisis. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.

2. Direct Messaging (DMs) & Confidentiality: 

To protect your privacy and comply with HIPAA and professional health regulations, we do not conduct clinical care, scheduling, or confidential business via Direct Messages (DMs).

• If you send a DM regarding personal health information or clinical scheduling, we will redirect you to contact us through our secure, HIPAA-compliant client portal or official office email.

• Please remember that public comments left on CHS posts are visible to everyone. To protect your privacy, refrain from sharing personal health information in comment sections.

3. Digital Boundaries & "Following"

To preserve your privacy and maintain clear professional boundaries:

• Connecting Online: CHS team members and clinicians do not send "friend" or connection requests, nor do they follow current or former clients on personal or professional social media accounts.

• Following CHS: You are welcome to follow CHS public business accounts. However, our team will not interact with or acknowledge your social media activity publicly, as doing so could compromise your confidentiality.

• Search Engines: Our team will not search for you on Google or social media platforms unless explicit permission is granted or in cases of an urgent safety/crisis intervention.

4. Ratings & Testimonials: 

In accordance with professional ethical codes (such as the NASW Code of Ethics), CHS clinicians never solicit reviews, endorsements, or testimonials from therapy clients.

• You may find CHS listed on public directories (such as Google Business Profile or Yelp).

• Posting a review on a public directory is completely voluntary. To protect your confidentiality, CHS will not respond publicly to reviews left by therapy clients, as confirming or denying a clinical relationship violates healthcare privacy standards.

5. Official Channels for Communication: 

For all official communication, scheduling, or inquiries, please use our secure channels:

• Client Portal: https://dominique-marcus.clientsecure.me/

• Official Email: hello@contemporaryhealingspaces.com

• Practice Phone: (912) 430-7880 

YOUR RIGHT TO A GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE (NO SURPRISES ACT)

Under Section 2799B-6 of the Public Health Service Act and the No Surprises Act, health care providers are required to inform individuals who are not enrolled in an insurance plan or coverage, or who are not using insurance, of their right to receive a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of expected charges for medical and mental health services.

• Your Right to an Estimate: You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate detailing the expected total cost of any non-emergency mental health items or services, including psychotherapy, clinical evaluations, and consultation sessions.

• Timing: CHS will provide you with a written Good Faith Estimate in writing at least one (1) business day before your scheduled medical or mental health service. You can also request a Good Faith Estimate before scheduling any service.

• Dispute Resolution: If you receive a bill or invoice from CHS that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you have the legal right to dispute the bill through the federal patient-provider dispute resolution process.

• Record Keeping: CHS securely stores a copy of your signed Good Faith Estimate in your HIPAA-compliant client portal alongside your privacy records.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.