Privacy Policy

How we collect, use and protect information when you visit this website or contact the practice before becoming a client.

Effective October 7, 2026 · Last updated October 7, 2026

Who We Are and What This Covers

Solas Psychology is the private psychology practice of Alyssa Smyth, PhD, a licensed psychologist in Poulsbo, Washington. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit this website, fill out our contact form, or call or email the practice before becoming a client, and how we use and protect it.

Three documents work together, and each covers a different kind of information:

This Privacy Policy covers the website and inquiries made before you become a client.
Our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy covers health-related information protected by Washington’s My Health My Data Act, including the rights Washington residents have over it.
Our Notice of Privacy Practices, which you receive at intake, covers your clinical records once you become a client. That information is protected health information under HIPAA and Washington’s Uniform Health Care Information Act (RCW 70.02). Where this policy and the Notice differ about clinical information, the Notice controls. You can ask for a copy at any time.

Information We Collect

Information you give us

Our contact form asks for your full name, email address, phone number, the service you’re interested in (individual psychotherapy, adult ADHD assessment or provider ADHD training) and an optional message about your goals. You may also call or email us directly. Some people use the message box to describe what’s bringing them to therapy or assessment. That’s welcome, but it isn’t required.

Please keep first messages brief

Form submissions travel to us over an encrypted connection, but they are then stored on our website and delivered to us by ordinary email, and standard email and voicemail are not end-to-end encrypted. Until we’ve set you up in our secure client portal, share only what we need to reach you: your name, contact details and the service you’re asking about. We can cover the details privately.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, ours receives standard technical information when you visit: your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, the page that referred you, the pages you view and the time of each request. Our hosting provider records this in server logs for security and troubleshooting.

Information from others

If another provider, a family member or an insurance platform such as Headway refers you to the practice at your request, we receive the contact and referral details they pass along.

We do not collect precise geolocation, we don’t buy information about you from data brokers, and we don’t collect payment card numbers through this website.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

Reply to your inquiry, answer questions about services and fees, and schedule an initial appointment
Confirm that we can legally see you, including whether you’ll be located in Washington or a PSYPACT participating state for telehealth
Keep the website running, secure and free of spam and abuse
Meet legal, licensing and professional obligations

We don’t use website information for advertising, we don’t build marketing profiles, and we never use it to make automated decisions about your care.

Cookies and Analytics

Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. This site uses only the cookies it needs to work and to protect the contact form from spam.

We do not currently use website analytics, advertising cookies, remarketing tags, social media pixels (such as the Meta Pixel) or session-recording tools. If we add aggregate analytics in the future, we’ll update this policy first, configure it without advertising features, and never send it your name, email address or form contents.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time. Because we don’t sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising, there’s nothing for Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signals to switch off on this site.

How We Share Information

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We share it only in these situations:

Service providers that help run the practice, such as our website host, email and phone providers, the spam-filtering service that screens form submissions (Akismet, operated by Automattic), our secure client portal and electronic health record system, and our payment processor. They may use the information only to provide their service to us, and vendors that handle clinical information sign HIPAA business associate agreements.
Headway, if you book an insurance-based session through Headway. Headway handles that scheduling, billing and benefit verification under its own privacy policy.
With your permission, for example when you ask us to coordinate with your physician.
When the law requires or allows it, such as a valid court order, a duty-to-warn situation or a report required by Washington law. These limits on confidentiality are explained in full in our Notice of Privacy Practices and informed consent.

Email, Text and Phone Communication

Many people prefer email or text for scheduling, and we’re happy to use them for logistics. Ordinary email and text messages travel over networks we don’t control and aren’t encrypted end to end, so someone other than the intended recipient could see them.

If you choose to contact us this way, you accept that risk for what you send. We’ll keep clinical details out of our replies and move sensitive conversations to the phone, a session or the secure client portal. Messages aren’t monitored after hours and are never the right channel for an urgent concern.

How We Protect Information

We use reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards, including HTTPS encryption across the whole site, restricted administrator accounts with multi-factor authentication, HIPAA-compliant systems for clinical records and a private office in Poulsbo. No website or email system is perfectly secure, and we can’t guarantee the security of information sent over the internet.

If we learn of a breach that affects your information, we’ll notify you as required by HIPAA and Washington’s data breach law (RCW 19.255.010).

How Long We Keep Information

If you contact us and don’t become a client, we keep your inquiry only as long as we need it to respond and follow up, then delete it from our website and inbox, generally within 12 months. Server logs are kept for no more than 12 months. Clinical records are kept for the period Washington law and professional standards require, as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices.

Your Choices and Rights

You can ask us at any time to tell you what website or inquiry information we hold about you, correct it, or delete it. We’ll respond within 45 days.

Washington residents have additional rights over consumer health data, including access, deletion, withdrawal of consent and a list of everyone we’ve shared it with. See our Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.
Clients have HIPAA rights to inspect, copy and request amendment of their clinical records, request restrictions, receive confidential communications and get an accounting of disclosures, as described in the Notice of Privacy Practices.
Residents of other states may have rights under their own state’s privacy laws. We’ll honor any request the law gives you, and we extend the access and deletion rights above to everyone.

To make a request, email contact@solaspsych.com or call (206) 900-9542. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on it.

Adults Only, and Not for Emergencies

Solas Psychology provides clinical services to adults 18 and older. The site isn’t directed to children, and we don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 18 through it. If you believe a minor has sent us information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

If you’re in crisis

This website, our contact form, email and voicemail are not monitored for emergencies. Call 911, go to the nearest emergency room, or call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Active-duty service members and veterans can dial 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Links to Other Websites

Our site links to outside resources such as Headway, the PSYPACT Commission and the 988 Lifeline. We don’t control those sites, and this policy doesn’t apply to them. Please read their privacy policies before sharing information with them.

Changes to This Policy

We’ll update this policy when our practices or the law change. The “Last updated” date at the top shows the current version. If a change materially affects how we use information you’ve already given us, we’ll tell you directly before it takes effect.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy or a privacy concern? Contact the practice directly. Dr. Smyth serves as the practice’s privacy officer.

You also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights about clinical records, or with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. We will never retaliate against you for filing a complaint.