SMS Messaging Terms & Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

1. Overview

Healing & Restoration Counseling ("we," "us," or "our") operates an AI-assisted telephone answering service for our counseling practice. When you call our office at (425) 248-3990, your call may be answered by an automated artificial-intelligence voice assistant. With your permission given during that call, the assistant may send you a text message (SMS) to the mobile number you called from.

These Terms describe how our SMS messaging program works, how consent is obtained and withdrawn, what information we will and will not send by text, and how our AI assistant is used. By giving verbal consent to receive a text message during a call with us, you agree to these Terms.

2. Program Name and Sending Number

• Program name: Healing & Restoration Counseling - Caller Assistance Messaging
• Message sender: +1 (425) 439-7642
• Voice line: (425) 248-3990
• Program type: Recurring and one-time transactional messages, initiated only after verbal consent on a call you placed to us.

3. How You Opt In (Consent)

We do not buy, rent, or import phone number lists, and we never message a number that has not asked us to. There is exactly one way to join this messaging program:

Verbal consent during a call you initiate.

When you call our office and the AI assistant determines that a text message would be useful - for example to send you our address, our office hours, a link to our intake form, or a confirmation that a member of our staff will call you back - the assistant will ask you clearly, in words substantially similar to the following:

"I can text that information to the number you're calling from, and we may follow up by text about this call. Message and data rates may apply, and you can reply STOP at any time to opt out. Is it okay if I send you a text?"

A text message is sent only if you answer affirmatively. Your affirmative answer, the date and time, and the phone number are recorded in our system as your record of consent. If you decline, say no, or do not answer the question, no text message is sent.

• Consent to receive text messages is never a condition of receiving counseling services, scheduling an appointment, or speaking with a human staff member.
• We do not send marketing, promotional, or advertising text messages under this program.
• You may ask the assistant, or any member of our staff, to note that you do not wish to be texted, and we will honor that.

4. What Messages You Will Receive

If you consent, you may receive:

• Call follow-up messages. Information you asked for on the call - our office address, hours, directions, our website, or a link to our public intake or contact form.
• Missed-call auto-reply. If your call to us is missed, dropped, or reaches us outside office hours, we may send a single automatic text letting you know we saw your call and how to reach us.
• Two-way conversational replies. If you reply to one of our messages with a question, our AI assistant may reply to help you, and may hand the conversation to a human member of our staff.

Sample messages:

• "Healing & Restoration Counseling: as promised on your call - we're at [address]. Office hours Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."
• "Healing & Restoration Counseling: sorry we missed your call. You can reach us at (425) 248-3990 or reply here and we'll get back to you. Reply STOP to opt out."
• "Healing & Restoration Counseling: here's our new-client form: https://healingandrestorationcounseling.com/contact. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."

5. What We Will Never Send by Text - No Protected Health Information

This is a strict and absolute limit on our messaging program.

Text messages sent under this program contain general, non-sensitive business information only. Our AI assistant is technically restricted from including protected health information (PHI) in any outbound text message. We will never send by SMS:

• Any clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic, medical, or mental-health information about you;
• Any statement that you are, were, or may become a client or patient of this practice;
• Details of an appointment - date, time, provider name, service type, or location of a session;
• Insurance, billing, payment, claim, or benefits information;
• Medication, treatment, referral, assessment, or crisis-service information;
• Any record, note, document, or attachment from your file.

If information you request cannot be sent safely by text, the assistant will tell you so on the call and offer an alternative - a call back from a member of our staff, or secure delivery by another method.

6. Message Frequency

Message frequency varies and depends on your interactions with us. In ordinary use you can expect one message following a call. If you reply to us, you will receive replies for as long as that conversation continues. We do not send scheduled or bulk message campaigns.

7. Message and Data Rates

Message and data rates may apply. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Delivery is subject to your mobile carrier's network and is not guaranteed. Supported carriers include the major U.S. wireless carriers; carrier support may change without notice.

8. How to Opt Out (STOP)

You may cancel at any time. Reply STOP to any message from us. You will receive one final message confirming that you have been unsubscribed, and we will send you no further text messages under this program. You may also opt out by replying with any of the standard keywords: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT.

You can also opt out by calling us at (425) 248-3990 or emailing Info@healingandrestorationcounseling.com and asking to be removed from text messaging. Opting out of text messages does not affect your ability to call us, to receive counseling services, or to be contacted by telephone.

To rejoin after opting out, simply give verbal consent again on a future call, or reply START.

9. How to Get Help (HELP)

Reply HELP to any message from us for assistance and our contact details, or contact us directly at (425) 248-3990 or Info@healingandrestorationcounseling.com.

10. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

We use an artificial-intelligence voice and messaging assistant to answer calls to our office and to send the text messages described above.

• It tells you what it is. The assistant identifies itself as an automated virtual assistant at the start of the call. It does not claim to be a human being, and it does not use the name or voice of any of our clinicians.
• It is not a clinician. The assistant provides general practice information, takes messages, and helps route your call. It does not provide counseling, therapy, clinical advice, diagnosis, assessment, or treatment of any kind, and nothing it says is a substitute for care from a licensed professional.
• You can always reach a human. You may ask at any point to speak to a person, and the assistant will take your details so a member of our staff can call you back during office hours. You are never required to interact with the AI assistant to reach us.
• Recording and transcription. Calls may be recorded and transcribed so that we can take an accurate message and improve the quality of our service, in accordance with applicable law and with notice to you at the start of the call. If you do not wish to be recorded, tell the assistant or leave a voicemail and we will call you back.
• Limits on what it can do. The assistant is configured never to place clinical or personally sensitive information into an outbound text message, as described in Section 5. Its conversation content is not used to train any third-party public AI model.

11. Privacy and Use of Your Mobile Number

We collect your mobile telephone number, the fact and time of your consent, and the content of messages exchanged with us. We use this information solely to communicate with you as described in these Terms and to maintain a record of your consent as required by law.

• No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
• Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third party, and are excluded from any information sharing we may otherwise do.
• We disclose your number only to the licensed telecommunications providers and technology vendors that transmit the messages on our behalf, under written agreements that restrict their use of the information, and where those vendors may handle protected health information, under a Business Associate Agreement.
• We retain consent and messaging records for as long as required to demonstrate compliance and thereafter dispose of them securely.

Our full privacy practices are described in our Privacy Policy and Notice of Privacy Practices, available at https://healingandrestorationcounseling.com.

12. Your Responsibilities

• Give consent only for a mobile number that belongs to you and that you are authorized to receive messages on.
• Tell us if your mobile number changes or is reassigned, so that we do not message someone else in error.
• Be aware that text messages are not a secure or confidential channel and may be visible to anyone with access to your device. This is why we do not send clinical information by text.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version will always be posted at this address with a revised effective date. Material changes to how we use your mobile number will be communicated to you before they take effect.

14. Contact Us