Last updated: May 2026

Privacy policy

Cress Creek Counseling respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we may collect, use, and protect information when you visit our website or contact us.

Information We Collect

We may collect personal information you voluntarily provide, including:

  • Name, email address, phone number, and contact details

  • Information submitted through forms or inquiries

  • Appointment request information

  • Website usage data such as pages visited and interactions

How We Use Your Information

Your information may be used to:

  • Respond to questions or appointment requests

  • Communicate with you about our services

  • Improve website functionality and user experience

  • Maintain website security and prevent misuse

Health Information

Cress Creek Counseling provides mental health services. Any personal health information shared directly with our office or through a patient portal may be protected under privacy laws such as HIPAA.

Please do not submit sensitive medical or mental health information through general website contact forms unless instructed to do so by our office.

Sharing Information

We do not sell your personal information.

We may share information only when needed to:

  • Provide services

  • Comply with the law

  • Protect our rights

Third-Party Services

Our website may include links to third-party services, such as a patient portal, analytics tools, or social media pages.

These third-party services may collect information according to their own privacy policies. Cress Creek Counseling is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites or services.

Data Protection

We take reasonable steps to protect information submitted through our website from unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

However, no website or online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Your Rights

You may contact us to ask questions about your information or request updates to information you have provided.

You may also opt out of certain communications at any time.

AI Chat bot

Our website may provide an AI-powered chatbot to answer general questions about Cress Creek Counseling, including information about our services, locations, and scheduling procedures.

The chatbot is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not a therapist, counselor, physician, emergency service, patient portal, or secure method for communicating protected health information.

Information Processed Through the Chatbot

When you use the chatbot, we may process and store:

  • Messages you submit to the chatbot

  • Responses generated by the chatbot

  • Chat session and visitor identifiers

  • The webpage path from which the chatbot is used

  • Website origin information

  • Date and time information

  • Technical information necessary to operate and secure the chatbot, including IP address information used for rate limiting

The public chatbot does not require you to provide your name, email address, or phone number. However, information you voluntarily type into a message may be included in the conversation.

Sensitive and Health Information

Do not submit medical records, diagnoses, symptoms, medication information, therapy notes, treatment information, insurance or member numbers, Social Security numbers, payment information, passwords, or other sensitive or protected health information through the chatbot.

The chatbot uses automated safeguards intended to detect certain types of sensitive information and prevent those messages from being processed further. These safeguards are limited and may not identify every type of private, identifying, medical, or mental health information.

Because these safeguards cannot be guaranteed to identify all sensitive information, you should not rely on them to protect information you choose to submit.

Existing clients should use the secure patient portal or contact Cress Creek Counseling directly for private communications concerning their care.

AI Processing and Service Providers

Messages that are permitted through the chatbot's automated safeguards may be stored in our chatbot database and sent to OpenAI, a third-party artificial intelligence service provider, to generate a response. Recent conversation history may also be provided to OpenAI so the chatbot can respond in context.

Cress Creek Counseling personnel with authenticated access to the chatbot dashboard may review stored conversations.

Authorized dashboard users may also request an AI-generated summary of a conversation. When a summary is requested, recent conversation content is sent to OpenAI for processing.

We use third-party technology providers to operate portions of the chatbot and its administrative systems, including Supabase, OpenAI, and Vercel. These providers may process information as necessary to provide their respective services.

Chatbot Data Retention

Chatbot messages and generated responses may remain stored in our chatbot database. We currently do not maintain a fixed automatic deletion period for chatbot conversations.

Conversations may be manually deleted from the chatbot system. Deletion from our active chatbot database may not immediately remove copies maintained in backups, logs, or systems operated by third-party service providers.

No Access to Patient Records

The chatbot does not have access to Cress Creek Counseling patient records, clinical notes, diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, billing records, insurance records, appointment history, or the secure patient portal.

The chatbot also cannot create, modify, cancel, or confirm appointments. It may provide general scheduling information or direct you to appropriate scheduling resources.

Crisis and Emergency Messages

The chatbot includes automated safeguards intended to recognize certain suicide, self-harm, and overdose-related messages and display emergency resources.

These safeguards are limited and may not identify every crisis or emergency.

The chatbot does not notify Cress Creek Counseling personnel, contact emergency services, or provide real-time crisis monitoring when a crisis-related message is detected.

If you or someone else may be in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. In the United States, you may also call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Policy Updates

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at: