Privacy & Legal

By accessing or using joerustum.com, you agree to these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, please do not use the website.

Informational purpose

Website content is provided for general educational and informational purposes. It is not psychological, medical, legal, financial, or other professional advice and should not be used as a substitute for evaluation or treatment from a qualified professional who understands your circumstances.

No professional relationship

Using this website, reading its content, submitting a contact form, or communicating with the Practice does not establish a psychologist-client, therapist-client, coaching, consulting, or other professional relationship.

Services are provided only after mutual agreement, eligibility review, and completion of applicable consent and service documents.

Emergencies

This website and its contact methods are not monitored continuously and must not be used for emergencies. If you are in immediate danger or experiencing an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Eligibility and service availability

Information about therapy, coaching, or consulting does not guarantee that services are available or appropriate for you.

Therapy may be provided only where Dr. Rustum is legally authorized to practice and when telehealth or in-person services are clinically appropriate. Coaching and consulting are not substitutes for psychotherapy, diagnosis, or medical care.

Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, website text, branding, graphics, organization, and original materials are owned by or licensed to the Practice and are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.

You may view or print a reasonable amount of content for personal, noncommercial use. You may not reproduce, republish, sell, modify, distribute, or exploit website content without written permission.

Acceptable use

You agree not to interfere with website operation, attempt unauthorized access, introduce malicious code, misuse forms, impersonate another person, scrape content at scale, or use the website for an unlawful purpose.

Third-party services and links

The website may link to scheduling platforms, client portals, publications, directories, or other third-party resources. These links are provided for convenience.

The Practice does not control and is not responsible for third-party content, availability, security, or privacy practices.

No warranties

The website is provided on an “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Practice makes no warranty that the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, complete, or suitable for a particular purpose.

Website content may be updated, removed, or corrected at any time.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Practice and Dr. Rustum will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from use of, inability to use, or reliance on the website or linked resources.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited.

Governing law and changes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

If a provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. We may revise these terms by posting an updated version with a new effective date.

Not a substitute for care

The information on this website is general and educational. It cannot account for your complete history, current symptoms, relationships, health, risks, or goals.

Do not use website content to diagnose yourself or another person, delay needed care, or replace advice from a qualified professional.

No guarantee of outcomes

Therapy, coaching, and consulting outcomes vary. The Practice does not promise or guarantee a particular diagnosis, improvement, result, timeline, professional outcome, relationship outcome, or financial outcome.

Client experiences and examples

Any testimonials, descriptions of common client experiences, illustrative examples, or outcome themes are provided to help visitors understand the nature of the work.

They do not guarantee that another person will have the same experience or result. Details may be limited or presented in a manner intended to protect privacy.

Scope of professional information

Website content may discuss psychological concepts, diagnoses, symptoms, relationships, careers, leadership, business, or personal development.

These discussions remain general information unless they are provided to an established client within an agreed professional service.

Accuracy and external resources

Reasonable efforts are made to provide useful and accurate information, but psychological knowledge, laws, regulations, licensure rules, and outside resources can change.

The Practice does not guarantee that every page is current at all times. A link to an outside resource does not constitute endorsement of every statement, service, or policy associated with that resource.

Notice of Privacy Practices

Effective date: July 24, 2026

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

Who this notice applies to

This notice applies to protected health information maintained by Joe Rustum Counseling & Executive Coaching, LLC about therapy clients and individuals seeking therapy services. It does not apply merely because someone visits this website. Information collected from general website visitors is governed by the Website Privacy Policy above.

Your rights

You have the right to:

• Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record.

• Ask us to correct your medical record.

• Request confidential communications.

• Ask us to limit what we use or share.

• Get a list of certain disclosures of your information.

• Get a paper copy of this notice.

• Choose someone to act for you.

• File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights were violated.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

• You can ask to see or receive an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we maintain about you. Ask us how to do this.

• We will provide a copy or summary, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee as permitted by law.

Ask us to correct your medical record

• You can ask us to correct information you believe is incorrect or incomplete.

• We may deny the request, but we will explain the denial in writing, generally within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

• You can ask us to contact you in a specific way, such as at a particular telephone number, or to send mail to a different address.

• We will agree to reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

• You can ask us not to use or share certain information for treatment, payment, or practice operations. We are generally not required to agree if the restriction could affect your care, although we will consider the request.

