Practice Policies
APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Appointments are scheduled in advance, at a cadence we agree on, based on your goals, treatment needs, and our mutual availability. The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 53 minutes.
You may cancel appointments in advance without charge, as long as I receive notice far enough in advance. For appointment no-shows or last-minute cancellations, you may be charged a $50 fee if notice is not received at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of your session time.
Each client is granted a one-time courtesy fee waiver for their first late cancellation. Subsequent late cancellations will be subject to the $50 late cancellation fee. Please note that there may be certain circumstances where the cancellation fee can be waived. If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent you from providing the required notice, you must contact your therapist as soon as possible to discuss your situation and determine if a waiver is appropriate.
AVAILABILITY & AFTER-HOUR EMERGENCIES
I check for voice mail messages during normal business hours. Messages left outside of normal hours of operation will be picked up the next business day. If you are experiencing suicidal or homicidal thoughts, are in crisis, or need immediate help, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.
TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY
I am often not immediately available by telephone. I do not answer my phone when I am with clients or otherwise unavailable. At these times, you may leave a message on my confidential voicemail and I will return your call but it may take a day or two for non-urgent matters. I will make every attempt to inform you in advance of planned absences. If I need to cancel an appointment at the last-minute, I will reach out as soon as possible and reschedule.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION
Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will do so. While I may try to return messages in a timely manner, I cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.
Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail is considered telemedicine. Telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. If you and your therapist chose to use information technology for some or all of your treatment, you need to understand that:
You retain the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled.
All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable.
Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee.
Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent.
There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine. Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, improved quality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to therapy, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs. Effective therapy is often facilitated when the therapist gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. Therapists may make clinical assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third person consultations, but also from direct visual and olfactory observations, information, and experiences. When using information technology in therapy services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the therapist’s inability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues such as: your physical condition including deformities, apparent height and weight, body type, attractiveness relative to social and cultural norms or standards, gait and motor coordination, posture, work speed, any noteworthy mannerism or gestures, physical or medical conditions including bruises or injuries, basic grooming and hygiene including appropriateness of dress, eye contact (including any changes in the previously listed issues), sex, chronological and apparent age, ethnicity, facial and body language, and congruence of language and facial or bodily expression. Potential consequences thus include the therapist not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally the therapist.
MINORS
If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. I will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.
TERMINATION
There are several reasons why we may eventually end our professional relationship. You may decide you would prefer to work with a different provider. I may reach the conclusion you would be better served working with someone else. Regardless of the case, I will first discuss with you the reasons for discharging, and if you request, provide you with a list of other qualified providers. I will also extend the discharge process length if necessary based on your treatment needs, including continuing to provide emergency support for a time-limited period after you have been notified of the end of our treatment relationship.
Please note that ongoing failure to pay for treatment, attend sessions, or communicate with me in a respectful and timely manner can also result in discharge from my practice. In these instances, to ensure you have continued access to care, I will still make every reasonable effort to get in touch with you and provide referrals to a new provider before I consider our relationship ended.