Compliance and Privacy Requests
Your privacy is a priority, not a policy.
This page exists because your rights matter and because accessing them should be straightforward. Whether you have a question about how your personal information is used, a concern related to your rights under HIPAA or applicable state law, a request to access or correct your records, or a compliance matter you believe deserves attention, this is the right place to bring it.
Every request is logged for tracking and timely response. All submissions are handled with the same discretion that defines every other part of this practice.
Please note: this channel is not monitored for crisis or emergency situations. If you are in immediate distress or danger, call 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or 911. Submitting a request here does not constitute clinical contact and does not establish a therapeutic relationship with Dr. Esther Lapite-Garrett or Alafiora LLC.
- Before Submitting
- How to Submit a Request
- Identity Verification
- What Happens After a Request Is Submitted
- By Submitting a Request, You Acknowledge
- Related Pages
- If a Concern Is Not Resolved
No section by that word. The menu holds the complete site.
Before Submitting
Is This the Right Place for My Question?
If your question is about scheduling, fees, or beginning therapy, please use the general inquiry route instead. This channel is reserved for formal privacy and compliance matters, and routing an ordinary question here will delay a response rather than speed one up.
If your request involves Protected Health Information from your clinical record, identity verification will be required before the request can be fulfilled. That is a HIPAA requirement, and it exists to protect you rather than to create an obstacle.
How to Submit a Request
What Should a Request Include?
The fastest route is the compliance request form, which logs every submission so that nothing is lost and every request can be tracked to a response.
Every submission is logged, which is what lets a request be tracked to a response rather than sitting in an inbox.
Requests may also be submitted by email to legal@alafiora.com, or by post to Alafiora LLC, 1209 Mountain Road Place Northeast, Suite R, Albuquerque, NM 87110, addressed to the attention of Privacy and Compliance.
Whichever route you choose, and so that a request can be processed without a round of clarifying questions, please include:
- Your full legal name, as it appears on government-issued identification.
- Your email address, and a phone number if you would prefer to be reached that way.
- Your relationship to Alafiora LLC: current client, former client, prospective client, website visitor, legal representative or authorized agent, or other. If you are submitting on behalf of someone else, describe the relationship and be prepared to provide documentation of your authority to act.
- The type of request. Please name the category that most closely reflects your primary concern, and describe any others in your description:
- A description of the request, in as much detail as you can give. If this is a HIPAA concern or relates to your clinical record, relevant dates and the nature of the concern will help us respond accurately. If it involves a potential breach, please include what you observed and when.
- Your preferred method of response: email, phone, secure client portal message (available to current clients only), or written correspondence by post.
What Categories of Request Are There?
- Request to access personal data or records
- Request to correct or amend personal data or records
- Request to delete personal data
- Request for a portable copy of personal data
- Opt out of marketing communications
- Opt out of data sharing or targeted advertising
- HIPAA-related privacy concern or complaint
- Concern about a potential data breach or unauthorized access
- Accessibility concern related to this website
- Request for a copy of the Notice of Privacy Practices
- Request for a copy of the Website Privacy Policy
- General privacy question
- Other compliance matter
Identity Verification
Why Verification Is Required, and What It Involves
For requests involving personal data, Protected Health Information, or clinical records, HIPAA and applicable state law require that identity be verified before the request is processed. Following a submission, we may ask for a copy of a government-issued photo identification or other verification documentation. Providing it is necessary for the request to be fulfilled. All verification materials are handled with the strictest confidentiality and are not retained longer than necessary.
What Happens After a Request Is Submitted
How Long Does a Response Take?
Every compliance and privacy request is taken seriously. Here is what to expect:
General privacy questions and non-clinical inquiries receive a response within five to seven business days.
HIPAA-related requests, including requests to access, amend, or receive a copy of Protected Health Information, are acknowledged within five business days of receipt and fulfilled within thirty days, as federal law requires. In complex circumstances HIPAA permits a one-time thirty-day extension, which will be communicated in writing before the original deadline passes.
Breach-related concerns are escalated immediately and addressed with priority. If a breach has occurred that affects your information, you will be notified within the timeframe applicable law requires.
You will be contacted using the response method you selected. If a request cannot be fulfilled for any reason, the reason will be explained and, where possible, an alternative path suggested.
By Submitting a Request, You Acknowledge
- That this channel is for formal privacy and compliance inquiries and is not monitored for clinical or emergency communications.
- That submitting a request does not establish a therapeutic relationship with Dr. Esther Lapite-Garrett or Alafiora LLC.
- That identity verification may be required to fulfill certain types of request, and that you agree to cooperate with that process.
- That you have read the Privacy Policy and, if applicable, the Notice of Privacy Practices.
If a Concern Is Not Resolved
Alafiora LLC is committed to honoring your rights with the same precision and care that defines every other part of this practice. If you feel your concerns have not been adequately addressed, you also have the right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights at https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/complaints or by calling 1-800-368-1019.
Filing a complaint will not affect your access to care or your relationship with this practice in any way.
Every session at Alafiora is held by one licensed psychologist
Dr. Esther Lapite-Garrett is the founder and sole practitioner of Alafiora. There are no associates, no rotating providers, and no case handoffs: the person who reads a client's history in the first session is the same person still holding it two years later. She is licensed in New Mexico and Indiana, with additional state licensure underway.
Her training is doctoral-level, which typically extends several years beyond a master's-level license in assessment, diagnosis, and the treatment of complex, overlapping presentations. She keeps a deliberately small caseload so that depth is possible, participates in ongoing peer consultation and clinical training, and maintains her own personal therapy.
Whatever brought someone to this page today is never put on trial here
A consultation is a brief conversation with no obligation attached. Those already certain they are ready are equally welcome to begin directly with a first session.