Privacy Policy

Important Notice Before You Read

ApprovedTherapists.com is a therapist directory and referral platform only. We are not a healthcare provider, mental health practice, medical group, or licensed clinical entity. We do not provide therapy, counseling, psychological treatment, or any form of mental health services.

We do not verify, credential-check, license-validate, or endorse any therapist listed on our platform. Therapist profiles are self-submitted. It is your sole responsibility to independently verify any therapist's credentials, licensure, and suitability before engaging their services. We strongly encourage you to verify any therapist's license through your state's licensing board before making contact.

This Privacy Policy is not a substitute for your own due diligence.

1. Who We Are

ApprovedTherapists.com ("ApprovedTherapists," "we," "us," or "our") operates the website located at https://www.approvedtherapists.com (the "Site") and all related services (collectively, the "Services"). Our Services allow individuals ("Clients") to search for and discover mental health professionals ("Therapists") and allow licensed mental health professionals to create public directory listings.

For questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at:

Email: privacy@approvedtherapists.com
Mailing Address: ApprovedTherapists.com, United States

2. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to:

• All visitors to https://www.approvedtherapists.com
• Individuals who search for therapists using our Services ("Clients")
• Mental health professionals who create directory listings ("Therapists")
• Anyone who contacts us by any means

This Privacy Policy does not apply to:

• Information you share directly with a Therapist you discover through our Site. Once you contact a Therapist independently, your communications with that Therapist are governed by that Therapist's own privacy practices, not ours.
• Third-party websites linked from our Site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any linked third-party website.
• Protected Health Information ("PHI") as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA"). We are not a HIPAA-covered entity and do not operate as one. We do not maintain your medical records, treatment history, or clinical information. Any health-related information you voluntarily share with us through our search tools (such as selecting a mental health concern category) is used solely to improve search results and is not treated as PHI.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

If you are a Client searching for a therapist:

• Search preferences you enter, such as location, specialty type, session type preference, insurance, and budget range
• Email address if you choose to save your search or contact a therapist through our platform
• Name and message content if you use our contact form
• Any information you voluntarily share in the "Find My Match" questionnaire, including mental health concerns you select, session type preferences, therapist gender preference, and insurance information

If you are a Therapist creating a listing:

• Full name and professional credentials
• License type, license number, and licensing state
• Practice location, address, phone number, and website
• Professional biography and therapy approach
• Specialties, modalities, and clientele served
• Insurance accepted and fee ranges
• Profile photo and any videos you choose to upload
• Email address and account password (stored in encrypted form)
• Payment information processed through Stripe for your listing fee (we do not store your full card number — Stripe handles payment processing directly)

3.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit our Site, we may automatically collect:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referring URL (the page you came from)
• Date and time of your visit
• Device type and screen resolution
• Crash reports and error logs

This information is collected through standard web server logs and analytics tools including Google Analytics.

3.3 Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies including web beacons and pixels. These may include:

Essential Cookies — required for the Site to function. These cannot be disabled.

Analytics Cookies — help us understand how visitors use the Site (e.g., Google Analytics). You may opt out of Google Analytics by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Preference Cookies — remember your search preferences and settings.

You may configure your browser to refuse cookies, but doing so may affect the functionality of certain features on our Site.

3.4 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party services we use to operate the platform, including:

• Supabase — our database infrastructure provider
• Cloudflare — content delivery and security
• Stripe — payment processing for Therapist listing fees
• Resend — email delivery services
• Vercel — hosting infrastructure

We do not purchase or obtain personal data from data brokers or marketing list providers.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To provide our Services:

• Display therapist directory listings to Clients
• Power search and filtering functionality
• Generate personalized therapist match recommendations through the Find My Match tool
• Process Therapist listing fee payments through Stripe
• Send transactional emails (account confirmations, profile status notifications)

To operate and improve our platform:

• Analyze how users interact with the Site
• Identify and fix technical issues
• Improve search relevance and matching accuracy
• Develop new features

To communicate with you:

• Respond to support inquiries
• Send service-related notices
• Send marketing communications if you have opted in (you may opt out at any time)

To maintain security and prevent fraud:

• Detect and prevent fraudulent listings or abuse of our Services
• Monitor for unauthorized access

To comply with legal obligations:

• Respond to lawful requests from courts, law enforcement, or regulatory authorities
• Enforce our Terms of Service

We do not use your information to provide clinical assessments, treatment recommendations, or mental health diagnoses. We are a directory service only.

5. How We Share Your Information

5.1 Therapist Listing Information Is Public

When a Therapist creates a listing on ApprovedTherapists.com, the following information is publicly visible to anyone who visits the Site, is indexed by search engines including Google, and may be accessible to AI systems and large language models:

• Name, credentials, and professional title
• Practice location (city and state)
• Specialties, modalities, and clientele
• Bio and therapy approach
• Insurance accepted and fee ranges
• Session type (online, in-person)
• Profile photo and any uploaded videos
• Website URL and contact information as provided

Therapists acknowledge and agree that by creating a listing, this information becomes public and may be indexed, cached, and distributed by third parties beyond our control.

5.2 Service Providers

We share your information with third-party service providers who help us operate our platform. These providers are contractually obligated to use your information only as directed by us and to protect it appropriately. Current providers include Supabase, Stripe, Cloudflare, Vercel, and Resend.

