1. Therapist Information

Serene collects information about therapists to support their work, streamline operations, and ensure secure access. We collect:

• Personal Details

  Includes your full name, email, and phone number. These are required for account creation, communication, and security notifications.

• Professional Credentials

  Licensure numbers, certifications, areas of specialization, and practice affiliations. This enables trust and helps clients identify appropriate care providers.

• Timezone & Location Data

  Used for scheduling accuracy, session reminders, and timezone alignment when managing appointments across different regions.

All therapist data is stored securely and is never shared with third parties without explicit consent. You control your profile, visibility, and the details shared with clients.

2. Client Information Managed by Therapists

Therapists using Serene may collect and record client data for therapeutic purposes. This data includes:

• Client Name

  Used to identify records and manage session notes. Clients may be listed by first name or anonymized identifiers if preferred.

• Email & Phone

  Used to deliver appointment confirmations, reminders, and communication between therapist and client.

• Client Timezone

  Ensures session times are presented accurately to both parties regardless of location.

• Session Notes & History

  Allows therapists to track progress, document observations, and build continuity of care. All entries are editable and under therapist control.

All client data entered into Serene is encrypted using industry-standard protocols (AES-256) and is accessible only to the therapist who created it. Therapists may update or delete this data at any time.

3. Notes, Recordings, and Uploaded Content

Serene supports audio recordings and document uploads to help therapists capture accurate session information. We manage these with rigorous data minimization and security:

• Audio & Video Recordings

  If a session is recorded, it is temporarily stored for transcription. Once transcribed and insights extracted, the raw media file is deleted. Only structured, relevant data is retained in your notes.

• Uploaded Notes

  Text-based notes are scanned and summarized. The uploaded file is permanently discarded after processing to ensure we only store essential therapeutic data.

This approach limits risk and aligns with best practices in mental health data management. All extracted content is securely stored and encrypted, viewable only by the therapist.

4. Data Security & Confidentiality

Protecting your data is foundational to Serene. We implement:

• Encryption & Secure Storage

  All data, including personal, session, and metadata, is encrypted both in transit and at rest using AES-256.

• Trusted Infrastructure

  We use HIPAA- and GDPR-compliant partners including Firebase, Google Cloud, and other vetted services.

Access to data is strictly limited to the authenticated therapist. We perform regular security audits and continually enhance protection to stay ahead of threats.

5. Cookies and Analytics

We use cookies to manage sessions, remember preferences, and monitor aggregate platform usage. Analytics are anonymized and help us improve platform performance. We never use personal data for marketing or tracking.

6. AI and Model Training Ethics

Serene incorporates AI technology to assist therapists in reducing administrative workload and improving documentation workflows. However, we want to make it explicitly clear:

No therapist data, client information, session recordings, or clinical notes are ever used to train our AI models. We believe in absolute confidentiality and uphold this by ensuring that all data processed through Serene remains private and is never repurposed for machine learning training.

Our AI models are developed through ethically approved clinical research projects, often conducted in partnership with qualified institutions. Any training or testing of AI capabilities is done using synthetic data or anonymized datasets collected with informed consent from both therapists and clients who have explicitly agreed to participate in such studies.

These research activities are clearly separated from the production environment used by Serene’s platform. Participation is always optional, and privacy remains fully protected even during studies.

7. Access and Control Over Information

At Serene, we believe that mental health professionals should retain full control over their practice data. All information entered into the platform — whether about a client, session, or note — is entirely under the therapist’s control.

Therapists can choose to keep their data private, share it selectively with clients, or collaborate with other verified professionals on Serene. No data is shared without the therapist's explicit action and consent. If collaboration is initiated, only the data that the therapist chooses to share is visible to others.

Clients do not have access to internal therapist notes unless they are shared explicitly. All sharing and permission settings are transparent, and can be modified or revoked at any time by the therapist.

8. Policy Updates

From time to time, we may update this Privacy Policy. When we do, therapists will be notified through the platform and/or by email. We encourage reviewing changes to stay informed about how your information is protected.