I keep all information you give me strictly confidential. Whether online or in-person, your confidentiality is a priority for me. There can be some exceptions to this -- if you plan to kill yourself, or hurt another person. However, at all times, I do my very best to work with you to find the best possible solution to keep you, and others, safe.

In terms of your confidentiality when corresponding with me, I am the only one who has access to my computer and I keep my computer secure by a number of different means (a router firewall, security software, password protection, etc.) I offer a secure email service, and I have a private, unpublished chat room on my site.

Chat or Instant Messaging

There are a number of options we can use to protect your privacy. For chat sessions, I have a private chat room on an unlisted webpage.

Or, we can use an encrypted chat room. There is a free secure chat room available at SAFe-mail.net (although we cannot make copies of the session.)

Emails

We can use an encrypted email service offered free of charge by SAFe-mail.net. You can print these emails and save them on their server.

If you choose to not use a secure service, and use regular email, it is possible that your emails may not always be private. For example, emails can go astray. Any one who has access to your computer can read your emails unless you use a password, or delete them after you read them.

Ways To Protect Your Confidentiality

Emailing from your workplace is not confidential unless you use a secure or web-based email service. If you use your workplace browser's inbox, your employer can read your emails.

At home, you can use a password to protect both your computer and your email server, and you might want to delete emails from your hard drive - remember to empty your sent, trash, and recycle files too.

If you're concerned that someone who has access to your computer will find out that you visited my site, you can delete the cache of your browser (the web sites you visit are saved as files - consult your browser’s help menu to learn how to do this). Or, for a quick and simple way to delete your cache (and remove cookies from your computer) you can download Cookie Monster for free from WebAttack.com.

For internet security, you can download a free software fire wall. Zone Alarm offers a good free firewall for personal use (scroll down to the bottom of their page).

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about your confidentiality. I will be happy to answer all of your questions.