Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 1, 2026

Meridian Counseling: Individual and Family Therapy, Inc. ("Meridian Counseling," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit our website at www.meridian-counseling.com (the "Site") or use our services.

If you are a California resident, Section 7 describes your specific rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA). If you are a patient seeking mental health services, Section 8 describes additional protections that apply to your health information under California law.

1. Who We Are

Meridian Counseling: Individual and Family Therapy, Inc. is a licensed mental health practice headquartered at 11835 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 815E, Los Angeles, CA 90064. We offer individual, couples, family, group, and child therapy, psychiatry, medication management, and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Under California Civil Code § 56.06(b), we are considered a provider of healthcare for purposes of the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA).

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

When you use our Site or contact us, we may collect:

  • Contact information: name, email address, phone number, mailing address

  • Insurance and billing information: insurance carrier, member ID, date of birth

  • Health and mental health information: reason for seeking services, treatment preferences, presenting concerns

  • Account credentials if you create a patient portal account

  • Communications you send us, including messages submitted through contact or intake forms

  • Newsletter sign-up information (email address and name)

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our Site, we and our third-party service providers automatically collect certain technical information, including:

  • IP address and approximate geographic location

  • Browser type and version, operating system, device type

  • Pages visited, time spent on pages, links clicked, referring URLs

  • Cookies, pixel tags, and similar tracking technologies (see Section 4)

Sensitive Personal Information

Under the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), certain categories of information we collect are classified as "sensitive personal information," including your health and mental health data and insurance information. We use this information only to provide the services you request. You have the right to limit our use of your sensitive personal information as described in Section 7.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • To provide our services: matching you with therapists, scheduling consultations, processing insurance verification, and facilitating clinical care

  • To communicate with you: responding to inquiries, sending appointment reminders, and providing service updates

  • To send newsletters and updates if you opted in (you may unsubscribe at any time)

  • To operate and improve our Site: analyzing usage trends, troubleshooting, and improving user experience

  • To comply with legal obligations: including maintaining records required by healthcare and licensing laws

  • For business continuity: in the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset transfer as described in Section 5

We do not use your mental health information or health data to serve you targeted advertising, and we do not sell it to data brokers.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Site uses cookies and similar technologies. We use Google Tag Manager to manage third-party scripts on our Site. The categories of cookies we use include:

  • Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the Site to function (e.g., session management, login authentication). These cannot be disabled.

  • Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the Site (e.g., Google Analytics).

  • Functional cookies: Remember your preferences such as language settings.

  • Advertising/targeting cookies: May be used to deliver relevant advertisements. You may opt out at any time using the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in our footer, or by activating a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser (see Section 6).

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect Site functionality.

5. Disclosure of Your Information — Third-Party Service Providers

We share your information with third parties only as described below. We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Service Providers We Work With

  • SimplePractice / ClientSecure (clientsecure.me): Our HIPAA-compliant patient portal and practice management platform. Patient records, scheduling, and billing are managed through this system under a Business Associate Agreement.

  • Google LLC: We use Google Tag Manager to manage analytics and marketing scripts on our Site. Our new client intake form is hosted on Google Forms; when you submit an intake request, your responses are transmitted to and stored by Google on our behalf. We use this information solely to process your service request. Google's privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

  • Squarespace: Hosts our public-facing website. Website visitor data (IP addresses, page views) is processed by Squarespace under their privacy policy.

  • Meta (Facebook): We maintain a Facebook business page. If you interact with our page or if advertising pixels are active on our Site, Meta may process data subject to their privacy policy. You may manage your Meta advertising preferences at your Facebook account settings.

  • Email communications: Your newsletter subscription information is used solely to send you updates from Meridian Counseling and is not shared with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Other Disclosures

  • Legal requirements: We may disclose your information when required by law, court order, or valid government request.

  • Protection of rights: We may disclose information to protect the safety of our patients, staff, or the public, or to defend against legal claims.

  • Business transfers: If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy.

  • Affiliates: We may share information with affiliated entities under common ownership or control, who are bound by this Privacy Policy.

  • With your consent: We may disclose your personal information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.

Transfer of Your Personal Data

Your information, including personal data, is processed at our operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in processing are located. This means your information may be transferred to and maintained on computers located outside of California where data protection laws may differ. We take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and no transfer of your personal data will take place to an organization or country unless adequate controls are in place.

6. Global Privacy Control (GPC)

California law requires us to honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal as a valid opt-out of the sale and sharing of personal information. If your browser or browser extension sends a GPC signal when you visit our Site, we will treat it as a request to opt out of the sale and sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You can enable GPC in supporting browsers such as Firefox and Brave, or via browser extensions listed at globalprivacycontrol.org.

7. Your California Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) give you the following rights:

Your rights at a glance: Right to Know · Right to Delete · Right to Correct · Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing · Right to Limit Sensitive Personal Information · Right to Data Portability · Right to Non-Discrimination

Right to Know

You have the right to request disclosure of the categories of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, our business purposes for collecting it, the categories of third parties we share it with, and the specific pieces of personal information we hold about you.

Right to Delete

You have the right to request that we delete personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions (such as information required to complete a transaction, comply with a legal obligation, or for security purposes). You may also delete certain information by signing into your patient account and using the account settings.

Right to Correct

You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.

