Privacy Policy

Website Privacy

NorthStarFrisco.com is operated by NorthStar Counseling & Therapy. When you visit our website, we may collect limited information such as your IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, and the referring URL. This is standard analytics information used only to measure site performance and usage patterns.

We do not use website visits alone to identify individual site visitors, and we do not sell, rent, or share this information with third-party marketers. Hosting and edge services are provided by Cloudflare under their published privacy practices.

If you contact us through a form, by email, or by phone, we use the information you provide solely to respond to your inquiry. If you become a client, any health information you share is covered under the HIPAA notice below, not this website section.

Cookies & Tracking

Our site uses a small number of cookies and scripts for essential analytics and conversion measurement. Specifically:

• • Cloudflare Zaraz loads tag management at the edge to support Google Analytics 4 for anonymized traffic measurement.
• • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) collects aggregate usage data (page views, referrers, device type). IP addresses are truncated. No health information is tracked.
• • Calendly embeds a scheduling widget on our contact page. Calendly's own privacy policy applies when you interact with it.
• • Trustindex displays our Google Reviews on the reviews page. The widget is loaded from Trustindex.io.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or third-party marketing trackers. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies through their settings; blocking analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use the site.

If you are a resident of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, or another jurisdiction with a consumer privacy law, you may have rights to request access, deletion, or correction of personal data we hold about you. Contact our Privacy Officer (see below) to exercise these rights.

HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

A federal regulation known as the HIPAA Privacy Rule requires that NorthStar Counseling & Therapy provide a detailed notice in writing of our privacy practices. This notice describes the ways we may use and disclose protected health information (PHI) about our clients, your rights as our client, and our obligations regarding the use and disclosure of PHI.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI about you, give you this Notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI, and comply with the terms of our Notice of Privacy Practices that is currently in effect.

As permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule, we reserve the right to make changes to this Notice and to make such changes effective for all PHI we may already have about you. If and when this Notice is changed, we will provide you with a copy of the revised Notice upon your request made to our Privacy Officer.

You will be asked to sign a form to show that you received this Notice. Even if you do not sign this form, we will still provide you with treatment.

How We Use & Disclose PHI

Treatment, payment, and health care operations

The following categories describe the different ways we may use and disclose PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations without your separate consent or authorization. The examples in each category are not exhaustive.

Treatment: We may use and disclose PHI about you to provide, coordinate, or manage your care and related services. We may consult with other licensed providers regarding your treatment and coordinate your care with them. When you are referred to another provider, we may disclose PHI to that provider. In emergencies, we may use and disclose PHI to provide the care you need.

Payment: Our practice may use and disclose PHI to bill and collect payment for the services provided to you. Because NorthStar is a private-pay practice, we do not bill insurance directly. When you request a superbill for possible out-of-network reimbursement, we may disclose limited PHI to your health plan so the plan can process your claim.

Health Care Operations: We may use and disclose PHI for internal activities that improve the quality of care we provide and reduce costs, such as supervision, training, quality review, and administrative work required to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and other legal requirements.

Communication from our office: We may contact you to remind you of appointments and to provide you with information about treatment alternatives or other health-related services that may be of interest to you.

Disclosures you may agree or object to

We may disclose PHI about you to a family member, close friend, or any other person identified by you if the information is directly relevant to that person's involvement in your care or payment for your care. If you are present and able to consent or object, we will only use or disclose PHI after you have been informed of your opportunity to object.

If you are not present or are unable to consent or object, we may exercise professional judgment to determine whether other use or disclosure of PHI is in your best interests.

Required by law: We may use and disclose PHI as required by federal, state, or local law to the extent that the use or disclosure complies with the law and is limited to what the law requires.

Special Circumstances

Under certain conditions we may disclose PHI for public health activities; to report abuse, neglect, or domestic violence to proper authorities; for health oversight activities such as audits or investigations; in response to a court or administrative tribunal order, subpoena, or other required legal process; to law enforcement in limited circumstances; for research purposes under strictly defined HIPAA criteria; to avert a serious threat to health or safety; for specialized government functions such as national security or inmate safety; as required by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; as an incidental disclosure that is reasonably safeguarded; or as part of a limited data set.

All other uses require your authorization. Any use or disclosure not described in this notice will only be made with your written authorization, and you may revoke that authorization at any time.

Psychotherapy notes: Psychotherapy notes receive additional protection under HIPAA. Any use or disclosure of psychotherapy notes (other than for your own treatment or as required by law) requires your written authorization.

Your Rights Regarding PHI

Under federal law, you have the following rights:

Our practice will obtain your written authorization for uses and disclosures that are not identified by this notice or otherwise permitted by applicable law. Any authorization you provide may be revoked at any time in writing. After you revoke your authorization, we will no longer use or disclose your PHI for the reasons described in the authorization, except to the extent we have already acted on it.

Privacy Officer Contact

This Notice of Privacy Practices was reviewed on April 17, 2026. Last material change: July 1, 2021.