MEND THERAPY GROUP
NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES
Effective Date: September 8, 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.
Mend Therapy Group is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your protected health information (“PHI”). PHI includes information that identifies you and relates to your past, present, or future physical or mental health, treatment, or payment for health care.
This Notice explains your privacy rights, our responsibilities, and the ways Mend Therapy Group may use or disclose your protected health information.
YOUR RIGHTS
You have certain rights regarding your health information.
Get a copy of your record.
You may ask to inspect or receive an electronic or paper copy of health information we maintain about you, subject to limitations permitted by law.
Ask us to correct your record.
You may request an amendment if you believe information in your record is incorrect or incomplete. We may deny a request in certain circumstances and will explain the reason for the denial as required by law.
Request confidential communications.
You may ask us to contact you in a specific way or at a specific location. We will accommodate reasonable requests.
Ask us to limit what we use or share.
You may request restrictions on certain uses or disclosures of your health information. We are not required to agree to every requested restriction.
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 unless disclosure is required by law.
Receive an accounting of disclosures.
You may request a list of certain disclosures of your protected health information made during the period permitted by law.
Receive a copy of this Notice.
You may request a paper or electronic copy of this Notice at any time.
Choose someone to act for you.
If you have given someone legal authority to act on your behalf, such as through a valid health care power of attorney or legal guardianship, that person may exercise your privacy rights when applicable.
File a complaint.
You may file a complaint with Mend Therapy Group or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if you believe your privacy rights have been violated.
Mend Therapy Group will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.
YOUR CHOICES
When permitted by law, you may tell us your preferences regarding the sharing of information with family members, friends, or others involved in your care or payment for your care.
For uses or disclosures that require your written authorization, Mend Therapy Group will ask you to provide written authorization.
You may revoke an authorization in writing, except to the extent that we have already acted in reliance upon it.
Mend Therapy Group will not sell your protected health information or use it for marketing in a manner requiring authorization without first obtaining the authorization required by law.
Psychotherapy notes receive special protection under federal law and generally require authorization for uses or disclosures except in limited circumstances permitted by law.
HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION
Treatment
We may use and disclose protected health information to provide, coordinate, or manage your care.
When legally permitted and appropriate, information may be shared with other health care professionals involved in your treatment.
Payment
We may use or disclose protected health information as necessary to bill for services, process payments, or perform other payment-related activities.
Health Care Operations
We may use protected health information for activities necessary to operate Mend Therapy Group.
These activities may include quality improvement, professional supervision, training, compliance, administrative activities, and business management.
Business Associates
Mend Therapy Group may work with vendors or service providers that perform functions on behalf of the practice.
When protected health information must be shared with these organizations, we will use the privacy safeguards required by applicable law.
As Required or Permitted by Law
We may use or disclose protected health information when required or permitted by applicable federal or South Carolina law.
This may include certain public health and safety activities, health oversight activities, judicial or administrative proceedings, law enforcement purposes, workers’ compensation matters, or other circumstances authorized or required by law.
MENTAL HEALTH CONFIDENTIALITY & SOUTH CAROLINA LAW
South Carolina law provides confidentiality and privilege protections for communications and treatment records involving licensed professional counselors and related licensed professionals.
Mend Therapy Group will protect information you disclose during therapy in accordance with applicable South Carolina and federal confidentiality laws.
There are circumstances in which information may be disclosed without your authorization when disclosure is required or permitted by law.
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, examples may include:
• Suspected child abuse or neglect.
• Suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult when reporting is required by law.
• Circumstances involving a serious or immediate safety concern when disclosure is authorized or required by law.
• A valid court order or other legal process requiring disclosure.
• Certain health oversight or governmental activities authorized by law.
• Situations in which disclosure is otherwise required or specifically permitted by applicable federal or South Carolina law.
The specific response and information disclosed will depend upon the circumstances and applicable legal requirements.
COUPLES, FAMILY & DUO THERAPY
When more than one person participates in therapy together, confidentiality, privacy, and record-access issues can be more complex.
This includes spouses, romantic partners, parents and children, family members, friends, and other individuals participating in therapy together.
