Practice Policies

INTAKE: The first appointment, which is considered an “intake appointment,” is a time for you to discuss your concerns, background, and social/ developmental history, as well as the presenting problem that brought you to therapy. It is a time to discuss with the provider a plan for therapy, treatment goals, and/or possible referrals. When minors are in therapy, the minor’s parent(s) or guardian(s) are involved in the intake.

TERMINATION: Your participation in therapy is voluntary and therefore can be ended at any time. The general practice is to have one or two “ending/termination” sessions which allow a closure to the therapeutic process. It is not helpful to end therapy by no-showing or cancelling sessions. It is important that you discuss with the provider when you are feeling that you would like to end therapy. If you feel at any time that you and your provider are not a good fit, please allow the provider to assist you in referrals to another provider. If your issues are out of the scope of practice of the provider, we will refer you to an appropriate provider. Additionally, termination typically comes when goals for treatment have been met or at clients request, such as moving out of North Carolina. However, there are a few reasons that this provider will terminate or discharge a client, they are but are not limited to the following: 

• Psychotherapy has been ineffective

• Client is in need of a higher level of care 

• Default on payment

• Two consecutive no call no show appointments (or three within the course of 6 months)

• Inconsistency in treatment (consistent cancellations)

• 6-8 weeks without scheduling or contacting the practice

LATE CANCELLATION & NO-SHOW POLICY: Therapy appointments are reserved specifically for you, and a minimum of 24 hours’ notice is required for cancellations or rescheduling. Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, as well as missed appointments (no-shows), will result in a $75 late cancellation/no-show fee. This fee is the client’s responsibility, is not billable to insurance, and must be paid before or at the next scheduled session. Exceptions may be made for true emergencies or sudden illness at the provider’s discretion.

PROFESSIONAL RECORDS: The laws and standards of our profession require that we keep treatment records. These records are securely kept and maintained in an Electronic Health Records system. We keep brief therapy notes, documenting your attendance, what was discussed in session, your progress towards goals and any homework. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records, or the practice can prepare a summary for you instead. If you wish to see your records, we recommend that you review them with your provider so that you can discuss the contents. Clients will be charged an appropriate fee for any professional time spent in responding to information requests.

PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES: Providers have an ethical responsibility to not develop personal relationships with clients that would create a conflict of interest. Therefore, if your provider comes into contact with you in a public setting, your provider will not engage in a conversation with you in an effort to protect your confidentiality. Additionally, your provider will not accept friend requests, follows or other forms of interaction on any personal social media outlet. If you choose to follow or “like” any of practice’s social media pages, you acknowledge that this may pose a risk to your confidentiality (ie. others will see that you followed this page).

MINORS, PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT, AND PRIVACY: When therapy services are provided to a minor, a parent or legal guardian is required to consent to treatment and is typically involved in the intake process. While parents/guardians play an important role in a minor’s treatment, therapy is most effective when the minor feels a sense of privacy and trust within the therapeutic relationship.

The provider will make reasonable efforts to balance parental involvement with the minor’s right to confidentiality, consistent with ethical standards and applicable North Carolina law. Information shared in sessions with a minor is generally considered confidential. The provider may share general themes, treatment goals, progress updates, and safety-related concerns with parents/guardians as clinically appropriate. Specific details of session content may not be disclosed unless there is a clinical necessity, a legal requirement, or a concern related to the safety of the minor or others.

Parents and guardians are asked to respect the minor’s therapeutic privacy by allowing the therapy process to unfold without pressure for disclosure of session details. Questions or concerns regarding a minor’s treatment should be directed to the provider rather than the minor.

For safety and supervision purposes, clients under the age of 15 may not be dropped off for sessions without a parent or legal guardian remaining on the premises, unless alternative arrangements have been explicitly discussed and agreed upon in advance with the provider. Any exceptions must be approved by the provider and documented in the client record.

LITIGATION LIMITATIONS: If you become involved in a divorce or custody dispute, you are agreeing that we will not provide evaluations or testimony in court, as we are not trained to make custody recommendations, and this creates a dual-relationship. Due to the nature of the therapeutic process, you agree that should you become involved in legal proceedings, neither you nor your attorney, will ask your provider to testify in court or disclose the therapy records.

ELECTRONIC AND OTHER COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SESSIONS: If you need to contact your provider between sessions, please leave a message on the voicemail or via the portal. The provider is often not immediately available; however, provider will make reasonable effort to return calls within 48 hours during regular business days. Clients acknowledge that response time is not guaranteed and that urgent or emergency matters should be directed to the appropriate crisis resources. The practice cannot guarantee confidentiality on any electronic form of communication (such as email or texting) other than your patient portal. Clients are highly encouraged to utilize the portal or phone to communicate with the provider however, should you choose to communicate via text message or email, it should only be utilized to cancel or reschedule appointments. The practice urges that clients do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies or urgent needs. 

EMERGENCIES: Due to the nature of this work, the provider is not immediately available to address emergency concerns. If you are at risk of harm to yourself or someone else, please follow the crisis list provided, call 911 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room or crisis and assessment center.