Frequency of Sessions?
Weekly or bi-weekly 60-minute sessions are most common. The frequency of sessions is based largely on your needs and situation.
How Long is Therapy?
The amount of sessions needed varies depending on the nature of each person’s concerns, the complexity of the issues involved, the strength of our working relationship, and each person’s commitment to work on the presenting issues. There is a direct relationship between effort applied between sessions and progress over time. Anywhere between 1 and 20 sessions are typical, though more sessions may be needed in some situations.
About Privacy:
All information you share with your therapist is private can confidential.
Your information will not be released to anyone without your written permission (with some exceptions as explained below):
• When information is to be released with your consent you will be consulted regarding what information is to be released.
• Your information will be kept on file and in a secure and private location.
• You may review the contents of your own counseling file upon request.
Exceptions to Privacy:
Your therapist offers confidential therapy in so far as allowed by the United States Government and the laws of the State of New York. This means that the therapists and supervisors at Treehouse Wisdom and Wellness Inc. have a responsibility to protect information received from you during treatment. In order for any information about you to be shared, you must first sign a HIPAA Release of Information form that allows us to communicate only with the person identified on the release and only regarding specific information identified by you.
From time to time, we discuss our clinical work with colleagues to make sure that we are providing our clients with the best care possible. During these consultations, we do not share our clients’ personally identifiable information. And even though our colleagues do not have any of our clients’ personally identifiable information, they are still ethically bound to keep the information addressed in our consultation discussions confidential.
A client’s confidential information can be released without their consent under the following conditions:
• When the purpose is to protect individuals (including a client) who are at foreseeable and imminent risk of bodily harm or death as a result of a client’s actions.
• Under the law, we are mandated reporters, which requires reporting of child and elder abuse/neglect to authorities.
• Under subpoena from a court of law.
• There are exceptions to confidentiality that apply to personal information disclosed by minors. At the same time, NY has laws in place that allow your minor child to protect their information. Your therapist will discuss these with you in session, as applicable.
• If you disclose in confidence that you have done something illegal, your therapist is not obligated to report this to the authorities, unless the circumstances involve child abuse, abuse against a dependent adult, or a direct threat to another person (as outlined above).
Email & Texting Privacy:
Emailing and texting are quick and convenient methods of communication. Many of our clients use one or the other to correspond with us. Please be aware, however, that while every effort is made to safeguard your privacy, we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of email and text messages. If this is a concern for you, please do not use email or text to correspond with us.
• We will only use email or text to communicate with you: a) in response to an email or text you send us or, b) as you authorize it or otherwise request it.
Collaboration with Professional Referral Source:
If you have been referred by another professional (i.e. mental health provider, lawyer, physician, psychiatrist, clergy, etc.), it is customary for your therapist to contact your referral source to acknowledge the referral at the beginning of treatment.
Consent to Release Information:
If you are submitting any health claims to your health insurance provider for the counseling services you receive here, your insurance provider may contact us to obtain information necessary to verify your claim.
• The type of information they would typically request includes: 1) date of service, 2) the nature of services provided, and 3) the names of individuals who received the service.
• Our experience has shown that verification checks are not common and that most health insurance providers will typically not request detailed diagnosis and treatment plan information, unless the insurance company was the referral source who previously contacted us on your behalf, and contracted with us to provide services to you.
Other Services:
Examples of such services include corresondence with other professionals, such as and not limited to: school personnel (i.e, school social workers, teachers, guidance), medical staff, probation officers, CPS workers, therapists, etc. All letters written on the behalf of clients will be subject to an out-of-pocket expense. These services cannot be submitted to insurance for reimbursement. Please be aware that we are not trained for the purpose of child custody and will not make any claims, verbal or written, on either party's behalf. Please discuss this with your clinician prior to any request.
If you become involved in legal proceedings that require your clinician’s participation, you will be expected to pay for all professional time spent, even if the therapist is called to testify by another party. Because of the difficulty of legal involvement, we charge $400 per hour for preparation and attendance at any legal proceeding and $350 per hour for travel.
All correspondence including letter writing, phone calls, and all emails will be subject to $15 per 8 (payable prior to reciept of such letter, email, phone) minutes of work and will be charged separately.