Notice of Privacy Practices

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.

Effective July 1, 2026. Illume Counseling is the trade name of Spell Therapy and Wellness, PLLC. This notice applies to Spell Therapy and Wellness, PLLC, doing business as Illume Counseling, and the clinicians practicing within it.

Our commitment

We are committed to protecting the privacy of your protected health information (PHI). We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your PHI, to provide you with this notice of our legal duties and privacy practices, and to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect.

How we may use and disclose your information

Treatment: We may use your information to provide and coordinate your care, including, with your written consent, coordination among clinicians on your care team as part of The Coordinated Visit or other coordinated services.

Payment: We may use and disclose your information to bill and receive payment for services, including verifying coverage with your insurer where applicable.

Health care operations: We may use your information for quality, training, supervision, and administrative functions necessary to run the practice.

Appointment reminders and communications

We may contact you by text message or email to confirm or remind you of appointments and for other communications related to your care. If you would prefer that we reach you a different way, or that we limit how and where we contact you, tell us and we will accommodate reasonable requests for confidential communications.

Disclosures that may be required or permitted by law

In limited circumstances, the law may require or permit disclosure without your authorization, including: when there is a serious and imminent threat to health or safety; suspected abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult; in response to a valid court order; and as otherwise required by law. These exceptions are reviewed with you at the start of care.

Psychotherapy notes

Psychotherapy notes are notes a clinician records to document or analyze the contents of a counseling session, kept separate from the rest of your record. Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes require your written authorization. Limited exceptions include use by the clinician who created them for your treatment, and certain uses or disclosures required by law.

Uses that require your written authorization

Uses and disclosures not described in this notice will be made only with your written authorization. We will obtain your written authorization before using or disclosing your information for marketing, and we will never sell your protected health information. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we have already acted in reliance on it.

Your rights

You have the right to request to inspect and copy your records, to request amendments, to request restrictions on certain uses and disclosures, to request confidential communications, to receive an accounting of certain disclosures, to be notified following a breach of your unsecured protected health information, and to receive a paper copy of this notice. Requests can be made in writing to the contact below.

Minors and confidentiality

For clients who are minors, certain rights are exercised by a parent or guardian, subject to applicable law and clinical judgment regarding the minor’s confidentiality. We discuss the specific framework with families at the start of care.

Records retention

We retain client records for at least the minimum period required by North Carolina law and applicable professional licensing standards.

Our duties

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information, to notify you following a breach of unsecured protected health information, and to follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice. We reserve the right to change this notice and to make the revised notice effective for information we already have as well as information we receive in the future. The current notice will be posted and available on request, with its effective date shown.

Complaints

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with us or with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. You will not be penalized for filing a complaint.

Contact

To exercise any of these rights, ask questions about this notice, or file a complaint, you may contact our Privacy Officer, Vladimir Tikhtman, Clinical Psychotherapist, by mail at 543 Keisler Drive, Suite 203, Cary, NC 27518, or by email at care@illumecounselingnc.com.

Effective date: July 1, 2026.