How We Protect
Your Online Privacy

Privacy is often a very important to concern for individuals seeking our services. To get the most out of psychological services, particularly counseling or psychotherapy, it is important for you to be able to trust that we will keep what you say in confidence. We do all we can to protect your privacy and confidentiality (download a notice of privacy practices here).

There are unique considerations we take when communicating and collecting information online. Please read the following carefully.

About the Privacy of E-Mail and Online Forms

E-mail and web-based forms are a convenient way to communicate. However, they are not always confidential or private. When an unencrypted e-mail is sent either from one's own account or from a web-based form, the information may be available to others much like an unsealed envelope through the traditional postal system. For this reason, all of the web-based forms on this site and any confidential e-mails we send use encryption technology.

What is Encryption?

Encryption is the process of putting information into a code that can only be understood by the person receiving the information. It is like sealing an envelope with a letter saying "Dear Bob, nice to see you again!" when Bob opens it, but if anyone else opens it the letter says something like, "kjld90181k3lkjlKL:JOPU[p1 15a64s5e09bhjbl}{|d2IO."

Most web-based forms that are used by retailers, banks, and similar businesses use what is called 128-bit encryption to protect your private information. This is very difficult to decode even by experts and is considered the standard for protecting your privacy. If your computer has old software installed, this is the minimum level of encryption for all forms on this website. For individuals with more up-to-date software, all forms on this site use advanced, 2048-bit PGP encryption technology using the Hush Encryption Engine (see http://www.hushmail.com for details).

To ensure 2048-bit encryption, be sure you have the Java Runtime Environment installed on your computer.

Similarly, any email we send to a client or potential client, or with any information about a client, is encrypted using this same 2048-bit PGP encryption technology. Only the intended recipient of the information will be able to decode the message.

Other Ways We Protect Your Privacy when using e-mail and web-based forms

• As noted, all of the web-based forms on this website and confidential emails we send use encryption technology. When you click "submit form," the information is immediately encrypted before it leaves your computer and then travels to our secure e-mail system.

• Our e-mail system uses a secure server maintained by Hushmail. Once we receive an e-mail, it is stored on their servers until we have read it and no one but us has access to it. All information in our e-mail system is stored using 2048-bit encyrption.

• If we keep a copy of your e-mail at our offices, it will be maintained in our secure clinical records which meet state and federal privacy laws and ethical guidelines for protecting your confidentiality.

• Email we send to a client or with any identifiable information about a client is encrypted.

• The passwords and passphrases we use to access e-mail and other electronic information are long and complex.

• The first time you receive an e-mail from us, you will need to log onto a secure website and setup a passphrase (another name for a long password) before you can read these encrypted messages. All of the instructions to do this will be provided in that first e-mail. Once you have done this, all you need to do to read an e-mail from me is enter that passphrase.

How YOU can protect your privacy when using e-mail

Of greatest concern for e-mail is the likelihood of accidental forwarding of messages to someone other than the intended reader. A simple typo or click of a button can result in an email message being sent to the wrong address. Although we take several steps to reduce the risk of violating your privacy when communicating online, please be aware that you are taking on some level of risk whenever you use this form of communication; We cannot assume all of the risk for you. Here are some ways you can protect yourself:

• Always double-check the e-mail address of the recipient of e-mails you send. When sending e-mail to us, only use email addresses at the burkepsych.hush.com domain.

• To keep people with access to your computer from knowing you sent an email to someone at "burkepsych.hush.com," you may use my alternate secure e-mail address, si_secure_mail@nym.hush.com.

• Learn to use encryption technology to send encrypted messages. One free service for this is available at http://www.hushmail.com. You may request a free secure email account on the Burkepsych Secure system.

• Never send sensitive information in an unencrypted e-mail.

• Use long, complex passwords with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols whenever possible. Keep your passwords private.

• Because we are human, remember that no e-mail should be considered 100% private even when using the best encryption technologies available. Most violations of privacy or confidentiality when using e-mail are the result of human error.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact us. If you are uncomfortable completing forms online, you may always download a printable version to complete by hand and return to me in person, by mail, or by fax.

 

On This Page

• About Privacy of E-Mail and Online Forms

• What is Encryption?

• How Else We Protect Your Privacy

• What You Can Do