If you would like to book an appointment with us please review our policies, terms and conditions and let us know if you have any questions. Your agreement with these policies, terms, and conditions will be required via signature prior to booking an appointment. 

PRACTICE POLICIES

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

Your appointment time is established and held especially for you. Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the ENTIRE FEE if cancellation is less than 24 hours.

Our standard session time for psychotherapy is 60 minutes and our standard rate is $125 per session. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 60-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled and pro-rated in advance.

Cancellations and re-scheduled session will be subject to a full charge if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. 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 will lose that time.

CREDIT CARD AUTHORIZATION

Creative Process Counseling, LLC requires a credit card authorization be on file so that your balances can be settled as they occur. By providing your card information, you authorize Creative Process Counseling, LLC to store the information and any additional payment devices you use for services with Creative Process Counseling, LLC and to use this information to collect outstanding balances on your account. You further understand that when you provide a credit or debit card that does not have your name imprinted on it, by signing this authorization and charge receipts you are acknowledging that you are an authorized user of that account. You understand that you may revoke authorization of a payment device in writing and that eligibility of services may be terminated unless a valid form of payment is on file. You agree to pay all costs of collection or attempting to collect the balance due, including court costs and attorney fees, whether the same be collected by suit or otherwise.

A $25.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.

Any outstanding balances must be settled before receiving another session. Outstanding balances not paid within 30 days will be sent to collections.

FEES FOR ADDITIONAL REQUESTS

In addition to regularly scheduled appointments, I retain the right to charge for other professional services you may request. Other services may include report writing, telephone conversations lasting longer than 15 minutes, attendance at meetings with other professionals you have authorized and requested, or preparation of records or treatment summaries.

• If you elect to email, text, or call me about a situation outside of therapy and do not wish to wait until your next appointment to have us explore it with you (e.g., a conflict that occurred or other distressing event), you will be charged half your session fee. You will be reminded of this policy before any charge to your account has been made.

• If you become involved in legal proceedings and I am required by court order to participate (I do not voluntarily participate or submit documentation otherwise), you will be responsible for additional fees to cover that additional service. These fees will be your responsibility, even if we are called to testify by another party. Due to the complex and sensitive nature of litigation, my rate is $300 per hour for preparation and attendance at any legal proceeding.

• At times, talking with a therapist can be a helpful source of support in navigating stressful litigious situations. However, the therapeutic relationship is not a tool for gaining legal advantage in court or other systems. I may decline specific requests if you are wanting letters for FMLA, disability, emotional support animals, custody or adoption hearings etc. I will help you advocate for your needs within the boundaries of our professional relationship and am open to discussing these boundaries as needed. I can also help you find another provider if you may want or need specific services that don’t fall under our scope of work together.

TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY If you need to contact me between sessions, please email me or leave a message on my voice mail. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call or email within 24 hours. Please note that Face- to-face sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, in the event that you are out of town, sick or need additional support, phone sessions are available. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION

No friend requests on personal social media outlets (Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) will be accepted from current or former clients. If you choose to comment on professional social media pages or posts, you do so at your own risk and may breach confidentiality. I cannot be held liable if someone identifies you as a client. Posts and information on social media are meant to be educational and should not replace therapy. Please do not contact me through any social media site or platform. They are not confidential, nor are they monitored, and may become part of your medical record. Please see provided Social Media Policy for more information.

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 by the State of California. Under the California Telemedicine Act of 1996, 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: (1) 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. (2) All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable. (3) Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee. (4) Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent. (5) 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

Ending relationships can be challenging. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process that considers your unique needs. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, I will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to work with you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.

Should you fail to schedule an appointment for three consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.