Practice Policies
For a therapeutic relationship to be successful, it is important to communicate limits, boundaries, and expectations. Please review these policies, as well as others outlined in the Informed Consent document completed prior to the start of therapy. I am happy to discuss any questions with you.
Cancellation Policy
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Appointments will ordinarily be 50-55 minutes in duration, at a time and frequency we agree on. Requests to change this timeframe needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance. The time scheduled for your appointment is assigned to you and you alone. If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, I ask that you provide me with 24 hours notice. If you miss a session without canceling, or cancel with less than 24 hour notice, my policy is to collect a $50 no-show fee. It is important to note that insurance companies do not provide reimbursement for cancelled sessions; thus, you will be responsible for the portion of the fee as described above. If it is possible, I will try to find another time to reschedule the appointment. If I can reschedule you within the week, the no-show fee will be waived, although this ability to reschedule cannot be guaranteed. If you are a Medicaid client and cancel two sessions in a row, or two sessions in two months, you will not be rescheduled. In addition, you are responsible for coming to your session on time; if you are late, your appointment will still need to end on time.
Should you fail to schedule an appointment for six consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued. Likewise, if, at the ending of the therapeutic relationship, we agree appointments will be on an as-needed basis, services will be discharged if I do not have a request for another appointment within two months.
Contacting Me
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 voice mail and your call will be returned as soon as possible, but it may take a day or two for non-urgent matters. If, for any number of unseen reasons, you do not hear from me or I am unable to reach you, and you feel you cannot wait for a return call or if you feel unable to keep yourself safe, 1) contact your local Crisis Intervention (Dauphin County: 717.232.7511; Cumberland/Perry County: 717.763.2222; Lancaster County: 717.393.0421; York County: 717.851.5320, 2) go to your Local Hospital Emergency Room, 3) Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 4) call 911 and ask to speak to the mental health worker on call. I will make every attempt to inform you in advance of planned absences, and provide you with the name and phone number of the mental health professional covering my practice.
The preferred method of communication aside from phone is the secure messaging system via Simple Practice. Please be aware that attempts to contact me through email or text may not be secure on your end, and may put your information at risk.
Insurance and Payment
In order for us to set realistic treatment goals and priorities, it is important to evaluate what resources you have available to pay for your treatment. If you have a health insurance policy, it will usually provide some coverage for mental health treatment. With your permission, I will assist you to the extent possible in filing claims and ascertaining information about your coverage, but you are responsible for knowing your coverage and for letting me know if/when your coverage changes.
Many policies leave a percentage of the fee (called co-insurance) or a flat dollar amount (referred to as a co-payment) to be covered by the patient. Either amount is to be paid at the time of the visit. In addition, some insurance companies also have a deductible, which is an out-of-pocket amount, that must be paid by the patient before the insurance companies are willing to begin paying any amount for services. This will typically mean that you will be responsible to pay for initial sessions with me until your deductible has been met; the deductible amount may also need to be met at the start of each calendar year. Once we have all the information about your insurance coverage, we will discuss what we can reasonably expect to accomplish with the benefits that are available and what will happen if coverage ends before you feel ready to end your sessions. It is important to remember that you always have the right to pay for my services yourself to avoid the problems described above, unless prohibited by my provider contract. I reserve the right to not reschedule an appointment if you owe the amount for 2 or more visits.
Any returned checks will require an extra $25 fee.
You should also be aware that most insurance companies require you to authorize me to provide them with a clinical diagnosis. (Diagnoses are technical terms that describe the nature of your problems and whether they are short-term or long-term problems. All diagnoses come from a book entitled the DSM-IV. There is a copy in my office and I will be glad to let you see it to learn more about your diagnosis, if applicable.). Sometimes I have to provide additional clinical information such as treatment plans or summaries, or, in rare copies, copies of the entire record. This information will become part of the insurance company files and will probably be stored in a computer. Though all insurance companies claim to keep such information confidential, I have no control over what they do with it once it is in their hands. In some cases, they may share the information with a national medical information databank. I will provide you with a copy of any report I submit, if you request it. In most collection situations, the only information I will release regarding a patient’s treatment is his/her name, the dates, times, and nature of services provided, and the amount due.
Good Faith Estimate
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how
much your medical care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical
items and services. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of
any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees. Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit
www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 1.800.985.3059.
Parents and Minors
While privacy in therapy is crucial to successful progress, parental involvement can also be essential. It is my policy not to provide treatment to a child under age 14 unless s/he agrees that I can share whatever information I consider necessary with a parent. For children 14 and older, I request an agreement between the client and the parents allowing me to share general information about treatment progress and attendance, as well as a treatment summary upon completion of therapy. All other communication will require the child’s agreement, unless I feel there is a safety concern (see also above section on Confidentiality for exceptions), in which case I will make every effort to notify the child of my intention to disclose information ahead of time and make every effort to handle any objections that are raised
Parents of minors are required to remain on the premises of the office at the time of their children’s treatment.
Privacy Policy