South Carolina law provides protections regarding confidential communications in conjoint family treatment, and Mend Therapy Group will follow applicable state and federal requirements.
Mend Therapy Group may provide a separate Couples/Duo Therapy Informed Consent explaining practice-specific expectations concerning:
• Confidentiality between participants
• Joint treatment records
• Individual communications with the therapist
• Information shared during individual portions of conjoint treatment
• Releases of information
• Access to records
• The practice’s policy regarding information or “secrets” shared individually with the therapist
This Notice of Privacy Practices does not, by itself, establish a “no-secrets” policy.
Clients participating in couples, family, or duo therapy should discuss any questions or concerns regarding confidentiality with Patrick before sharing information they expect to remain private from another participant.
MINORS & PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES
Privacy and consent rights involving minors depend upon several factors, including the minor’s age, legal status, type of treatment, who has legal authority to consent to treatment, and applicable South Carolina and federal law.
Mend Therapy Group will determine consent, access, and disclosure rights based upon the circumstances and applicable law rather than applying one age rule to every situation.
When a parent, guardian, or other legally authorized individual acts as a client’s personal representative, Mend Therapy Group will recognize that authority as required by applicable law.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SESSIONS
Email, standard text messaging, voicemail, and other electronic communication methods may carry privacy and security risks.
Mend Therapy Group may use these communication methods for scheduling, appointment reminders, administrative matters, and other appropriate communication.
Clients may request reasonable preferences regarding how Mend Therapy Group contacts them.
Please avoid sending highly sensitive clinical information through ordinary email or text message whenever possible.
Email, text messaging, voicemail, online scheduling forms, and social media should not be used for emergencies.
If you are experiencing an immediate or life-threatening emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
If you are experiencing a mental health or suicide-related crisis, call or text 988 for immediate support.
PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS
Your privacy remains important outside of the therapy office.
If Patrick Sapp or another Mend Therapy Group team member sees you in public, they generally will not acknowledge knowing you unless you acknowledge them first.
If you initiate contact, Mend Therapy Group will still avoid discussing your treatment or revealing that you are a client to other people who may be present.
YOUR RECORDS
You have rights regarding access to your health information as provided by applicable law.
Certain information may be subject to limitations on access, including separately maintained psychotherapy notes and other information for which access may legally be restricted.
If you request access to your records, Mend Therapy Group will respond in accordance with applicable federal and South Carolina requirements.
OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
Mend Therapy Group is required by applicable law to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information.
We will follow the privacy practices described in the Notice currently in effect.
If a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your protected health information, Mend Therapy Group will provide notification when required by law.
We will not use or disclose your information other than as described in this Notice unless you provide written authorization or another law permits or requires the use or disclosure.
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER RECORDS
Certain substance use disorder treatment records may receive additional privacy protections under federal law, including 42 C.F.R. Part 2.
If Mend Therapy Group creates, receives, or maintains records protected by these requirements, those records will receive the additional protections required by applicable federal law.
Nothing in this Notice is intended to reduce any additional privacy protection that applies to those records.
CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE
Mend Therapy Group reserves the right to change the terms of this Notice as permitted by law.
Changes may apply to protected health information already maintained by the practice as well as information created or received in the future.
The current Notice of Privacy Practices will be available upon request and will be made available through the practice as required by law.
QUESTIONS, PRIVACY REQUESTS OR COMPLAINTS
If you have questions about this Notice, would like to exercise one of your privacy rights, or have concerns regarding the privacy or security of your information, please contact:
Mend Therapy Group
88 Villa Road
Greenville, SC 29615
(864) 659-2330
mendtherapygroup.org
You may also file a privacy complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights.
Mend Therapy Group will not retaliate against you for exercising your privacy rights or filing a complaint.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT
By acknowledging receipt of this Notice, I confirm that I have received or been provided access to Mend Therapy Group’s Notice of Privacy Practices.
I understand that this acknowledgment confirms receipt of the Notice and does not constitute authorization for uses or disclosures of my protected health information beyond those permitted or required by applicable law.
☐ I acknowledge that I have received, read, and been provided access to Mend Therapy Group’s Notice of Privacy Practices.