Terms &Conditions
Contact Information and Emergencies
My private practice hours are Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday 9am–5pm, Wednesdays by appointment and outside those hours by appointment. On occasion, you may find it necessary to contact me by phone outside of our regularly scheduled appointments. I return calls and texts regarding appointments Monday through Friday during normal business hours only. I do not return texts on weekends. Note that Monday appointments must be cancelled on Fridays (48 hrs).
If I do not return your text within a business day, please call my voicemail as it may have been missed due to high volume or I may be out of town and out of cell range. By calling my voicemail you can find out if I am on vacation as at this time, I have no way to send an auto-reply for vacations via text.
Crisis, emergent situations, or safety concerns, particularly, client suicidality and/or self-harm or suspected child abuse are the most appropriate reasons to access phone support, however please be aware that I am often not available outside of identified office hours. You can access the following crisis services during times where I cannot be reached directly.
In the event of an immediate mental health crisis, please UNI’s crisis line at (801) 587-3000.
For a life threatening emergency go directly to your local emergency room or call 911.
If I am on an extended leave, I will generally have a colleague provide back-up assistance for clients in need. In this event, I will provide you with the practitioner’s name and number and you may seek them out for services.
Please recall my 24 hour cancellation policy to avoid being charged the full fee. Monday appointments must be cancelled on Fridays.
Coaching / Mentorship Risks and Benefits
Participation in coaching has been shown to benefit people who undertake it for personal growth, behavioral change, self-development, skill development, improvements in relationships, increased feelings of well being and reduction in feelings of distress, resolution of specific problems, and the exploration of personal issues and concerns that influence daily life and relationships.
Coaching/mentorship does, however, carry some risks. Risks may include: uncomfortable feelings which can result from the exploration of difficult or unpleasant aspects of past or current experiences or discomfort from attempts to stretch oneself by engaging in new behaviors, relational skills and coping strategies. Coaching and mentorship is far more focused on the present and future goals than on past trauma or challenges. We can hold knowing the truth of the past while focusing on creating new, self-serving behaviors, ways of thinking, and safe inner relationships that foster security, confidence, and fulfillment.
Factors Associated With Best Outcomes
Best outcomes of coaching/mentorship are typically associated with the following:
Consistent attendance, active effort and collaboration, both on your part, as the client and/or parent or guardian and on my part as the therapist.
A positive relationship between Mentor and client. Therefore, if at any time you feel uncomfortable or dissatisfied with our relationship or work, it is important that we discuss this so that we can make the appropriate adjustments to our work together or, if needed, I can assist you with referral to another professional.
Appointments and Scheduling
Each appointment including intake, are 50 minutes in length depending on our arrangement. When we schedule an appointment, I reserve that time especially for you. Therefore, you are responsible for letting me know at least 24 hours in advance of any cancellation for a scheduled appointment. There is no charge for appointments cancelled 24 hours or more in advance.
The cost for late cancellations or no show appointments are solely your responsibility and you will be charged the full fee. Cancellations should always be made via text or voicemail.
On occasion, I may also have to cancel or reschedule sessions. In such cases, I will attempt to contact you at least 24 hours in advance whenever possible.
Fees
Fees, including any co-payment, are due at the beginning of each session, unless we specifically agree to other arrangements. My fee is $165 per 50 minutes for individual healing sessions and $200 for couples.
In addition, there may be charges for specialized services such as assessments, written documents certain kinds of letters, reports, treatment plans, case management or consultation services and/or telephone calls. I will inform you of these when applicable prior to provision of service whenever possible.
Please be advised, services may be interrupted or ended for failure to pay.
Confidentiality
I will treat what you share with me with great care. Law protects confidentiality of all communications between a client and a therapist and I apply this to my coaching/mentor clients as well, as well as documentation and records. Confidentiality guidelines are determined by Utah State Law, federal HIPAA guidelines, and my professional social work ethics.
Please note, Utah State Law asserts certain exceptions or limits to confidentiality for cases in which is there is potential harm to the client or others.
I am mandated by law to report any suspected abuse to a child or certain adults.
In situations in which I believe you represent a serious bodily harm to yourself or others, I may contact appropriate authorities or seek hospital treatment for you on your behalf. Other reportable issues include a child witnessing domestic violence.
If there becomes some legal involvement in your case, I may be court ordered to release records or testimony. In such cases, I will typically attempt to assert confidentiality, however, a judge may overrule this if he or she determines that this information is necessary.
At times, coordination of assessment or treatment with other professionals or important people in your life may be beneficial to treatment. This would require me to exchange treatment information with them. In such cases, I will discuss this with you and you should know that law requires I obtain prior written permission from you before releasing any information about our work together. You have the right to refuse to give permission or revoke permission in writing at any time. In general, the sharing of information is done for the sole purpose of benefiting your treatment.
I am required to keep a file of our work together for clinical record and treatment operations. All information about you will be under my supervision and kept in a locked file in my locked office. I will participate in regular clinical consultation with my practice colleagues. All of my colleagues are also bound by the same confidentiality procedures identified above. Generally, no written record or documentation is made of these meetings, although I may note a consultation of your case in your file if indicated.
Please refer to the attached privacy notice for more detail regarding federal confidentiality guidelines. Please initial here to indicate you received this Notice of Privacy Practices.
Confidentiality
Tele wellness Agreement & Informed Consent
You understand that “tele wellness” includes emails, telephone conversations, and education using interactive audio, video, or data communications. You also understand that teletherapy/coaching also involves the communication of your medical/mental health information, both orally and visually.
Unless we explicitly agree otherwise, our teletherapy exchange is strictly confidential. Any information you choose to share with me will be held in the strictest confidence. I will not release your information to anyone without your prior approval unless I am required to do so by law. In Utah, we are required to notify authorities if we become convinced a client is about to physically harm someone, or if they are abusing or about to abuse children, the elderly, or the disabled.
You understand that our teletherapy/coaching services are furnished in the state of Utah, (USA), and the services I provide are governed by the laws of that state. In a manner of speaking, you are using this modality to visit me in my Utah office, where we meet to do our work.
You have the right to withdraw or withhold consent from teletherapy/coaching services at any time. You also have the right to terminate treatment at any time.
You understand that there are risks and consequences with teletherapy/coaching services including, but not limited to, the possibility, despite reasonable efforts on my part, that: the transmission of your information could be disrupted or distorted by technical failures; the transmission of your information could be intercepted by unauthorized persons, and/or the electronic storage of your medical information could be accessed by unauthorized persons.
You understand that you may benefit from teletherapy/coaching, but that results cannot be guaranteed or assured.
You understand and accept that teletherapy/coaching does not provide emergency services. If you are experiencing an emergency situation, you understand that the protocol would be to call 911 or proceed to the nearest hospital emergency room for help. If you are having suicidal thoughts or making plans to harm yourself, you may also call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 for free 24 hour hotline support.
You will be responsible for the following: (1) providing the computer and/or necessary telecommunications equipment and internet access for your teletherapy sessions, (2) securing or encrypting protected health information (PHI) transmitted to or stored on your computer/telecommunications device, and (3) arranging a location with sufficient lighting and privacy that is free from distractions or intrusions for your teletherapy sessions. If you use facetime or phone call for our sessions you consent to communication that is not HIPPA compliant.
You understand that while email may be used as a form of communication with me, that confidentiality of texts or emails cannot be guaranteed due to complexities and abnormalities involved with the Internet, including, but not limited to, viruses, Trojans, worms, and other involuntary intrusions that have the ability to obtain and disseminate information you wish to keep private.
