Notice of Data Breach - August 2025

PCS Counseling Services, PLLC had a breach of protected health information.  Under HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act), PCS Counseling Services, PLLC is required to notify persons affected in writing, by email, or by both as well as have this posting on our website.  

Description of the breach

On August 19, 2025 at approximately 11:39 am a mass email was sent.  This email was intended for past or current clients that belonged to Crystal Gilster, LPC.  The email was notifying clients that their records are being stored by PCS Counseling Services, PLLC and the method to request records if necessary.  These emails should have been sent out individually, however, they were inadvertently sent out in a mass email, thereby possibly resulting in exposure of email addresses to other listed clients.  We became aware of this error on August 20, 2025. 

Type of information exposed

Email addresses were exposed.  If the email address contained your name then this may have led to your name also being exposed.  No other identifying information or personal health information was exposed.

Potential risk

We estimate that risk of harm due to the exposed information to be low as no other information was exposed.  

Recommended Steps

Even though we estimate the risk to be low the following is recommended to ensure your security:

  1. Be alert for phishing or scam emails

    • You may get spam or phishing attempts.

    • avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments from unknown senders.

  2. Use strong passwords

    • Make sure your email account is secured with a strong, unique password.

    • avoid reusing passwords across different sites.

  3. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

    • Adding 2FA to your email account makes it much harder for anyone to gain unauthorized access.

  4. Monitor account activity

    • Check for unusual login attempts or unexpected account alerts.

  5. Consider using a spam filter

    • Adjusting spam/junk settings in their email can reduce exposure to unwanted or malicious emails.

Attempts to prevent future breaches

Though we have always had HIPAA training for our staff, we have acquired the services of American Health Training and have required all our staff to participate in this additional HIPAA training to ensure our staff is educated and your health information remains protected.

Our sincerest apologies for this inconvenience.  For further information you can contact PCS Counseling Services, PLLC by phone at (806) 891-8995 or toll free at (855) 735-1640, by email at pcs_counseling_admin@get-mental-health.com, or by mail at 6202 iola #133, Lubbock, TX 79424.

Thank you,

Chris Straface, LPC

HIPAA Compliance Officer

PCS Counseling Services, PLLC

pcs_counseling_admin@get-mental-health.com