Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective Date: July 14, 2026
 

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL AND MENTAL-HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.
 

Lumen Counseling of Texas is an assumed name of Lumen Counseling Group, PLLC.

This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how Lumen Counseling Group, PLLC, doing business as Lumen Counseling of Texas, may use and disclose your protected health information and explains your rights concerning that information.
 

In this notice, “Lumen Counseling of Texas,” “the practice,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Lumen Counseling Group, PLLC, doing business as Lumen Counseling of Texas.

Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.
 

This notice explains:
 

• Your rights regarding your health information

• The choices you may make about how your information is used

• How the practice may use and disclose your information

• The practice’s legal responsibilities

• How to ask questions or file a complaint

Your Rights
 

You have certain rights regarding your protected health information.
 

Receive an Electronic or Paper Copy of Your Health Record

You may ask to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of the health information maintained by the practice.

We will generally provide a copy or summary within the time required by law. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee when permitted by law.
 

In limited circumstances, access may be restricted or denied. When required, we will explain the reason and whether you may request a review of that decision.
 

Psychotherapy notes may be maintained separately from the remainder of your clinical record and may receive additional protection under federal and Texas law.
 

Ask Us to Correct Your Health Record
 

You may ask us to correct health information that you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.

We may deny your request in certain circumstances. When required by law, we will provide a written explanation.
 

Your request should identify the information you believe is inaccurate and explain the correction you are requesting.
 

Request Confidential Communications
 

You may ask us to contact you in a specific way or at a particular location.
 

For example, you may request that we:
 

• Call only a particular telephone number

• Use a specified email address

• Communicate through the secure client portal

• Send mail to a specific address

• Avoid leaving detailed voicemail messages

We will accommodate reasonable requests.

Ask Us to Limit What We Use or Share
 

You may ask us not to use or disclose certain health information for treatment, payment, or health care operations.
 

We are not always required to agree to your request. If we agree, we may still use or disclose the information if emergency treatment is necessary.
 

If you pay in full out of pocket for a service, you may ask us not to disclose information about that service to your health plan for payment or health care operations. We will honor that request unless disclosure is required by law.
 

Receive a List of Certain Disclosures
 

You may request an accounting of certain disclosures of your protected health information made during the period permitted by law.
 

The accounting generally does not include disclosures made:
 

• For treatment

• For payment

• For health care operations

• Directly to you

• With your written authorization

• For certain other purposes excluded by law

We will generally provide one accounting during a 12-month period without charge. We may charge a reasonable fee for additional requests during that period.
 

Receive a Copy of This Notice

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

The current notice is also available on the Lumen Counseling of Texas website.

Choose Someone to Act for You
 

If another person has legal authority to act on your behalf, that person may exercise your privacy rights as permitted by law.

This may include:

• A parent or legal guardian

• A personal representative

• A person holding medical power of attorney

• Another legally authorized representative

We may verify the person’s legal authority before acting on a request.

File a Privacy Complaint

You may file a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.

You may submit a complaint directly to Lumen Counseling of Texas using the contact information at the bottom of this notice.

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you may tell us your preferences about how the information is used or shared.

Family Members, Friends, and Others Involved in Your Care

You may tell us whether we may share information with:
 

• A family member

• A close friend

• A caregiver

• Another person involved in your care

• A person involved in paying for your care

If you are unable to communicate your preference, we may disclose limited information when we believe it is in your best interest or when needed to reduce a serious and imminent threat to health or safety, as permitted by law.

Disaster-Relief Situations

We may share limited information with an organization assisting in a disaster-relief effort when permitted by law.

You may tell us your preferences concerning these disclosures.

Marketing and Fundraising

We generally will not use your protected health information for marketing purposes without your written authorization.

The practice does not currently use protected health information for fundraising.

If fundraising communications are used in the future, you will have the right to ask us not to contact you again.
 

Sale of Protected Health Information
 

The practice does not sell protected health information.

We will not sell your protected health information without your written authorization when authorization is required by law.
 

How We May Use and Share Your Health Information
 

We may use or disclose your protected health information without your written authorization for the purposes described below.
 

Treatment
 

We may use or share your health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your counseling and related health care.
 

For example, when appropriate and legally permitted, we may communicate with another health care professional involved in your treatment, such as:
 

• A physician

• A psychiatrist

• Another therapist

• A hospital or treatment facility

• Another health care provider involved in your care

Payment
 

We may use or disclose your health information to bill for services and receive payment.

This may include providing necessary information to:
 

• Your health plan

• A billing service

• A payment processor

• A person responsible for payment

• Another authorized party involved in payment

Health Care Operations
 

We may use or disclose your health information for activities necessary to operate the practice.

These activities may include:
 

• Quality assessment

• Professional consultation

• Clinical supervision, when applicable

• Credentialing

• Licensing

• Compliance review

• Auditing

• Business planning

• Legal services

• Accounting

• Insurance

• Information-system management

• Training

• Practice administration

We will limit the information used or disclosed to the minimum necessary when required by law.

Business Associates

We may share protected health information with individuals or companies that perform services for the practice.
 

These business associates may include:
 

• Electronic health-record providers

• Telehealth platform providers

• Secure communication vendors

• Billing services

• Cloud-storage providers

• Information-technology providers

• Legal professionals

• Accounting professionals

• Insurance professionals

When required, business associates must agree to appropriately safeguard protected health information.

