Carolyn Aibel, Ph.D.

While I hope that giving you these policies in writing will minimize the amount of psychotherapy time we need to spend on them, I am also very willing to discuss any of them with you. Given that I think psychotherapy is a partnership, I am also willing to modify many of these policies, after you and I have discussed the modifications you need and have come to a mutual agreement.

My formal credentials are listed on the disclosure sheet you have read and signed. You are welcome to ask any questions about my credentials and/or my professional experience. The disclosure sheet also contains information about your rights as a client and where to complain if you think I have violated these rights.

Your input in your treatment is invaluable. Please keep me informed of what you feel works for you and/or does not work for you in our sessions. You are welcome and encouraged to ask questions about my theory of psychotherapy, any of my policies, your bill, or any other concerns that may arise. You have the legal right to terminate therapy at any time. I do, however, request that you discuss your decision to terminate with me. Clients who have not had a session in over 30 days (or within a mutually agreed upon time) will be considered inactive. It is always preferable to have a final session before ending therapy in order to review and evaluate the sessions and assess overall progress. Please be fully assured that anyone wishing to return to active therapy can do so by contacting me to make arrangements to resume the therapeutic relationship.

If you ever become involved in a divorce or custody dispute or you have to appear in court for any reason, please be informed that I will not provide evaluations or expert testimony in court. My recommendation is that you hire another mental health professional for any evaluations or testimony you require. In this way our work together can remain confidential and be a respite from such proceedings.

Both Colorado law and the ethical code of the American Psychological Association require me to keep in confidence all the information you share with me. You may, however, grant me written permission to anyone whom you specify. This principle of confidentiality has limitations in situations in which I believe you are of danger to yourself or to others, and in certain kinds of criminal or delinquency proceedings. In addition, managed care poses complex issues which may affect the confidentiality of our work. I will attempt to explain the effect of third party involvement on the confidentiality of treatment if such an explanation becomes applicable. There is one other exception to confidentiality: if your account becomes more than three months in arrears, and you have not paid me for 90 days, you will have waived your right to confidentiality and I will be permitted to refer your account to a collection agency or to a court for assistance in collection.

I may occasionally find it helpful to consult other professionals about your case. During consultations, I always maintain confidentiality of your identity. Also, those that I consult with are governed by the same rules of confidentiality as I am.

For minors and their parents: From my experience, I find my work moves much better if I have parental consent to keep all but the regulated material confidential. It will allow your child to build a more trusting and forthright relationship with me if we all agree that I can keep his/her privacy. I will work with your child to increase skills in communicating with you. In addition, if material arises that seems beneficial to discuss with you, I will talk with your child and receive his/her consent to share this information. I will also be happy to speak with you about the sorts of issues we are looking at and whether or not we are engaged in meaningful work. At all times, I will want to hear your perspective on how things are going. I will be happy to consult with you on parenting issues that may arise in the course of treatment. Minors seeking psychotherapy services should be aware that the law may provide parents the right to examine your treatment records.

There are potential benefits and risks of video-conferencing that differ from in-person sessions. The main risk is that cellphones and computers are vulnerable to breaches of confidentiality due to their modes of information transmission. I will work to these breaches by using a secure platform and a quiet place within my home. Confidentiality still applies for telepsychology services. Sessions will not be recorded. For Zoom sessions you will need to use a webcam or smartphone during the session. For either phone or Zoom sessions, it is important to that you try to find a quiet, private space that is free of distractions (to the best of your ability). It is also important to use a secure internet connection rather than public/free Wi-Fi. 

I am happy to use email or text messaging for scheduling issues, but for more sensitive matters, please wait for sessions so we can process the issue together.

I will bill you by the therapy session at the rate of $180 for a 50- minute session. I occasionally review my fees and will inform you of any fee raises at least six weeks in advance of that fee raise. I will consider financial hardship and keep you at the old rate if you are unable to continue your psychotherapy because of any fee increase. Additional fees will be arranged if you should require me to spend an unusual amount of time on auxiliary services such as consultations with other professionals, extensive phone calls, etc. Please understand that my treatment fees include session time (50 minutes ) as well as treatment planning time and brief collateral calls; in all, the fee I will bill you is for 60 minutes of my time. I will email you a statement in the first week of each month. I accept payment through Zelle, a digital payment network, Venmo (please make sure your settings are set to private), and by credit card (through Ivy Pay, an encrypted credit card processing app for therapsits.) I have chosen, as a policy, not to participate as a network provider for any managed care organization. If you have questions about this policy, please ask me. I am not a Medicare or Medicaid provider. I am not legally allowed to work with you as a client if you have Medicaid insurance.

Should you allow your fees to become delinquent for three months or more without making adequate arrangements for payment, I will assume that you have waived your right to confidentiality and will make use of a collection agency or other third party to collect my fees.

Please contact me at least 24 hours ahead of time if you need to cancel an appointment. Your appointment time is reserved for you; I cannot use it for other purposes without sufficient notice. I do charge my full fee for cancellations that are not made more than 24 hours in advance of our scheduled appointment.

I check my telephone messages frequently during weekdays and less frequently during evenings and weekends. I will return your call as soon as I am reasonably able to do so. My practice is not designed for crisis counseling, and you may not be able to reach me quickly on an urgent matter. If you make an urgent call to me, I ask that you specify that the call is urgent in the first few words of the message. Although I would prefer that I handle emergencies, if you believe you cannot wait for me to return your call, you can go to your nearest hospital emergency room or dial 911. If you do so, please also leave a message on my voicemail so I can follow up on any services you have received. If we have reason to anticipate a crisis, we can make advance arrangements to speak by phone. I do not charge for brief calls or brief collateral contacts with other professionals who have worked with you, but reserve the right to charge for longer calls or excessive collateral contacts. Whenever possible, I prefer that we speak within the therapy hour, where we can do the best possible work together.