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: September 05, 2026
Last updated: September 05, 2026

This notice applies to the privacy practices of Grow With Grace Therapy & Wellness and Gabriella Passamante, MA, LPC, at 630B S White Horse Pike, Hammonton, NJ 0803

The information created and kept in the course of providing you with counseling services is protected health information, referred to in this notice as PHI. It includes what you tell us, our clinical records, your diagnosis and treatment information, and billing records related to your care.

We are required by law to keep your PHI private, to give you this notice explaining our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect. We are also required to notify you if a breach occurs that compromises the privacy or security of your information.

Mental health records receive stronger protection under New Jersey law than many other kinds of health information. Where New Jersey law is more protective of your privacy than federal law, we follow New Jersey law.

We may use your PHI to provide and coordinate your care. For example, we may consult with another health care provider involved in your treatment, or share information with a physician who is prescribing medication for you, when doing so is appropriate and permitted. Whenever practical, we discuss such contacts with you first.

We may use and disclose your PHI to obtain payment for services. If you use insurance, this may include sharing your diagnosis, dates and types of service, and treatment information with your health plan for authorization, claims, and benefit determination. Insurers may require this information as a condition of payment.

We may use your PHI for the practice’s own operations, such as quality review, professional consultation and supervision, training, and administrative functions necessary to run the practice.

We may contact you to remind you of an appointment or to discuss scheduling. You may tell us how you prefer to be contacted, including whether we may leave a voicemail, send a text message, or send email, and what may be included in that message.

Some services are provided through outside vendors, such as electronic record systems, billing services, or telehealth platforms. When a vendor needs access to PHI to perform its function, we require a written agreement obligating it to protect your information.

State and federal law require or permit disclosure of your PHI without your authorization in specific circumstances, including:

• Suspected child abuse or neglect. New Jersey law requires any person who has reasonable cause to believe a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect to report it to the New Jersey
• Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
  Suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable or elderly adult, as required by New Jersey law.
• Serious threat to health or safety. If you communicate a threat of imminent, serious physical violence against a reasonably identifiable person or against yourself, New Jersey law imposes a duty to take protective action. This may include warning the intended victim, notifying law enforcement, or arranging for evaluation or hospitalization.
• Judicial and administrative proceedings. If you are involved in a court proceeding and your mental health records are requested, we will not release them unless we receive your written authorization, a court order, or other legally sufficient authority. Communications with a licensed professional counselor are privileged under New Jersey law, and we will assert that privilege on your behalf where it applies.
• Health oversight. We may disclose information to a state licensing board or oversight agency conducting an investigation or audit.
• Public health activities, as required by law.
• Law enforcement and legal requirements, where disclosure is required by law or by a valid legal process.
• Coroners, medical examiners, and funeral directors, as permitted by law.
• Workers’ compensation, as authorized by law, if your care relates to a workers’ compensation claim.
• Military, veterans, national security, and correctional situations, in the limited circumstances federal law permits.

Psychotherapy notes are notes recorded by the therapist documenting or analyzing the contents of a counseling session, kept separately from the rest of your record. They receive special protection under federal law.

We will not release psychotherapy notes without your specific written authorization, except in the narrow circumstances the law allows, such as our own use in treating you, defending a legal action you bring against us, an oversight investigation of the therapist, a health and safety emergency, or where required by law. Your health plan generally may not condition payment, enrollment, or eligibility on your authorizing release of psychotherapy notes.

Uses and disclosures not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization. This includes:

• Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes
• Any use or disclosure for marketing purposes
• Any sale of your protected health information
• Disclosures to family members, partners, employers, schools, attorneys, or other third parties, except as described above

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Revocation stops future disclosures but does not undo disclosures already made in reliance on the authorization.

Certain categories of information carry additional confidentiality requirements under state or federal law, including records relating to substance use treatment, HIV and AIDS status, and genetic information. Where these protections apply, we follow the stricter standard, which generally means the information cannot be redisclosed without your specific authorization.

You may request access to and a copy of your PHI. We will respond within the time frame required by law and may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies. Psychotherapy notes are excluded from this right. In limited circumstances, access may be denied where a licensed professional determines that access is reasonably likely to endanger you or another person; you may request review of such a denial.

If you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete, you may request in writing that it be amended. We may deny the request in certain circumstances, and if we do, you may submit a written statement of disagreement to be kept with your record.

You may request a list of certain disclosures of your PHI made in the six years before your request. This does not include disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations, disclosures you authorized, or several other categories excluded by law.

You may ask us to limit how we use or disclose your information. We are not required to agree to every request. However, if you pay in full out of pocket for a service, you have the right to require that we not disclose information about that service to your health plan, and we must honor that request.

You may ask us to contact you at a specific phone number or address, or by a particular method. We will accommodate reasonable requests.

You may request a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically.

You will be notified if a breach occurs that compromises the privacy or security of your protected health information.

If you have a legal guardian, health care proxy, or someone holding a valid power of attorney, that person can exercise these rights on your behalf. We will verify the authority before taking action.

To exercise any of these rights, submit your request in writing to the contact information below.

When a client is a minor, a parent or legal guardian generally has the right to access the minor’s health information. New Jersey law provides exceptions for certain categories of care. To support effective treatment, the practice discusses expectations about confidentiality with the minor and the parent or guardian at the start of counseling, including what will and will not be shared.

When counseling is provided by telehealth, the same privacy protections described in this notice apply. Telehealth sessions are conducted using a platform selected for its security and privacy features. No electronic transmission is entirely without risk, and we will discuss telehealth privacy expectations with you before remote sessions begin.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information, to notify you promptly if a breach affects your information, to follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice, and to give you a copy of it.

We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us in writing that we may

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with the practice using the contact information below, or with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20201, by calling 1-877-696-6775, or at hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints.

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

We may change the terms of this notice at any time. Any change will apply to information we already hold as well as information we receive in the future. The current notice will always be posted on this website and available at the office, with its effective date shown.

Questions about this notice, requests to exercise your rights, and privacy complaints should be directed to the Privacy Officer:

Gabriella Passamante

Grow With Grace Therapy & Wellness
630B S White Horse Pike
Hammonton, NJ 08037
Phone: (609) 412-4766
Email: therapybygabriella@gmail.com

Email and voicemail are not monitored continuously and are not an emergency service. For a life-threatening emergency call 911. For a mental health, suicide, or substance use crisis, call or text 988.