Other Uses and Disclosures Permitted or Required by Law
 

Required by Law
 

We may use or disclose protected health information when federal, state, or local law requires us to do so.

Public Health and Safety
 

We may disclose health information for certain public-health and safety purposes, including:
 

• Preventing or controlling disease

• Reporting certain injuries

• Reporting adverse events when applicable

• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation

• Preventing or reducing a serious and imminent threat to health or safety

• Complying with legally authorized public-health investigations

Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation, or Family Violence

We may disclose information to appropriate authorities when required or permitted by law to report suspected:
 

• Child abuse or neglect

• Abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elderly person

• Abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a person with a disability

• Family violence

• Other legally reportable conduct

Health Oversight Activities
 

We may disclose protected health information to authorized health-oversight agencies for activities such as:
 

• Audits

• Investigations

• Inspections

• Licensing actions

• Credentialing

• Disciplinary proceedings

• Compliance reviews

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings

We may disclose protected health information in response to a valid:
 

• Court order

• Administrative order

• Subpoena

• Discovery request

• Warrant

• Other lawful legal process

Mental-health records may be subject to additional protections under Texas law.
 

Law Enforcement

We may disclose information to law-enforcement officials when permitted or required by law.

This may include disclosures made in response to a lawful request or to address a serious and imminent threat.

Workers’ Compensation

We may disclose information as authorized by workers’ compensation laws or similar programs.

Coroners, Medical Examiners, and Funeral Directors

We may disclose protected health information to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when permitted or required by law.

Organ and Tissue Donation

We may disclose information to organizations involved in organ, eye, or tissue donation when applicable and legally permitted.

Research

We may use or disclose health information for research only when applicable legal and ethical requirements have been satisfied.

The practice does not ordinarily conduct research using client information.

Specialized Government Functions

We may disclose information for certain legally authorized government functions, including:
 

• Military activities

• National-security activities

• Protective services

• Correctional institutions

• Lawful custody situations

Uses and Disclosures Requiring Written Authorization

We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing protected health information for purposes not otherwise permitted or required by law.

Written authorization is generally required for:
 

• Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes

• Most marketing uses involving protected health information

• The sale of protected health information

• Other uses and disclosures not described in this notice

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent that we have already acted in reliance on it.

Psychotherapy Notes

Psychotherapy notes are notes recorded by a mental-health professional that document or analyze the contents of a counseling conversation and are maintained separately from the remainder of the clinical record.

Psychotherapy notes generally receive greater protection than other health records.

We will generally obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing psychotherapy notes, except for limited uses and disclosures permitted by law.

Substance-Use-Disorder Records

Records relating to the identity, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of a substance-use disorder may receive additional confidentiality protections under federal law, including 42 CFR Part 2, when those laws apply.

When applicable:
 

• We will not use or disclose Part 2 records except as permitted by law.

• Certain uses and disclosures may require your written consent.

• A consent may authorize certain future uses and disclosures for treatment, payment, and health care operations as permitted by law.

• Part 2 records generally may not be used in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative investigations or proceedings against you without appropriate consent or legal authorization.

• We will follow applicable federal requirements concerning the use and disclosure of substance-use-disorder records.

Texas Mental-Health Confidentiality Protections
 

Texas law may provide greater protection for mental-health records and communications than federal law.

When Texas law provides greater protection, we will follow the more protective applicable requirement.

We generally will not disclose mental-health treatment information without your authorization unless the disclosure is permitted or required by law.

Telehealth and Electronic Communications

Lumen Counseling of Texas provides virtual counseling services and may use electronic systems for:
 

• Telehealth sessions

• Scheduling

• Secure client-portal communications

• Electronic intake forms

• Billing

• Payment processing

• Recordkeeping

• Appointment reminders

We use reasonable safeguards and select vendors intended to support privacy and security obligations.

Electronic communications may carry privacy risks. Email and standard text messaging may not be fully secure.

Communication preferences and the risks of telehealth and electronic communication may also be addressed in the practice’s informed-consent and telehealth documents.

Communications About Services

We may contact you regarding:
 

• Appointment reminders

• Scheduling changes

• Billing matters

• Payment questions

• Treatment alternatives

• Health-related services

• Administrative matters

You may request reasonable restrictions on how we communicate with you.

Our Responsibilities

We are required by law to:
 

• Maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information

• Provide you with this Notice of Privacy Practices

• Explain our legal duties and privacy practices

• Follow the privacy practices described in the notice currently in effect

• Notify you when required if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information

• Respect your rights regarding your protected health information

• Accommodate reasonable requests for confidential communications

We will not use or disclose your information except as described in this notice or as otherwise permitted or required by law.

Changes to This Notice

We may revise this Notice of Privacy Practices.

A revised notice may apply to all protected health information maintained by the practice, including information created or received before the revision.

The current notice will be:

• Posted on the Lumen Counseling of Texas website

• Available electronically

• Available in paper form upon request

• Provided as otherwise required by law

Questions, Privacy Requests, or Complaints

For questions about this notice, to exercise a privacy right, or to file a complaint, contact:

Privacy Officer
Lumen Counseling of Texas
Lumen Counseling Group, PLLC

Privacy Officer: [Insert name and professional credentials]
Email: [Insert privacy or business email address]
Phone: [Insert business telephone number]
Mailing Address: [Insert business mailing address]

You may also file a complaint with:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office for Civil Rights

Federal privacy complaint information is available through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 

You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.

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