Insurance: Your insurance contract is between you and your insurance company. We are not a party to that contract. We do however; require you to pay your co-payments, co-insurance, and/or deductibles at the time of service. If you are unsure exactly what your policy benefits are, we suggest that you call your insurance company to verify them. If your insurance company has not paid your bill in full in 90 days, you will be expected to take care of the bill.

We are participant in various Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO’s)and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO’s). Some HMO’s and PPO’s require a written referral. Please understand that you cannot be seen without this written referral, if it is the policy of the organization to which you belong.

If you are a member of an HMO or a PPO, you must bring your identification with you at the time of your visit. If your insurance plan requires preauthorization, you are required to obtain pre-authorization prior to your appointment.

This will allow our staff to serve your needs in a timely fashion when you visit our office. Our business office is available to assist you if you have a question or specific problem with your account or insurance. Please feel free to ask for assistance.

What is counseling? After all is said and done, counseling is the opportunity to be the most honest you will ever be. It is a chance to look at your life in a totally nonjudgmental way and begin to determine if the course you are taking is working well for you. It is the chance to bounce these ideas around and hear them back then make decisions about change in your own life. Counseling provides the opportunity to spend time with someone trained to assist you in evaluating the way you choose to process information and to expand your ability to react to the world around you. And it provides a means to do this in a confidential atmosphere.

Confidentiality: The notion of confidentiality is paramount in counseling. What is said in the session is meant to stay in the session. A trust maintained between the therapist and the client. There are two mandated exceptions to confidentiality. If the therapist believes that the client is going to be at harm to themselves or to others, the therapist must break confidentiality in the interest of the client.

If appropriate, it is the policy of this office to share information with your physician in order to make the best possible decisions regarding your care. You will be asked to sign a Release of Information to facilitate this and to indicate that you are aware that we are doing this.

With the advent of Insurance as a means to make therapy available to a wider population, confidentiality is not as absolute as it has been in the past. There are others who are privy to some of your information. This includes your insurance company, your EAP, and your physician.

No Show Policy: After our initial session, we will together, determine the frequency and availability of continuing sessions. We are here, together, in order to assist you in resolving your issues. No one can say exactly how long this will take, but we begin to look for resolution, from the time you first arrive.

To that end, the way that counseling works is that the client makes appointments, and we all agree to keep these appointments. You may reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are not an emergency service, so we might not be able to get back to you immediately, but we will get back to you. With that in mind, should you not be able to keep an appointment, we ask that you contact us 24 hours prior to your appointment to let us know. Should you choose to not call and not show, we will ask you to find another therapist. No-show appointments are billed at a $75.00 fee. These are not covered by insurance and must be paid privately.

How long is a session? Sessions generally run between 45 minutes and an hour. Some may be longer and a few may be shorter. It is the philosophy of this office that the client is billed by the session, not the hour, and that it is the judgment of the therapist as to when that session should end in order to maximize the results of the session. The therapist is always interested in how the client best process information. A good session will end with the client having the ability to express their feeling at the moment the session ends. A great session is one the client will think about 3 or 4 days after the session. Some of the best therapy does not take place in the office.

I have read the General Policies.

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