5.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information without prior notice when required to do so by law, court order, subpoena, or government authority, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, or investigate fraud.

5.4 Business Transfers

If ApprovedTherapists.com is acquired by or merged with another company, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy.

5.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so.

5.6 What We Do Not Do

• We do not sell your personal information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.
• We do not share Client search data with Therapists in a way that identifies individual Clients without their consent.
• We do not share your mobile phone number with third parties for marketing purposes.

6. No Therapist Verification Disclaimer

THIS IS CRITICAL. PLEASE READ.

ApprovedTherapists.com does not verify, validate, credential-check, background-check, or endorse any therapist listed on our platform. We are a self-service directory. Therapists pay a listing fee and create their own profiles. We do not confirm that:

• Any therapist holds a valid, current, active license in any state
• Any therapist's credentials, degrees, or certifications are accurate
• Any therapist is in good standing with any licensing board
• Any therapist has not had disciplinary action taken against them
• Any therapist is suitable for your specific needs

By using our directory, you acknowledge and agree that:

1. You will independently verify any therapist's license and credentials through the appropriate state licensing board before engaging their services.
2. ApprovedTherapists.com bears no responsibility or liability for the quality, safety, legality, or appropriateness of any therapist's services.
3. Your relationship with any therapist you find through our Site is solely between you and that therapist.

To verify a therapist's license, visit your state's professional licensing board website or use the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS/SSL
• Encryption of sensitive data at rest
• Access controls limiting who can access your data
• Regular security monitoring

However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at privacy@approvedtherapists.com.

Your account is protected by a password. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential. Do not share your password with anyone.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our Services.

• Client search data (non-account): retained for up to 90 days for analytics purposes, then deleted or anonymized.
• Therapist account data: retained for as long as your listing is active. Upon account deletion, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes such as resolving disputes.
• Payment records: retained for 7 years as required by applicable tax and accounting laws.
• Server logs: retained for up to 12 months.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Services are intended solely for individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you are under 18, do not use our Services or provide any information to us.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 18 without verified parental consent, we will delete that information promptly. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us at privacy@approvedtherapists.com.

10. Your Privacy Rights

10.1 All Users

Regardless of your location, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information
• Delete your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Opt out of marketing communications at any time by clicking "unsubscribe" in any marketing email
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on your consent

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@approvedtherapists.com. We will respond within 30 days.

10.2 California Residents — CCPA/CPRA Rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), provides you with the following additional rights:

Right to Know: You may request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources from which it was collected, the business purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.

Right to Delete: You may request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions permitted by law.

Right to Correct: You may request correction of inaccurate personal information we hold about you.

Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: We do not sell your personal information for money. We may share certain analytics data (browsing behavior, IP address, device data) with advertising partners in ways that may constitute "sharing" under the CCPA for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes. You may opt out by emailing privacy@approvedtherapists.com with the subject line "Opt-Out Request" or by using a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser.

Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: If you have provided sensitive personal information (such as health-related search preferences), you may request that we limit our use of it to what is necessary to provide our Services.

Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. We will not deny you Services, charge you different prices, or provide a different quality of Service.

To submit a California privacy rights request, email privacy@approvedtherapists.com with the subject line "California Privacy Rights." We will verify your identity before processing your request. We will respond within 45 days, which may be extended to 90 days with notice. You may make a verifiable consumer request twice within any 12-month period.

10.3 Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Other U.S. State Residents

If you reside in a U.S. state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, you may have rights similar to those described in Section 10.2, including the right to access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain processing of your personal data. To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@approvedtherapists.com with the subject line "State Privacy Rights."

10.4 European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom Residents

If you are located in the EEA or UK, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or UK GDPR:

• Right of access to your personal data
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restriction of processing
• Right to data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent at any time where processing is consent-based

Our lawful bases for processing your personal data are: performance of a contract (providing our Services), your consent (for marketing communications), legitimate interests (improving our Services, preventing fraud), and compliance with legal obligations.

To exercise your GDPR rights, contact us at privacy@approvedtherapists.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

11. International Data Transfers

ApprovedTherapists.com is operated in the United States. If you are accessing our Services from outside the United States, please be aware that your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

By using our Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States. Where required by applicable law, we will implement appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.

12. Do Not Track

We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" (DNT) browser signals. We do honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where required by applicable law, including for California residents under the CCPA.

13. Third-Party Links

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites, including individual therapist websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party site you visit. Links to third-party sites do not constitute or imply our endorsement of those sites or their services.

14. Mental Health Crisis Resources

ApprovedTherapists.com is not an emergency service. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or is in danger, please contact:

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (US)
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• Emergency Services: Call 911

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page and, where required by law, notify you by email or by posting a prominent notice on our Site.

Your continued use of our Services after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Email: privacy@approvedtherapists.com
Website: https://www.approvedtherapists.com

We will respond to all privacy inquiries within 30 days.

This Privacy Policy was prepared for ApprovedTherapists.com. It is intended as a good-faith effort to comply with applicable U.S. privacy laws including the CCPA/CPRA and to reflect best practices in the industry. This document does not constitute legal advice. ApprovedTherapists.com recommends consulting with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction to ensure full legal compliance for your specific situation.