Consumer Assistance

Comunidad Counseling Services, LLC wants clients and community members to have clear information about accessing records, verifying professional credentials, and submitting concerns or complaints.In Accordance with House Bill 4224 (89th Regular Session) and Texas Health & Safety Code §181.105,  the following information is provided to assist consumers in:

Requesting Your Counseling Records

Current and former clients of Comunidad Counseling Services, LLC may submit a written request for access to their counseling records.

To begin a request:

Please do not include private clinical information, detailed health information, or sensitive personal information in a standard email. Email may be used to begin the request process, but additional information may be collected through a secure method.

Your written request should include:

  • Your full legal name

  • Your date of birth

  • Your current telephone number or email address

  • A description of the records you are requesting

  • The approximate dates of service

  • How you would like to receive the records

  • Your signature and the date of the request

If you want records sent to another person or organization, you may also be asked to complete a written authorization identifying the recipient and the specific information that may be released.

Identity verification may be required before records are released. Requests will be processed in accordance with applicable federal and Texas law. When an electronic health records system is capable of fulfilling a request, Texas law generally requires the records to be provided no later than the 15th business day after receipt of a written request.

Access to certain information may be limited or denied when permitted or required by law. If that occurs, you will be provided with an explanation and information about any review rights that may apply.

Reasonable fees permitted by law may apply to some record requests. You will be informed of any applicable fee before the records are prepared.

Records From Services Provided Through Another Organization

If you received counseling from Kristin Gutierrez while she was employed by or working through another organization, including a nonprofit agency, those records are maintained by that organization and are not records of Comunidad Counseling Services, LLC.

Requests for those records must be submitted directly to the organization where the services were provided.

For additional information about medical-record privacy rights in Texas, visit the Texas Attorney General’s Medical Privacy resource.

Professional Credentials and Oversight

Counseling services are provided by:

Kristin Gutierrez, M.S., LPC-Associate, NCC — Texas License No. 101784
Founder of Comunidad Counseling Services, LLC

Kristin Gutierrez practices as a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate under the supervision of:

Portia Gordon, LPC-S — Texas License No. 86646

Licensed Professional Counselors and Licensed Professional Counselor Associates in Texas are regulated by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors through the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council.

You may verify a professional license or learn more about licensing requirements through the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council.

Filing a Licensing or Professional Complaint

A person may file a complaint concerning a Texas behavioral-health license holder with the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Complaints must be submitted using the Council’s approved complaint form.

Complaint forms and filing instructions are available on the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council complaint page.

Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council
1801 Congress Avenue, Suite 7.300
Austin, Texas 78701

Telephone: 512-305-7700
Complaints toll-free: 800-821-3205

Contacting Comunidad Counseling Services, LLC before filing a complaint is not required.

Filing a Medical-Privacy Complaint

Concerns about the privacy or handling of health information may be reported to the appropriate regulatory agency.

Information about medical-privacy rights and complaint options is available through:

A person will not be denied services or retaliated against for making a good-faith complaint or exercising a legal privacy right.

Questions

For questions about these instructions, email kgutierrez@comunidadcounseling.com. Please do not use standard email to send detailed clinical information or urgent mental-health concerns.