Introduction

At The Bonsai Life Counseling & Coaching(“The Bonsai Life”, “we,” “us”), we understand the sensitivity of the information you share with us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal data.  This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information as you interact with our online mental health platform.  We comply with the following data protection regulations:

• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): We are committed to complying with the GDPR for users located in the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA). We process your data based on your consent for therapy services and our legitimate interests in improving the platform and providing customer service. You have various rights under GDPR, including the right to access, rectify, erase, and restrict processing of your data.
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): We comply with HIPAA for users located in the United States and for whom we process Protected Health Information (PHI). This includes information related to your past, present, or future mental health condition. We will only use and disclose your PHI for the purposes of treatment, payment, and healthcare operations. You have specific HIPAA rights, including the right to access, amend, and request an accounting of disclosures of your PHI.
• Indian Data Privacy Laws (Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022): We are committed to complying with the upcoming Indian data privacy laws, including the right to access, correction, and deletion of your personal data. We will process your data based on your consent for therapy services and for legitimate purposes necessary to provide our services.  We will ensure the data we collect is proportionate to our needs and will not be processed for any other purposes without your consent.

How We Use Your Information

We will use your information only for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy and in accordance with the applicable data protection regulations. These purposes include:

• Providing Therapy Services: To facilitate appointments, communicate with you, and deliver personalized mental health care.
• Improving Our Platform: To analyze trends, understand user behavior, and enhance the bonsai life experience (subject to appropriate anonymization for GDPR and Indian law compliance).
• Administrative Purposes: For billing, account management, and to contact you with service-related announcements or updates.
• Legal Compliance: As required by law, court order, or other legal processes.

Your Rights

You have various rights regarding your personal data under the applicable data protection regulations.  These may include:

• Access and Correction: You have the right to request access to and correction of your personal information.
• Data Portability: You may request a copy of your information in a structured format.
• Deletion: In some cases, you can request deletion of your information (subject to limitations under HIPAA and other legal requirements).
• Restrict Processing: You may have the right to restrict how we process your information.
• Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw consent for us to use your information (this may affect your ability to use our services).

For Users in the EU/EEA:

You can exercise your GDPR rights by contacting us at saurabh@thebonsai-life.com.  You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

For Users in the United States:

You can exercise your HIPAA rights by contacting our Privacy Officer at saurabh@thebonsai-life.com.

For Users in India:

We will provide specific instructions on how to exercise your rights under the Indian data privacy law once it is finalized.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are not directed towards children under 12 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without parental consent.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We’ll notify you of significant changes by posting the updated policy on our website with a revised effective date.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about our privacy practices, please contact us at: saurabh@thebonsai-life.com