Your info, handled like we'd want ours handled.

Who we are

Ellie Mental Health of NJ ("Ellie NJ," "we," "us") is a group of three licensed counseling practices operating in Cranford, New Providence, and Wall Township, New Jersey. We are independently owned and operated under license from Ellie Mental Health, LLC. This privacy policy covers our website (emhnj.com) and any digital tools we use to communicate with prospective and current clients.

The short version

• We collect the minimum information needed to schedule, treat, and bill for therapy.
• We will never sell your information.
• We will not share what you tell us in session with anyone you didn't authorize, unless we are required to by law.
• We use a small set of standard, HIPAA-compliant business tools to operate the practice. Each one is held to the same confidentiality standards we hold ourselves to.
• You can ask us what we have on file, fix it, or request a copy — anytime.

What we collect

1. Information you give us

• Intake info: Name, phone, email, date of birth, address, insurance details, presenting concerns, preferences for therapist, location, modality.
• Clinical info: Session notes, treatment plans, screening assessments, correspondence with your therapist — collectively, your protected health information ("PHI"). PHI is covered by our Notice of Privacy Practices.
• Communications: Anything you send via our contact form, email, secure portal, or by phone.
• Payment info: Card details (handled by our payment processor — we don't store full card numbers on our systems).

2. Information we collect automatically

• Website analytics: We use a privacy-first, cookieless analytics tool (Vercel Web Analytics) that counts page views and visits. We send it only the page address without any query string, so ad parameters and form choices never reach it. It does not use cookies, does not track you across sites, and does not build a profile of you. Our web host keeps short-lived request logs (such as IP address, browser type, and timestamps) for security and abuse prevention.
• Fonts and other resources: Every font, script, and image on this site is served from our own website. Your browser does not contact Google or any other outside service when you view our pages.
• Cookies: Our website does not set tracking or advertising cookies. There is no cookie banner because there is nothing to consent to.
• Ad campaign labels: If you arrive from one of our ads, the link may carry a campaign label (for example "google / search-ad"). We keep that label for your browsing session and, if you submit a form, note it alongside your inquiry so we know which outreach is working. It is a label about our ad, not a profile of you — we never collect the search words you used, store no click IDs, use no ad-network pixels or trackers on this site, and send nothing about your visit to any advertising platform.

3. How our website forms work

When you submit the matching or contact form, your answers travel over an encrypted (TLS/HTTPS) connection to our form processor, which runs on Amazon Web Services under our HIPAA Business Associate Agreement with AWS. It immediately emails them, over a connection that requires encryption in transit, to our intake coordinator's access-controlled practice mailbox, which is covered by our HIPAA Business Associate Agreement with Google. Form submissions are not stored in any website database — the website itself keeps no copy. Our forms also never ask for more than we need to schedule you (the insurance member ID field is optional — you can always share it by phone instead).

How we use it

To do exactly what you'd expect:

• Match you with a therapist and schedule sessions.
• Provide therapy and coordinate your care.
• Bill insurance and process payments.
• Respond to your questions and messages.
• Improve our website and operations.
• Meet legal, regulatory, and licensure obligations.

Who we share it with

We share the minimum information necessary with a short list of trusted partners — and only the partners we need to run the practice:

• Our electronic health record (EHR) and practice management system, which stores your records under a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement.
• Our billing and clearinghouse vendors, who submit claims to your insurance on our behalf.
• Your insurance carrier, if you're using benefits — they require the minimum necessary info to pay claims.
• Secure communication tools (video, messaging, e-signature) — all HIPAA-compliant.
• Legal and regulatory authorities, only when we are required by law (court orders, mandated reports of abuse, imminent risk of harm).

We will never sell your data. We will never share clinical information with employers, schools, or family members without your written authorization — except in the legally required circumstances above.

Email, text, and other communications

Standard email and SMS are not fully secure. We'll use them for scheduling, reminders, and brief logistical messages — but please don't send clinical details or anything you'd want kept fully private through those channels. For anything sensitive, we'll move you to our secure client portal. You can ask us at any time to stop using a particular communication channel.

How long we keep your information

We keep clinical records for as long as required by New Jersey law and our professional licensing boards — generally at least seven (7) years after your last session, or longer for minor clients. Non-clinical information (marketing inquiries, form submissions that didn't result in care) is retained only as long as needed and then deleted.

Your rights

• See your records. You can request a copy of your chart at any time.
• Correct your records. If something on file is wrong, tell us — we'll fix it (and document the correction).
• Restrict sharing. You can ask us not to share specific information for treatment, payment, or operations. We'll honor reasonable requests; some restrictions we can't legally accept.
• Get a list of disclosures. You can request an accounting of certain disclosures we've made of your PHI.
• Withdraw consent. If you previously authorized us to share information, you can revoke that authorization at any time (in writing).
• Complain. If you believe we mishandled your information, tell our privacy officer — see contact info below. You also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will not retaliate.

Children's privacy

Our website isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them online. When we treat minors clinically, a parent or legal guardian provides consent and our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices governs the use of their PHI.

Security

We use industry-standard administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information — encrypted EHR, locked offices, role-based access, training for our team. No system is 100% perfect, so we never claim it is. If we ever experience a breach of unsecured PHI, we'll notify affected individuals as required by HIPAA's Breach Notification Rule.

Online scheduling

The “Schedule now” buttons on our therapist profiles open Ellie Mental Health’s online scheduling system (gettherapy.elliementalhealth.com), which our practice uses to book appointments. Anything you enter there, such as your name, date of birth, contact details, and insurance information, is collected by that scheduling system to book your care with us and is handled under Ellie Mental Health’s privacy policy, which is linked on that site. If you’d rather not book online, call your office or use our matching form instead.

Other websites

Our site occasionally links to third-party sites (Google Maps, Google reviews, insurance carriers, crisis hotlines, wellness apps). Those sites have their own privacy policies — we're not responsible for what they collect or how they use it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this page from time to time. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date at the top. Material changes will be posted prominently or communicated directly to current clients.

How to reach our privacy officer

Questions, corrections, complaints, or any privacy concern:

Privacy Officer, Ellie Mental Health of NJ
340 North Ave East, Suite 1A
Cranford, NJ 07016
privacy@emhnj.com · 908-913-7704

For details on how we use and disclose your protected health information specifically, please read our Notice of Privacy Practices. For information about good-faith cost estimates, see our No Surprises Act disclosure.