Emails or Texts

You are welcome to communicate with staff, students, and volunteers at ROCK by email or text, as long as you understand the risks, limitations, conditions of use, and instructions for the use of electronic communication services.

ROCK staff cannot provide counselling via email/text, but we can schedule and cancel appointments and exchange generic information and resources. Emailing/texting with ROCK staff must respect professional guidelines within which the staff works. If staff have any concerns, they will speak with you directly.

If you decide to communicate with ROCK staff, students, and volunteers electronically, you are accepting all risks associated with the use of electronic communication.

Email/Text Conditions of Use

Please note that email and text messaging are not secure, so if you wish to use these communication methods with ROCK staff, students, and volunteers you must accept the following:

  • Use of email/text to discuss sensitive information can increase the risk of such information being disclosed to third parties. ROCK staff, students, and volunteers will not use email or text to provide counselling or therapy services.
  • Employers and online service providers may have a legal right to inspect and keep electronic communications that pass through their system.
  • Electronic communications can introduce malware into a computer system, and potentially damage or disrupt the computer, network, or security settings.
  • Email/text communications can be forwarded, intercepted, circulated, stored, or even changed without the knowledge of the sender or the recipient. Even after the sender and the recipient have deleted copies of emails and texts, backup copies may exist on a computer system.
  • Electronic communications may be disclosed in accordance with a duty to report or a court order.
  • ROCK staff, students, and volunteers cannot guarantee that all emails and text messages will be reviewed and responded to within any specific period of time. Email and text messaging should not be used for emergencies or time-sensitive matters.
  • Clients, families, or caregivers shall not include ROCK staff, students, or volunteers on any email lists, group chats, or give the email address or phone number to anyone else. If this occurs, the client will be informed and electronic communication may be discontinued.
  • To help protect your privacy, we recommend you password protect your email account, all devices used to access emails and texts, and keep your passwords secret.