Notice of Privacy Practices

GIFT Counseling and Consulting, PLLC
Faith Tunstall, M.S., LPC — Licensed in Virginia and South Carolina

Effective Date: August 5, 2026

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.

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

• Get a copy of your medical record. You may ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.
• Ask us to correct your medical record. You may ask us to correct health information about you that you believe is incorrect or incomplete. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days.
• Request confidential communications. You may ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, a specific phone number or email) or to send mail to a different address. We will honor all reasonable requests.
• Ask us to limit what we use or share. You may ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service out-of-pocket in full, you may ask us not to share that information with your health insurer for payment or our operations; we will honor that request unless a law requires us to share it.
• Get a list of those with whom we have shared information. You may ask for a list (an “accounting”) of the times we have shared your health information for the six years prior to the date of your request, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all disclosures except those about treatment, payment, health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as those you asked us to make). We will provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another within 12 months.
• Get a copy of this notice. You may ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.
• Choose someone to act for you. If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will verify the person’s authority before taking any action.
• File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated. You may complain by contacting us (see below) or by filing 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 can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us.

• Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care. We may share your information with people you name, unless you object.
• Share information in a disaster relief situation. We may share your information with disaster relief organizations so your family can be notified of your condition and location, unless you object.
• Provide mental health care. We will not disclose your psychotherapy notes without your written authorization, except as required or permitted by law.
• Market our services or sell your information. We do not sell your protected health information. We will not use or disclose your information for marketing purposes without your written authorization.

Our Uses and Disclosures

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways.

• Treat you. We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.
• Run our practice. We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
• Bill for your services. We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.

How Else Can We Use or Share Your Health Information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways — usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes.

• Help with public health and safety issues. We can share health information about you for certain situations such as preventing disease, reporting adverse reactions to medications, and preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.
• Do research. We can use or share your information for health research (generally only with your written authorization).
• Comply with the law. We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we are complying with federal privacy law.
• Work with a medical examiner or funeral director. We can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.
• Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requests. We can use or share health information about you for workers’ compensation claims; for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official; with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law; and for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.
• Respond to lawsuits and legal actions. We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Telehealth and Technology

I provide counseling through secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth platforms. If we meet by video, you must be physically located in a state where I am licensed — Virginia or South Carolina — at the time of each session, unless otherwise required or permitted by law. Please tell me where you are located at the start of each session.

While I use safeguards to protect your information, no internet or video transmission is completely secure. To protect your privacy, please attend sessions from a private location, use a personal (not public) device and network, and do not record sessions without my written consent. Text messaging and email may not be fully secure; for urgent or sensitive matters, please call.

Psychotherapy Notes

Psychotherapy notes are my separate, private notes about our sessions and are kept apart from the rest of your medical record. I will not use or disclose psychotherapy notes without your written authorization, except as required by law or permitted by federal privacy rules (for example, to avert a serious and imminent threat to health or safety).

Our Responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
• We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
• We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time; let us know in writing if you change your mind.

Changes to the Terms of This Notice

We can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request and on our website.

Questions or Complaints

If you have questions about this notice, or believe your privacy rights have been violated, please contact:

GIFT Counseling and Consulting, PLLC
Attn: Privacy Officer — Faith Tunstall, M.S., LPC
701 E. Franklin Street, Suite 105 #1354, Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (336) 646-4862 · Email: info@giftccs.com

You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, by calling 1-877-696-6775, or at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy. You may also contact your state licensing board (Virginia Board of Counseling, or the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Psycho-Educational Specialists). We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

This notice is provided for general information only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Licensed in Virginia (LPC #0701012831) and South Carolina (LPC #12526).