Legal & disclosures

Licensure & complaints

Michelle Ruiz Deal is a Licensed Professional Counselor–Supervisor (LPC-S) in Texas, licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, and is also licensed in Wisconsin.

Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council

The Council investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct by licensed professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and social workers. You can verify a license or file a complaint with the Council:

• Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, Texas 78701
• Phone: (512) 305-7700
• Investigations and complaints, 24-hour toll-free: (800) 821-3205
• Website: bhec.texas.gov

Texas consumer protection

You also have the right to file a consumer complaint, including one about your health records or services, with the Office of the Texas Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division: texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection or (800) 621-0508.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin clients can verify a license or file a complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services at dsps.wi.gov.

Disclaimer

The content on this website is for general information and education only. It is not clinical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it is not a substitute for care from a qualified professional.

Visiting this website, sending a message, or submitting an appointment request does not create a counselor–client relationship. That relationship begins only after an appointment is confirmed and you have signed the practice’s consent forms.

Notice of Privacy Practices

This notice describes how health information about you may be used and disclosed, and how you can get access to it. Please review it carefully.

Our duties

Ruiz Deal Resilience is required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Texas Health and Safety Code Chapters 181 and 611, and other applicable law to keep your protected health information (PHI) private, to give you this notice, to follow the terms of the notice currently in effect, and to notify you if a breach of your unsecured PHI occurs.

How your information may be used and shared

• Treatment. To provide and coordinate your care, including consulting with other providers involved in your treatment.
• Payment. To bill and collect payment from you, your insurance plan, or another payer, including the information a plan requires to process a claim.
• Health care operations. To run the practice, such as quality review, clinical supervision, record keeping, and scheduling.

When information may be shared without your authorization

Confidentiality has limits. The law permits or requires disclosure in situations that include:

• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, an elderly person, or a person with a disability.
• A probable risk of imminent physical injury to you or to others, or of immediate mental or emotional injury to you.
• A court order, or another legal process that requires disclosure.
• Reports of sexual misconduct by a mental health provider.
• Health oversight activities, such as a licensing board investigation.
• Other uses and disclosures required by law.

When your written authorization is required

Other uses and disclosures are made only with your written authorization, which you may revoke in writing at any time. This includes most uses of psychotherapy notes, any use of your information for marketing, and any sale of your information. Your information is not sold. Texas law requires separate authorization before your PHI is disclosed electronically, except for treatment, payment, health care operations, or as otherwise permitted by law.

Your rights

• See and get a copy of your record. Electronic records are provided within 15 business days of your written request, as Texas law requires.
• Ask for a correction if you believe your record is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Ask for limits on how your information is used or shared. If you pay for a service in full out of pocket, you can ask that it not be shared with your health plan.
• Ask for confidential communications, such as contact at a specific phone number or address.
• Get a list of disclosures made for reasons other than treatment, payment, and operations.
• Get a paper copy of this notice at any time.

Questions and complaints

To use any of these rights, or to raise a concern, contact Michelle Ruiz Deal at [email protected]. You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint, or with the Texas Attorney General. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.

This notice may change. The current version is always posted on this page.

Website privacy policy

This policy covers visitors to this website. It is separate from the Notice of Privacy Practices above, which covers clients’ health information.

• No tracking. This site does not use analytics, advertising pixels, or tracking cookies, and it does not sell or share visitor data.
• Hosting and fonts. Like any website, the hosting provider (Cloudflare) and the font provider (Google Fonts) receive basic technical data, such as your IP address and browser type, in order to deliver the page.
• Appointment requests. The request form is provided by SimplePractice, a HIPAA-compliant client portal. What you enter is sent to SimplePractice over an encrypted connection and is handled under its privacy policy, not stored on this website.
• Email. Ordinary email is not a secure way to send health information. Please keep clinical details out of email and use the client portal instead.
• Children. This site is not directed to children under 13.

Terms of use

By using this website you agree to these terms.

• Information only. The site is provided as is, for information. It is not a way to receive counseling or emergency help.
• Ownership. The text, images, logo, and design belong to Ruiz Deal Resilience and may not be copied or reused without written permission.
• Outside links. Links to other websites are offered for convenience. Ruiz Deal Resilience is not responsible for their content or privacy practices.
• Liability. To the extent the law allows, Ruiz Deal Resilience is not liable for damages arising from your use of this website or reliance on its content.
• Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas.

Good Faith Estimate

Under the federal No Surprises Act, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate explaining how much your care is expected to cost if you do not have insurance or choose not to use it.

• The estimate covers the total expected cost of non-emergency services.
• You can ask for one before you schedule a service, and you will receive it in writing at least one business day before your appointment.
• If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute it.
• Keep a copy or a picture of your estimate.

For questions or more information, visit cms.gov/nosurprises or call (800) 985-3059. Current fees are listed in the Fees & insurance section.