Right to Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing

We do not sell your personal information in the traditional sense. However, certain advertising and analytics activities may constitute "sharing" under CPRA. You have the right to opt out at any time. To exercise this right, click the "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in our website footer, or contact us using the information in Section 15.

Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information

You have the right to direct us to limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information (including health and mental health data) to purposes necessary to provide the services you requested. To exercise this right, click the "Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information" link in our website footer, or contact us as described in Section 15.

Right to Data Portability

You have the right to receive a copy of the personal information you have provided to us in a portable, readily usable format.

Right to Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights. We will not deny you services, charge different prices, or provide a different quality of service because you exercised a right under California law.

How to Submit a Privacy Rights Request

To exercise any of the rights above, please contact us by:

  • Email: [email protected]

  • Phone: (323) 332-9905

  • Mail: Meridian Counseling, Attn: Privacy Request, 11835 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 815E, Los Angeles, CA 90064

We will respond to verifiable consumer requests within 45 days of receipt. If we require additional time (up to 45 more days), we will notify you in writing. We will verify your identity before processing your request. You do not need to create an account to submit a request. You may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf by providing written authorization.

Categories of Personal Information Collected in the Past 12 Months

  • Identifiers (name, email, phone, IP address)

  • Personal records (address, insurance information)

  • Health and medical information (mental health history, treatment information)

  • Internet or network activity (pages visited, browser type)

  • Geolocation data (approximate location from IP address)

  • Inferences drawn from the above (e.g., service interest based on pages visited)

Categories of Third Parties with Whom We Share Personal Information

  • Practice management and patient portal platforms (SimplePractice / ClientSecure)

  • Website hosting providers (Squarespace)

  • Analytics and tag management providers (Google)

  • Social media platforms (Meta / Facebook)

  • Insurance companies and payers — for billing and benefits verification, with your authorization

  • Government or law enforcement — when legally required

8. Mental Health Information — California CMIA Protections

Because Meridian Counseling provides mental health digital services, we are subject to the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA), California Civil Code § 56 et seq. Your mental health information receives the highest level of privacy protection under California law.

  • We will not disclose your mental health information to third parties without your express written authorization, except as permitted by law (e.g., required disclosures to prevent imminent harm, mandatory reporting obligations, or treatment and payment disclosures with appropriate safeguards).

  • Mental health information will not be shared with insurance policyholders, employers, or family members without your explicit written consent, even if they are the primary policyholder on your insurance plan.

  • We will not use or disclose your mental health information for marketing or advertising purposes without your explicit authorization.

  • Any vendor or service provider that accesses your mental health information does so under a written agreement requiring confidentiality consistent with CMIA requirements.

If you believe your mental health information has been improperly disclosed, you may contact us at [email protected] or file a complaint with the California Department of Public Health or the California Attorney General's office.

9. Substance Use Disorder Records — 42 CFR Part 2

Our Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) includes treatment for substance use disorders and dual diagnosis conditions. Records of patients treated in our substance use disorder program are protected by federal law under 42 CFR Part 2 (Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records), which provides special protections beyond those of HIPAA and California law:

  • Records identifying a person as a patient in a substance use disorder program may not be disclosed without the patient's written consent, except in very limited circumstances defined by federal law.

  • We do not use substance use disorder patient records for marketing or advertising purposes under any circumstances.

  • Any court order seeking disclosure of such records must comply with the specific requirements of 42 CFR Part 2.

If you have questions about the protections that apply to your IOP records, please contact us at [email protected] or call (323) 332-9905.

10. Children's and Minor Patients' Privacy

Meridian Counseling provides therapy services for children and adolescents. The following privacy rules apply to minor patients:

  • Parental consent: A parent or legal guardian must provide consent for a minor under the age of 18 to receive services. A parent or guardian acting on behalf of a minor may submit privacy rights requests under Section 7.

  • Minor's right to confidentiality: Under California law, minors may consent to certain mental health services without parental authorization in specific circumstances (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 124260). In those situations, the minor's records may be kept confidential from parents or guardians to the extent permitted by law and clinical judgment.

  • Children under 13: We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 through our website without verifiable parental consent. If you are a parent and believe your child under 13 has submitted information through our Site without your consent, please contact us at [email protected] and we will promptly address it.

  • Minors' right to delete (California): If you are a California resident under 18, you may request removal of content or information you posted on our Site by contacting us at [email protected].

11. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, comply with legal and regulatory obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. As a healthcare provider, we are required to retain clinical records in accordance with California law — generally a minimum of 7 years from the date of last service for adult patients, and until age 25 for minor patients. Non-clinical website data (such as analytics data) is generally retained for no longer than 26 months.

12. Security of Your Personal Data

We implement commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information. Patient clinical records are maintained in our HIPAA-compliant patient management system under a Business Associate Agreement. However, no method of Internet transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach affecting your information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

13. Links to Other Websites

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that site. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our Site prior to the change becoming effective. Your continued use of the Site after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your privacy rights, or want to report a potential privacy violation, please contact us:

  • By email: [email protected]

  • By phone: (323) 332-9905

  • By mail: Meridian Counseling, Attn: Privacy & Compliance, 11835 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 815E, Los Angeles, CA 90064

We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 10 business days, and to verifiable consumer rights requests within 45 days as required by California law.