Privacy Policy

This policy explains what information this website collects, why, and what happens to it. It covers katherinebartonlmft.com only. If you become a client, your therapy records are kept separately and are protected under California law and the confidentiality rules that apply to licensed therapists, which I explain at the start of our work together. Online sessions take place on a separate secure telehealth platform with its own privacy terms.

The short version: the site collects what it needs to answer your inquiry and to show me how people find it. I do not sell your information.

What You Share With Me

When you fill out the consultation request form, you give me your name, email address, phone number, how you would like me to contact you, whether you are interested in in-person or online sessions, and an optional message. If you call or email me directly, I receive whatever you choose to include.

The form sends your request to my business email through Mailjet, an email delivery service. The website itself does not store your submission in a database.

Please keep detailed health information out of the form and out of email. Email is convenient, but it is not a fully private channel, and we can talk through the details during your consultation.

How I Use It

I use what you send to reply to you, schedule a consultation, and keep a record of our communication. I do not add you to a mailing list, and I do not use your inquiry for advertising. I keep inquiry emails only as long as I need them for these purposes or as the law requires.

Information Collected Automatically

Like most websites, this one collects some technical information when you visit:

• Google Analytics shows me how many people visit, which pages they read, roughly where they are, and what kind of device and browser they use. It also notes when someone taps the phone number, email link, or directions, or sends the consultation form. It does not receive what you wrote in the form.
• Google Ads conversion tracking tells me whether a visit came from one of my ads and whether it led to someone getting in touch. Ad personalization signals are turned off on this site, so your visit is not used to build advertising audiences.
• My web host and Cloudflare, which protects the site and helps it load quickly, keep server and security logs. These can include your IP address, browser type, and the pages you requested.
• The site’s fonts come from Google Fonts, and some pages include an embedded Google Map. Both load directly from Google, which receives your IP address when they do. The maps may also set Google’s own cookies.

Google, Cloudflare, and my web host handle this information under their own privacy policies.

Cookies

Cookies are small files your browser saves. Google Analytics and Google Ads use them to tell visits apart and to connect an ad click with a later visit. Cloudflare may set one to help block malicious traffic. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and the site still works without them.

Your Choices

• Opt out of Google Analytics on every site with Google’s browser add-on.
• Control how Google uses your activity for ads in My Ad Center.
• Block or clear cookies in your browser.
• Ask me what I have from you, or ask me to delete your inquiry emails, using the contact details below.

Do Not Track

Some browsers can send a “Do Not Track” signal. This site does not currently respond to it. Google and the other services described above may collect information about your online activity over time and across different websites, including this one.

Who Receives Your Information

I do not sell or rent your personal information. It goes only to the services that run this website and deliver your messages (Google, Cloudflare, Mailjet, and my web host), or to others when the law requires it.

Children

This website is meant for adults, including parents looking for help for their kids. I do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. If you are a parent and think your child has sent me information through the site, contact me and I will delete it.

Security

The site uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS) and collects as little as it can in the first place. No website or email system is perfectly secure, which is one more reason to save sensitive details for our conversation.

To keep spam out, the consultation form remembers how many requests have come from an IP address for about 15 minutes, and it ignores requests sent faster than a person could fill it in.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes, I will post the new version on this page and update the effective date at the top.

Questions

If you have a question about this policy or your information, you can reach me at Katherine Barton, MA, LMFT, 27285 Las Ramblas #232, Mission Viejo, CA 92691. Call (949) 391-9882 or email [email protected].