Notice Of Privacy Practices

Effective Date: December 19, 2025

Your Rights and Our Legal Duties Regarding Your Health Information

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how medical and mental health information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can access this information. Please review it carefully.

Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Dancing Dialogue is committed to protecting the privacy of your protected health information (PHI). We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information, provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, follow the terms of the notice currently in effect, and notify you following a breach of unsecured protected health information.

This Notice of Privacy Practices applies to all records of your care maintained by Dancing Dialogue, whether created by practice staff or your personal clinician. This notice describes the privacy practices of all clinicians, staff members, trainees, and other personnel who provide services at Dancing Dialogue.

Compliance with Federal and New York State Law

Dancing Dialogue complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and the New York State Mental Hygiene Law Section 33.13. Where New York State law provides greater privacy protections than federal law, we follow the stricter state requirements.

How We May Use and Disclose Your Health Information

The following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose your health information without your written authorization. For each category, we provide some examples. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed.

Treatment

We may use your health information to provide you with mental health treatment and services. We may disclose your health information to other healthcare providers involved in your care, including physicians, psychiatrists, other therapists, or healthcare facilities.

Example: A clinician at Dancing Dialogue may share your treatment progress with another member of our clinical team to coordinate your care, or may consult with a psychiatrist about medication considerations.

Payment

We may use and disclose your health information to bill and collect payment for the treatment and services we provide. This includes submitting claims to your insurance company if you choose to use insurance benefits.

Example: We may send information about your diagnosis and treatment to your insurance company to obtain payment for services. If you are paying out-of-pocket and specifically request that we not bill your insurance, we will honor that request as required by law.

Healthcare Operations

We may use and disclose your health information for healthcare operations purposes, including quality assessment, staff training, and general administrative activities.

Example: We may use your health information to evaluate the quality of services you receive or for staff training purposes, with identifying information removed when possible.

Business Associates

We may disclose your health information to contractors, agents, or other business associates who need the information to perform services on our behalf. These business associates are required by law to protect your health information.

Example: We may share information with a billing service that processes insurance claims on our behalf. All business associates must sign agreements to protect your privacy.

Appointment Reminders and Treatment Alternatives

We may contact you to remind you of scheduled appointments or to provide information about treatment alternatives or other health-related services that may be of interest to you.

Communication with Family and Others Involved in Your Care

With your verbal agreement, we may share relevant information with family members or others you identify as being involved in your care. In emergency situations where you are unable to agree or object, we may share information that we determine is in your best interest.

Uses and Disclosures Permitted Without Authorization

In certain circumstances, we may use or disclose your health information without your written authorization:

Required by Law

We will disclose your health information when required to do so by federal, state, or local law. This includes reporting suspected child abuse or neglect, elder abuse, or dependent adult abuse to appropriate authorities as mandated by law.

Public Health Activities

We may disclose your health information for public health purposes such as reporting communicable diseases, adverse drug reactions, or as otherwise required by public health authorities.

Health Oversight Activities

We may disclose health information to health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law, including audits, investigations, inspections, and licensure actions.

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings

Federal Law: HIPAA permits disclosure of health information in response to a court order, subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process.

New York State Law: New York Mental Hygiene Law Section 33.13 provides stricter protections. We may only disclose mental health records in judicial or administrative proceedings pursuant to a valid court order. A subpoena alone is not sufficient under New York law. This stricter state standard applies to all disclosures related to mental health treatment records.

Law Enforcement Purposes

We may disclose limited health information to law enforcement officials as required by law or in response to a valid court order. Under New York Mental Hygiene Law, disclosures to law enforcement are restricted to "identifying data concerning hospitalization" unless otherwise required by court order.

Serious Threats to Health or Safety

We may use and disclose your health information when necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to your health or safety or the health or safety of another person or the public. Such disclosures will only be made to someone reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat.

Specialized Government Functions

We may disclose health information for specialized government functions such as military and veterans' activities, national security and intelligence activities, or protective services for the President and others.

Workers' Compensation

We may disclose health information as authorized by and necessary to comply with workers' compensation laws or similar programs.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors

We may disclose health information to coroners, medical examiners, or funeral directors as necessary for them to carry out their duties.

Psychotherapy Notes Receive Additional Protection

Psychotherapy notes, as defined by HIPAA, are notes recorded by a mental health professional documenting or analyzing the contents of a conversation during a private counseling session. These notes are kept separately from the rest of your medical record and receive the highest level of privacy protection under federal law.

