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Restore Counseling Services understands that it can be difficult to seek help from a mental health professional, anditisour hope and purpose to help you identify and cope more effectively with problems in daily living andtodeal withinternal conflicts in order to achieve more satisfying personal and interpersonal relationships. We will strivetogethertohelp you grow toward greater health and wholeness by:
1. Increasing personal awareness of obstacles and strengths.
2. Identifying specific and individualized goals.
3. Taking personal responsibility to make the changes necessary to attain your goals.
4. Utilizing various interventions and techniques to help achieve your goals.
The therapeutic relationship that is formed is the vehicle in which individual change can take place. As such, it is often one in which close emotional bonds develop. It is also a professional relationship, in which appropriate boundaries must be maintained. Typically, the therapeutic relationship begins when treatment begins, and ends when treatment ends. Although this is sometimes difficult to understand, it is a necessary requirement for maintenance of the therapeutic environment. As such, your therapist cannot be expected to be involved in a social relationship or friendship of any kind that exists outside of the therapy room. It is important to understand that each party has certain clearly defined rights and responsibilities to contribute to this cooperative relationship. The part of the counselor is to contribute knowledge, expertise, and clinical skills, and you, as the client, have the responsibility to bring an attitude of collaboration and a commitment to the therapeutic process. While there are no guarantees regarding the outcome of the treatment, your commitment may increase the likelihood of a satisfactory experience. The first 2-3 sessions will involve a comprehensive evaluation of your needs, which will further help the counselor to offer you some initial impressions of what our work might include.
Appointments will ordinarily be 50-60 minutes in duration. The time scheduled for your appointment is assigned to you and you alone. If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, please provide us at least 24 hours’ notice. If you miss a session without canceling, or cancel with less than 24-hour notice, you will be charged for the full session (unless we both agree that you were unable to attend due to circumstances beyond your control). 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. In addition, it is your responsibility to arrive for each session on time; and if you are late, your appointment will still need to end on time.
The standard fee for the initial intake is $115.00 and each subsequent individual session is $125.00, with $15 for every 15 minutes after. For couples, $140, with $25 for every 15 minutes after. You are responsible for paying at the time of your session unless prior arrangements have been made. Payment must be made using IvyPay a securepayment system. Any checks returned are subject to an additional $35.00 fee to cover the bank fee incurred. If yourefuseto pay your debt, Restore Counseling Services reserves the right to use an attorney or collection agency to securepayment.
In addition to weekly appointments, it is my practice to charge this amount on a prorated basis (I will break downthehourly cost) for other professional services that you may require such as report writing, telephone conversationsthatlast longer than 15 minutes, attendance at meetings or consultations which you have requested, or the timerequiredtoperform any other service which you may request. If you anticipate becoming involved in a court case, I recommendthatwe discuss this fully before you waive your right to confidentiality. If your case requires my participation, youwill beexpected to pay for the professional time required even if another party compels me to testify.
I am required to keep appropriate records of the psychological services that I provide. Your records are maintainedinasecure location in the office. I keep brief records noting that you were here, your reasons for seeking therapy, thegoalsand progress we set for treatment, your diagnosis, topics we discussed, your medical, social, and treatment history, records I receive from other providers, copies of records I send to others, and your billing records. Except inunusual circumstances that involve danger to yourself, you have the right to a copy of your file. Because these are professionalrecords, they may be misinterpreted and / or upsetting to untrained readers. For this reason, I recommendthat youinitially review them with me, or have them forwarded to another mental health professional to discuss thecontents.IfIrefuse your request for access to your records, you have a right to have my decision reviewed by another mental healthprofessional, which I will discuss with you upon your request. You also have the right to request that a copy of yourfilebe made available to any other health care provider at your written request.
My policies about confidentiality, as well as other information about your privacy rights, are fully describedinaseparatedocument entitled Notice of Privacy Practices. You have been provided with a copy of that document andwehavediscussed those issues. Please remember that you may reopen the conversation at any time during our worktogether
While privacy in therapy is crucial to successful progress, parental involvement can also be essential. It is mypolicynotto provide treatment to a child under age 13 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 parentsallowingme to share general information about treatment progress and attendance, as well as a treatment summaryuponcompletion of therapy. All other communication will require the child’s agreement, unless I feel there is a safetyconcern(see also above section on Confidentiality for exceptions), in which case I will make every effort to notify thechildofmyintention to disclose information ahead of time and make every effort to handle any objections that are raised.
I am often not immediately available by telephone. I do not answer my phone when I am with clients or otherwiseunavailable. At these times, you may leave a message on my confidential voice mail and your call will be returnedassoon as possible, but it may take a day or two for non-urgent matters. If, for any number of unseen reasons, youdonothear from me or I am unable to reach you, and you feel you cannot wait for a return call or if you feel unabletokeepyourself safe, 1) Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) 800-715-4225, or Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-82252)goto your Local Hospital Emergency Room, or 3) call 911 and ask to speak to the mental health worker on call. I will makeevery attempt to inform you in advance of any planned absences.
Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, I do not acceptpersonal friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram etc). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentialityandour respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. Additionally, if we happentoseeeach other in public, due to confidentiality I will NOT acknowledge knowing you, having a therapeutic relationshipwithyou, or share any information about you unless you acknowledge me first and give consent. If you have questionsaboutthis, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.
I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. Ifyou prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will doso. While I may try to return messages in a timely manner, I cannot guarantee immediate response and request that youdonot 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, facsimilemachines,and e-mail is considered telemedicine. If you and your therapist chose to use information technology for someorall ofyour treatment, you need to understand that: (1) You retain the option to withhold or withdrawconsent at anytimewithout affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any programbenefitstowhichyou would otherwise be entitled. (2) All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable. (3) Your accesstoallmedical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this informationareavailable for a reasonable fee. (4) Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information fromthetelemedicineinteraction 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 communicationcapabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, improvedquality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to therapy, better continuity of care, and reductionoflostwork time and travel costs. Effective therapy is often facilitated when the therapist gathers within a sessionor aseriesofsessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. Therapists may makeclinical assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, writtenreports,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’sinability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues suchas: yourphysical condition including deformities, apparent height and weight, body type, attractiveness relative tosocial and cultural norms or standards, gait and motor coordination, posture, work speed, any noteworthy mannerismor gestures,physical or medical conditions including bruises or injuries, basic grooming and hygiene including appropriatenessofdress, 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 thusinclude the therapist not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that youmaynot recognize as significant to present verbally the therapist.
If you are unhappy with what is happening in therapy, I hope you will talk with me so that I can respond toyour concerns. Such comments will be taken seriously and handled with care and respect. You may also request that I referyou to another therapist and are free to end therapy at any time. You have the right to considerate, safe andrespectfulcare, without discrimination as to race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, orsource of payment. You have the right to ask questions about any aspects of therapy and about my specific trainingandexperience. You have the right to expect that I will not have social or sexual relationships with clients or withformerclients
Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achievesomeclosure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I mayterminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that thepsychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeuticrelationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminatedforany reason or you request another therapist, I will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists totreat you. Youmay also choose someone on your own or from another referral source. Should you fail to schedule an appointmentforthree consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I mustconsider the professional relationship discontinued.
Restore Therapist provides a safe space for you to explore your mental health journey.