• If you pay for a health care service out of pocket in full, you may ask us not to share information about that service with your health insurer for payment or health care operations. We will agree unless a law requires disclosure.

Get a list of disclosures

• You can ask for an accounting of certain disclosures made during the six years before your request, including who received the information and why.

• The accounting does not include disclosures for treatment, payment, health care operations, disclosures you authorized, and certain other disclosures excluded by law.

• One accounting in a 12-month period is free. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for additional accountings during that period.

Get a copy of this notice

You can request a paper copy at any time, even if you agreed to receive it electronically. We will provide a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act for you

If a person has legal authority to act as your personal representative, such as through a valid health care power of attorney or guardianship, that person may exercise your rights. We will verify the person’s authority before acting.

File a complaint

• You may complain directly to the Practice using the contact information at the end of this notice.

• You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by writing to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint.

• We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your preferences about what we share. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions when the law allows.

You may tell us whether to:

• Share relevant information with family members, close friends, or others involved in your care or payment for your care.

• Share information in a disaster-relief situation.

If you cannot communicate your preference, we may share information when we believe it is in your best interest or when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety, as permitted by law.

We will not use or disclose your information without written authorization for:

• Marketing purposes, except for limited communications permitted by law.

• The sale of your health information.

• Most uses and disclosures of psychotherapy notes.

The Practice does not use protected health information for fundraising. If this practice changes, you will be given applicable notice and the opportunity to opt out.

How we typically use and share health information

Treatment

We may use your health information and share it with other professionals involved in your treatment. For example, with appropriate permission or when otherwise allowed by law, we may coordinate with a physician or another treating professional.

Practice operations

We may use and share health information to operate the Practice, improve care, perform quality and compliance activities, manage records, and contact you when necessary.

Payment

We may use and share health information to bill for services, process payment, provide requested out-of-network documentation, or obtain payment from a health plan or another responsible party when applicable.

Other uses and disclosures permitted or required by law

We may use or share information in other ways permitted or required by law. These disclosures are subject to applicable legal conditions and limitations.

Public health and safety

We may disclose information when legally permitted or required for purposes such as:

• Preventing or controlling disease.

• Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.

• Preventing or reducing a serious threat to a person’s health or safety.

• Other authorized public-health activities.

Research

We may use or disclose health information for research only when the requirements of applicable law are satisfied. The Practice does not currently conduct research using client records.

Compliance with law and oversight

We will share information when state or federal law requires it, including with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if necessary to demonstrate compliance with federal privacy law. We may also disclose information to authorized health-oversight agencies.

Medical examiners and funeral directors

We may share information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies and the law permits or requires the disclosure.

Workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and government requests

We may use or disclose information for workers’ compensation claims, legally authorized law-enforcement purposes, health-oversight activities, and special government functions such as military, national-security, or protective-service activities, when applicable legal requirements are met.

Legal proceedings

We may disclose information in response to a valid court or administrative order, subpoena, or other lawful process, subject to applicable protections for mental health records and psychotherapy notes.

Organ and tissue donation

When applicable, we may share information with organ-procurement organizations as permitted by law.

Additional protections for mental health and substance use information

Mental health records, psychotherapy notes, and substance use disorder information may receive protections beyond those described elsewhere in this notice. We will follow any federal or state law that provides greater privacy protection. We generally will not disclose psychotherapy notes or specially protected mental health or substance use disorder records without your written authorization unless the disclosure is otherwise permitted or required by law.

To the extent the Practice maintains substance use disorder patient records governed by 42 C.F.R. Part 2, those records will not be used or disclosed in civil, criminal, administrative, or legislative proceedings against you without your written consent or a qualifying court order and subpoena, as required by law.

Our responsibilities

• We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of protected health information.

• We will notify you promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.

• We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in the notice currently in effect and provide a copy upon request.

• We will not use or share information other than as described in this notice unless you authorize us in writing. You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time, except to the extent we already relied on it.

Changes to this notice

We may change the terms of this notice, and the changes may apply to all information we maintain, including information created or received before the change. The current notice will be available upon request, at the Practice office, and on joerustum.com.

Privacy contact

Dr. Joe Rustum, Privacy Contact
Joe Rustum Counseling & Executive Coaching, LLC
762 East Argyle Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
Email: Joe@joerustum.com
Phone: (615) 266-6772