Privacy policy

Privacy of Your Information

Talking for Change offers support via an anonymous helpline with the option of chat, letter, email and/or phone functions for individuals looking for support and help with their sexual interest in children and/or their concerns about offending involving a child.

When using this website, CAMH may collect, use and share anonymous information for the following reasons:

• To provide you with a real-time person to chat with (IP address is needed but not retained following the chat)
• To plan, manage, evaluate, promote and administer this website and its services
• For feedback surveys (anonymous)
• For research (with the prior approval of Research Ethics Board)
• For teaching
• For statistical and other reports to our program funders (only aggregate information is shared, e.g., the number of helpline interactions, visits to the website, number of self-referrals).

If you choose to share information that directly identifies you in a chat, then CAMH will destroy the identifiers unless there is a Duty to Report (see below).

Information that you provide on this website, and about your use of the website, is kept private and secure. It is destroyed, retained and/or stored in accordance with CAMH’s retention policies.

Because we do not retain identifying information about your use of the website, we do not have the ability to provide subsequent access to specific information about you or your use of the website. If you have general questions or concerns about how information on this website is collected, used, managed or shared, then please contact the CAMH Information and Privacy Office at privacy@camh.ca.

Referrals and Communications

If you choose to communicate with us using mail or your personal email address, then you will or may be identifiable to CAMH. If you choose to self-refer to the Talking for Change therapy program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (“CAMH”), you will need to complete the referral form. For information about how we manage the personal health information you provide CAMH in your self-referral or communications, please read our standard Privacy Notice found here.

Our Duty to Report

If you give us information that can identify you or someone else and we learn about a situation that is considered dangerous to you or another person, we are legally obligated to report that information to someone who can prevent harm and ensure people are safe. This is part of our “duty to report”.

We have a duty to report, for example, in the following situations:

• If you tell us that you are planning to hurt yourself, and you have given us identifying information
• If you tell us that you are planning to hurt someone else, and you have given us identifying information
• If we suspect that a child has experienced or may be at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, and is in need of protection (and you have given us identifying information)

Please note that there may be other situations where CAMH is required by law to disclose information (for example, in response to a court order, summons, or subpoena). If you have general questions or concerns about how information on this website is collected, used, managed or shared, please contact the CAMH Information and Privacy Office at privacy@camh.ca.

Our website and chat feature are best used with one of the following browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome (standard mode only). The site is also functional on Tor (standard and private mode).