Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes the privacy practices of Behr Psychology PLLC (“Behr Psychology,” “we,” “us”), a group psychotherapy practice located at 50 Central Park West, Suite 1D, New York, NY 10023. It applies to every clinician and staff member working with our practice, whether you see us in person or through our secure telehealth platform.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information; to give you this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices; to follow the practices described in the version of this notice currently in effect; and to notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

Treatment. We use your health information to provide your care and to coordinate it inside the practice — for example, your therapist may consult with a supervising psychologist in our practice about your treatment plan.

Payment. We use and share your information to bill and collect payment — for example, sending a claim to your insurance plan, or, if you use out-of-network benefits, submitting a claim to your insurer on your behalf so you can be reimbursed.

Health care operations. We use your information to run the practice — for example, quality reviews, training, scheduling, and appointment reminders by phone, email, or text (we keep reminders brief and do not include clinical details).

People involved in your care. With your permission — or in an emergency, using our professional judgment — we may share relevant information with a family member or another person involved in your care.

We may also use or disclose your information without your authorization when the law permits or requires it, including:

• When required by federal, state, or local law
• For public health activities, such as required reporting
• To report suspected abuse or neglect of a child or of a vulnerable adult, as New York law requires
• For health oversight activities such as audits, investigations, and licensure reviews
• In judicial and administrative proceedings, in response to a court order or, in limited cases, a subpoena with required protections
• To law enforcement, in the limited circumstances the law allows
• To prevent a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of another person, as permitted by law
• For workers’ compensation claims, as authorized by law
• To a coroner or medical examiner, as authorized by law
• For specialized government functions, such as military or national-security purposes, where the law requires

We do not use your health information for fundraising.

Psychotherapy notes are the private notes your therapist may keep about the content of your sessions, stored separately from the rest of your record. They receive stronger protection than other health information: with narrow exceptions the law defines (such as our own defense in a legal proceeding, supervised training, or disclosures required by law), we will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes for any purpose without your separate written authorization — and we never share them with insurers for routine payment purposes.

We will obtain your written authorization before: most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes; using your information for marketing; or any sale of your information (which we do not do). Any use or disclosure not described in this notice will also be made only with your written authorization. You may revoke an authorization at any time, in writing; the revocation applies going forward, not to information we already shared while the authorization was in effect.

Some categories of information receive additional protection beyond standard HIPAA rules, and we follow the stricter rule whenever it applies:

• HIV-related information — protected under New York Public Health Law Article 27-F; generally disclosed only with your specific written release or as that law allows
• Genetic information — not used for any insurance-underwriting purpose, as federal law prohibits

You have the following rights regarding your health information. To exercise any of them, contact our Privacy Officer using the details at the end of this notice.

• See and get a copy of your record. Ask us in writing; we will respond within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. In rare situations the law allows, we may deny access to part of the record, and psychotherapy notes are handled under their own rules.
• Ask us to correct your record. If you believe information is wrong or incomplete, ask us in writing to amend it. We may decline in certain cases, and we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
• Get a list of disclosures. You may request an accounting of certain disclosures we made in the six years before your request (this does not include disclosures for treatment, payment, operations, or ones you authorized).
• Ask us to limit what we use or share. You may request restrictions on how we use or disclose your information. We are not required to agree to every request — with one exception: if you pay for a service in full out of pocket, you may ask us not to share information about that service with your health plan for payment or operations purposes, and we must agree unless a law requires the disclosure.
• Ask for confidential communications. You may ask us to contact you in a specific way or at a specific place — for example, only on your cell phone, or only by email. We will accommodate reasonable requests and will not ask why.
• Choose someone to act for you. A person with medical power of attorney or a legal guardian may exercise your rights on your behalf; we will verify their authority before acting.
• Get a paper copy of this notice. Ask us at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically. The current version is always posted on this page.
• Be notified of a breach. We will tell you promptly if a breach may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

Our website’s contact and scheduling forms are for reaching us — please do not include detailed clinical information in them. Therapy itself happens through secure channels: in person, or on our HIPAA-compliant telehealth and records platform. Information about how our website handles cookies and analytics is in our separate Privacy Policy.

We may change this notice, and the new version will apply to information we already hold as well as information we receive in the future. The current version, with its effective date, is always posted on this page, and paper copies are available at our office.

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may complain to us and to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. We will never retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

• With us: contact our Privacy Officer (details below)
• With HHS: Office for Civil Rights, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20201 · 1-877-696-6775 · hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints

Dr. Jessica January Behr

Behr Psychology PLLC · 50 Central Park West, Suite 1D, New York, NY 10023

+1 646 930 0457 · therapy@behrpsychology.com