Privacy Policy

Introduction and scope

Cloud Nine Counseling, PLLC (“Cloud Nine,” “we,” “our”) is a licensed psychotherapy group practice based in Chicago, Illinois, providing individual and couples therapy primarily through telehealth to clients located in Illinois.

This Privacy Policy explains how this public website handles information. It applies to the website only—not to clinical care, clinical records, or communications that happen within the practice's secure client portal.

Three kinds of information, kept distinct

Because we are a therapy practice, we think it is important to be clear about the difference between:

• Website information — the limited technical information involved in simply loading and viewing this public website, described in this policy.
• Inquiry information — anything you choose to submit through the SimplePractice contact form on our Contact page, which is handled by SimplePractice under its own privacy terms.
• Clinical information — protected health information created and maintained as part of therapy. This is governed by the practice's HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, a separate document provided to clients, and is not covered by this website policy.

Information collected through the website

This website is primarily informational. It does not offer visitor accounts, newsletters, comment features, or its own contact forms, and it does not store visitor submissions in any website database.

Like nearly every website, simply loading a page involves your browser sharing basic technical information—such as your IP address, browser type, device type, and the pages requested—with the services that deliver the site to you. We do not use this information to identify individual visitors.

How information is used

Technical information involved in delivering the website is used to operate, secure, and maintain the site—for example, to serve pages correctly and protect against misuse.

If you choose to contact the practice through the SimplePractice form, by email, or by phone, the information you share is used to respond to your inquiry and, if you decide to move forward, to begin the intake process.

Contact forms and consultation inquiries

Our Contact page includes a contact form provided by SimplePractice, the practice-management service the practice uses. When you open the Contact page, your browser loads a small piece of code from SimplePractice to display the form; when you submit the form, the information you enter is sent to and stored by SimplePractice—not by this website.

Submitting an inquiry does not create a therapist–client relationship and does not confirm an appointment. A consultation is a chance to ask questions and consider fit before deciding whether to begin therapy.

Please use your judgment about how much detail to include in an initial inquiry. A brief note about what you're looking for is plenty to start the conversation.

SimplePractice and other service providers

A small number of service providers help this website function:

• Website hosting — the company that hosts this website processes the technical information needed to deliver pages to your browser and may keep standard server logs as part of operating and securing its service.
• SimplePractice — provides the embedded contact form on the Contact page and the practice's client portal. Information submitted through the form is handled by SimplePractice under its own privacy policy and terms.
• Font and image delivery — the site loads fonts from Google Fonts and serves images through a content delivery service. Your browser connects to these services to display the site, which involves sharing basic technical information such as your IP address.

Cookies, analytics, and website technologies

This website does not use advertising pixels, behavioral analytics, cross-site tracking, or session-recording tools, and the website's own code does not set cookies or store information in your browser.

The services that deliver the site (such as the hosting provider and font service) may use standard technical mechanisms needed to serve content securely and reliably. You can control cookies through your browser settings; this site works fully without optional cookies.

Website hosting and information security

The website is hosted by a professional hosting provider that maintains the infrastructure the site runs on. We take reasonable measures to keep the website secure and to limit the information it handles in the first place—most importantly by not collecting visitor information on the site itself.

No method of transmitting or storing information online is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you ever have a concern about the website, please let us know.

Email and telephone communications

You can reach the practice at hello@cloudninecounseling.co or 312-612-9644. Email and phone links on this site simply open your own email or phone application—nothing is sent until you choose to send it.

Ordinary email is not a confidential channel, so please avoid including sensitive clinical details in email messages. Once you become a client, the practice's secure client portal is the appropriate place for clinical communication.

Information sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. Information is shared only with the service providers described in this policy, only as needed for them to provide their services, or when required by law.

Data retention

Because this website does not collect or store visitor submissions, there is no website database of visitor information to retain. Technical logs kept by the hosting provider are retained according to that provider's own practices.

Information you submit through SimplePractice is retained according to SimplePractice's practices and the practice's professional record-keeping obligations. Clinical records are retained as required by Illinois law and professional standards, as described in the practice's HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

Your privacy rights and requests

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding personal information held about you—including the right to ask what information is held, to request a correction, or to request deletion where the law allows.

To make a request related to this website, contact us at hello@cloudninecounseling.co or 312-612-9644. For requests related to clinical records, please speak with your therapist or refer to the practice's HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices, since different rules apply to health information.

External websites and links

This website links to a small number of external services, including SimplePractice. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Children's privacy

This website is intended for adults seeking therapy for themselves or their relationship. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children through this website.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time as the website or applicable requirements change. The current version will always be posted on this page with its effective date.

Contact

Questions about this policy or about the website? Reach us at hello@cloudninecounseling.co or 312-612-9644. Cloud Nine Counseling, PLLC is located in Chicago, Illinois and provides telehealth therapy throughout Illinois.