Office Policies

Steady Counseling Service Agreement and Office Policies

Below is information about what you can expect while in therapy with us. Please read through and ask any questions. You will be asked to sign that you reviewed the policies.

Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy is a collaborative process that involves both client and therapist participation. We work with you to create a treatment plan that best supports your growth. We use an eclectic approach and different modalities to maximize benefits and help you achieve your therapy goals. Our hope is that you will learn new skills, challenge unhelpful thoughts, and gain new insights, understanding and behaviors. Therapy has both risks and benefits. You may find that you temporarily experience an increase in unpleasant feelings and emotions when engaging in therapy. This can be a normal response to the work being done. Please let us know so we can help support you through it.

The length and frequency of treatment is highly individualized and depends on many factors. We will discuss this in the first sessions and can revisit this topic at any time during our work together. Though you can decide to discontinue treatment at any time, it is recommended that such a decision be explored together so that you can gain understanding about yourself and most importantly, preserve what was most important from your experience. Furthermore, should you decide that we are not the right therapists for you, we can provide referrals. We ask that you agree to one last session to provide appropriate closure and referrals. If we determine that another professional’s knowledge is needed to best serve you, we will discuss this with you and provide referrals as well.

Payment: Payment is due at the time of the session. Therapy sessions are approximately 50 minutes per session. Please arrive on time for sessions. If you are late, you will have the remaining time of the slot that was reserved for you.

Cancellation: Since the scheduling of an appointment involves the reservation of time specifically for you, a minimum of 24-hours’ notice is required for rescheduling or cancelling an appointment. You will be charged the current hourly fee for late cancellations or missed appointments. That fee will be due prior to the next session. We reserve the right to make exceptions.

Telephone and Emergency Procedures: If you need to contact us between sessions, please leave a message at 646-535-1509 and we will return your call as soon as possible. Do not use email for emergencies. Please be advised that we are not on call 24 hours a day. In the event of a life threatening or potentially life-threatening mental health emergency, please call 911 or go to your local emergency room. If there is an emergency during our work together where we become concerned about your personal safety or the possibility of you injuring someone else, we will do whatever we can within the limits of the law to ensure your safety and the safety of others and to ensure that you receive the proper medical care. For this purpose, we may also contact the person listed as your emergency contact.

Confidentiality: What is discussed in therapy will remain confidential except in certain limited situations. If there is an immediate risk to yourself or others confidentiality will be broken for your safety and the safety of others. See additional exceptions under uses and disclosures of protected health information. /

Consultation: We consult regularly with other professionals regarding our clients. Please note that identifying information is never mentioned. Written consent will be obtained from you prior to any consultation taking place with another professional where your identity will be revealed. An example of this would be if you are also working with another professional, such as a psychiatrist.

Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

Your health record contains personal information about you and your health. This information about you that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services is referred to as Protected Health Information (PHI). We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your personal information and to provide you with this Notice about my privacy practices, legal obligations, and your rights concerning your PHI in accordance with applicable law and the NASW Code of Ethics. We will follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice. If we amend this Notice, we will provide you with the amended Notice for your information and signature at your next appointment.

USES AND DISCLOSURES OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION

Treatment: Your PHI may be used and disclosed by those who are involved in your care for the purpose of providing, coordinating, or managing your health care treatment and related services. This includes consultation with clinical supervisors or other treatment team members. We may disclose your PHI to any other consultants only with your authorization.

Payment: We may use and disclose your PHI so that we can receive payment for the treatment services provided to you. This will only be done with your authorization. If it becomes necessary to use collection processes due to lack of payment for services, we will only disclose the minimum amount of PHI necessary for purposes of collection.

Health Care Operations: We may use or disclose your PHI in connection with healthcare operations including, but not limited to, quality assessment and improvement activities, certification, licensing, or credentialing activities. We may also disclose disguised information about our work for training purposes.

As Required or Permitted by Law: Under the law, we must disclose your PHI to you upon your request. In addition, we must make disclosures to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of investigating or determining our compliance with the requirements of the Privacy Rule.

Without Authorization: Applicable law and ethical standards permit us to disclose information about you without your authorization only in a limited number of situations:

• Required by law, such as the mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect or mandatory government agency audits or investigations (such as the social work licensing board of the health department).

• Required by court order.

• Necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health and safety of a person or the public. If information is disclosed to prevent or lessen a serious threat it will be disclosed to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including the target of the threat.

Family and Other Persons Involved in Your Care: We may disclose information to family members that are directly involved in your treatment with your verbal consent or as necessary to prevent serious harm. In the event of an emergency, we will disclose your PHI consistent with your prior expressed preferences, and in your best interest as determined by our professional judgment.

Uses and Disclosures Requiring Your Written Authorization: Uses and disclosures other than those described in this Notice will only be made with your written authorization, which may be revoked in writing at any time.

Psychotherapy Notes: We will not disclose the records of our work that we keep separate from the medical record for personal use, known as psychotherapy notes, except as permitted by law.

YOUR RIGHTS REGARDING YOUR PHI

You have the following rights regarding PHI that we maintain about you. To exercise any of these rights, please submit your request in writing.

• Right to Inspect and Copy: You have the right to inspect and copy PHI that may be used to make decisions about your care. Your right to inspect and copy PHI will be restricted only in those situations where there is compelling evidence that access would cause harm to you. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies.

• Right to Amend: If you feel that your PHI is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information although we are not required to agree to the amendment.

• Right to Accounting of Disclosures: You have the right to request an accounting of certain disclosures of your PHI, subject to certain restrictions and limitations. We may charge a reasonable fee if you request more than one accounting in any 12-month period.

• Right to Request Restrictions: You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the use or disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to your request unless the request is to restrict disclosure of PHI to a health plan for purposes of carrying out payment or health care operations, and the PHI pertains to a health care item or service that you paid out of pocket. In that case, we are required to honor your request for a restriction.

• Right to Request Confidential Communication: You have the right to request that we communicate with you about medical matters in a certain way or a certain location.

• Right to Receive Notification of a Breach: If there is a breach of unsecured PHI concerning you, we are required to notify you of this breach, including what happened and what you can do to protect yourself.