Practice Policies

PRACTICE POLICIES

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

Please remember to cancel or reschedule 48 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the entire session fee ($165 for individual sessions, $185 for couples sessions) if cancellation is less than 48 hours. The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 50 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 50-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance.

Cancellations and re-scheduled session will be subject to a full charge if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 48 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 may lose some of that session time. If you are more than 10 minutes late to the session, the session will be cancelled and the full session rate will be charged. If you have questions or concerns about this policy, please bring them up when we meet and we can discuss them.

PAYMENT FOR SERVICES

Each session for individuals is $165, and each session for couples is $185 and typically last 50 minutes. Payment is due in full at the beginning of each session by cash, debit/credit card, or health/flex spending card. Personal checks are not accepted. Failure to provide payment at the time of service will disrupt your therapy as all accounts must be current prior to your session. If you are the responsible billing party for a minor(s), the family’s balance must be kept current at all times to prevent the disruption of services for any of the family members who may be receiving services. Should any member of your family that you are the responsible billing party for accrue a balance, all family member’s treatment will be on hold until the responsible billing party brings the family account to current.

Should your account become delinquent, any and all fees related to the collection of payment will be the sole responsibility of the client or responsible parties including but not limited to attorney or court fees. Clients with account balances will not be able to schedule or attend additional sessions until the balance is paid, at the discretion of Lilac Bloom Therapy.

In addition, by signing Practice Policies prior to beginning treatment, you are acknowledging and authorizing Lilac Bloom Therapy to charge your card on file for balances.

Lilac Bloom Therapy does not have the ability to split or alternate payments for services. One parent/person will be the responsible party for all payments and billing related matters. From there, any payment agreements will be the responsibility of the co-parents and without the involvement of Lilac Bloom Therapy.

TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY

If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on my voice mail. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call within 24 business hours. Please note that face- to-face communication is highly preferable to phone communication. Phone sessions are unavailable. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or go to any local emergency room.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION

Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. Additionally, if you choose to like our practice page on Facebook or follow any social media pages associated with the practice or your therapist, know that you may be identifying yourself as a client and compromising your own confidentiality. Please do not post therapeutic content on the Facebook, Instagram, or other social media page that would be better suited for session. It is also recommended that you do not post reviews on review sites (ie Yelp, Google) for the same reasons. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.

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 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. I do not text with clients.

Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, text messaging, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail is considered telemedicine. 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.

WEAPONS

No weapons are permitted in any of our offices, including those that are concealed carried. Weapons include knives, guns, pepper spray, brass knuckles, or any other object that can be intended to cause bodily harm or injury. We reserve the right to ask anyone with a weapon to leave the property.

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.

CUSTODY OF MINORS

If you are seeking services for a minor and the parents are no longer together, additional paperwork will be needed. For custody decrees where joint legal custody is awarded, both parents will need to consent to treatment unless otherwise outlined by the decree. If sole legal custody is awarded, then we only need consent to treat from the parent who has sole legal custody. For parents who were never married and have a legal custody arrangement, we will follow whatever is outlined in that court document. For parents who were never married and do not have a legal custody arrangement, the state of Utah defaults to joint custody and we will need consent from both parties to treat. If a divorce occurs mid-treatment, please inform your clinician and provide necessary documentation.

COURT MATTERS

Lilac Bloom Therapy’s goal is to focus on the client, their mental health, and emotional well-being. To ensure this goal, we do not get involved in court related or custody matters. Should we be successfully subpoenaed, the party responsible for our participation agrees to reimburse us at the rate of $350 per hour, per therapist involved (e.g. supervisors) for time spent traveling, preparing reports, testifying, being in attendance, and any other case related costs.

REQUESTS FOR LETTERS/ ACCOMMODATIONS

Lilac Bloom Therapy does not guarantee that they will fulfill requests for letters or accommodations. This includes but is not limited to treatment summaries, disability paperwork, and work/school accommodations. This will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and only after the client has attended enough sessions where the therapist has a full understanding of the client's mental health needs. In addition, we do not write letters for emotional support animals.

TERMINATION

Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. 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 treat 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 arrangementshave been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.