Psychotherapy notes may only be disclosed with your specific written authorization, except in the following limited circumstances:

Use by the originating clinician for your treatment
Training programs within our practice
To defend against legal action you bring against the practice or clinician
As required by law (including mandatory reporting)
For oversight of the originator of the notes
To avert a serious and imminent threat to health or safety

Most other mental health records (treatment plans, medication prescription records, session start and stop times, diagnoses, functional status, treatment modality and frequency, test results, and summaries) are not considered psychotherapy notes and may be disclosed for treatment, payment, and healthcare operations without your authorization.

Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization

For uses and disclosures beyond treatment, payment, healthcare operations, and those permitted by law, we will obtain your written authorization. You have the right to revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent that we have already taken action in reliance on the authorization.

The following uses and disclosures will only be made with your written authorization:

Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes
Uses and disclosures for marketing purposes
Disclosures that constitute a sale of protected health information
Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice

Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information

You have the following rights regarding your health information:

Right to Inspect and Copy

You have the right to inspect and obtain a copy of your health information that may be used to make decisions about your care. This includes medical and billing records but does not include psychotherapy notes in most circumstances.

To inspect and copy your health information, submit your request in writing to Dancing Dialogue. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copying and mailing records. In certain limited circumstances, we may deny your request to inspect and copy your records. If we deny your request, you may request a review of that denial.

Right to Amend

If you believe that information in your health record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request that we amend the information. You must make your request in writing and provide a reason for the amendment.

We may deny your request if you ask us to amend information that:

Was not created by us
Is not part of the health information we maintain
You would not be permitted to inspect and copy
Is accurate and complete

If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to submit a written statement of disagreement that will be included in your record.

Right to Request Restrictions

You have the right to request restrictions on how we use or disclose your health information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations. You also have the right to request restrictions on disclosures to family members or others involved in your care.

We are not required to agree to your request for restrictions, except in one circumstance: If you pay for a service or healthcare item out-of-pocket in full and request that we not disclose information about that item or service to your health insurer, we must honor that request unless disclosure is required by law.

To request restrictions, submit your request in writing to Dancing Dialogue specifying what information you want to limit and to whom you want the limits to apply.

Right to Request Confidential Communications

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about your health information in a specific manner or at a specific location. For example, you may request that we contact you only at work or only by mail.

We will accommodate all reasonable requests. You do not need to explain the reason for your request. To request confidential communications, submit your request in writing to Dancing Dialogue specifying how or where you wish to be contacted.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures

You have the right to receive an accounting of certain disclosures of your health information made by Dancing Dialogue during the six years prior to your request. The accounting will not include disclosures:

For treatment, payment, or healthcare operations
Made to you or pursuant to your written authorization
Made to persons involved in your care or for notification purposes
For national security or intelligence purposes
To correctional institutions or law enforcement officials
That occurred prior to April 14, 2003

To request an accounting, submit your request in writing to Dancing Dialogue. Your request must specify the time period for which you want the accounting. The first accounting within a 12-month period is free. We may charge a reasonable fee for additional accountings within the same 12-month period.

Right to a Paper Copy of This Notice

You have the right to receive a paper copy of this Notice of Privacy Practices at any time, even if you previously agreed to receive it electronically. To obtain a paper copy, contact Dancing Dialogue at (845) 265-1085 or request one during any appointment.

Right to Receive Breach Notification

You have the right to be notified in the event of a breach of your unsecured protected health information. We will notify you without unreasonable delay and in no case later than 60 days after discovery of the breach.

Changes to This Notice

We reserve the right to change this Notice of Privacy Practices. We reserve the right to make the revised notice effective for health information we already have about you as well as information we receive in the future. We will post the current notice in our offices and on our website. The notice will contain the effective date on the first page.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Dancing Dialogue or with the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Dancing Dialogue, contact:

Dancing Dialogue
41 Union Square West, Suite 1528, NYC
1806 Route 9D, Suite 1, Cold Spring, NY
assistant@dancingdialogue.com
(845) 265-1085

To file a complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: 1-877-696-6775
Website: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/

You will not be penalized or retaliated against for filing a complaint.

Telehealth Services

If you receive services via telehealth, we use HIPAA-compliant secure video platforms. You are responsible for ensuring the security of your own device and choosing a private location for telehealth sessions. Please be aware that transmitting information electronically carries some risk that information could be intercepted or accessed by unauthorized parties, although we take reasonable measures to minimize these risks.

Questions

If you have questions about this Notice of Privacy Practices or would like additional information, please contact: