Privacy Policy and Website Data Practices

Kentlands Psychotherapy is committed to protecting your privacy—both in our clinical work and in your use of this website. Informed by our Ethics Policy, this Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard information when you visit our website or engage with our online tools.

1. Who We Are

Kentlands Psychotherapy is a private, fee-for-service mental health practice located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Our team includes licensed psychologists, therapists, and prescribers who provide psychotherapy, psychological testing, and medication management.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that helps us communicate with you or improve our services. This may include:

Contact Information: When you use our “Contact Us” form, request an appointment, or subscribe to our newsletter, we may collect your name, email address, and phone number.
Self-Assessment Tools: If you complete a self-test (such as our Emotional Affair quiz or other screening tools), your responses may be temporarily stored on our web server or securely transmitted to our staff for educational or informational purposes only.
Technical Data: Like most websites, our site automatically collects non-identifying information such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, and pages viewed.
Cookies and Analytics: We may use cookies or website analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use our site. This data helps us improve usability and content but does not identify you personally.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information you provide for the following purposes:

To respond to your inquiries or appointment requests
To send newsletters or practice updates (only if you opt in)
To improve our website and educational content
To ensure compliance with HIPAA and other applicable privacy laws

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to others. We also do not use tracking for advertising, remarketing, or behavioral profiling.

4. Protection of Your Information

Our website is hosted on secure, HIPAA-compliant servers and uses SSL encryption (https).

We restrict access to your data to authorized administrative staff and use appropriate safeguards to protect it from unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

5. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to external sites for informational purposes (such as professional associations or community resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites.

6. Use of Self-Tests and Educational Tools

Our self-tests and quizzes are provided for educational and self-reflective purposes only.

They are not diagnostic tools and do not replace professional evaluation.

Information submitted through these tools is not automatically entered into a clinical record and does not establish a therapist-client relationship.

If you choose to share your self-test results with our office via a contact form, that information will be treated as confidential in accordance with HIPAA and professional ethics standards.

7. Email Communication

If you contact us via email or through our website forms, please remember that standard email is not a secure form of communication. We encourage you to avoid including highly sensitive personal details in initial messages. Once you become a client, all clinical communication will take place through our HIPAA-compliant client portal.

8. Your Choices and Rights

You may:

Request that we delete your contact information from our email or newsletter lists.
Request a copy of any personal data you have submitted.
Decline cookies in your browser settings (this may limit some website functionality).

To make a privacy-related request, please contact us at info@kentlandspsychotherapy.com or call 240-252-3349.

9. HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

For information about how we handle Protected Health Information (PHI) in clinical settings, please review our separate HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices available [here].

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in privacy regulations. The updated version will always be available on this page with the effective date listed above.