Practice Polices — Heroic Path Counseling PLLC

Heroic Path Counseling PLLC

Virtual Telehealth Services, Minot ND 58701

PRACTICE POLICIES

APPOINTMENTS, CANCELLATIONS AND NO-SHOWS

The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 53-60 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 53-60 minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for the time to be scheduled in advance.

You will receive appointment reminders from the client portal prior to your scheduled appointment. Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. Cancellations and rescheduled sessions will be subject to a $50 fee if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE and billed to you for self-pay reimbursement. 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. I do understand that things may come up where this length of notice may not be able to be done. I do request that contact be made with me through phone, text, or the client portal, if you will not be at your scheduled appointment. I am open to rescheduling your appointment to another date/time in the same week, when deemed appropriate. If late cancellations or no shows become a habit, services may be terminated.

Each time you miss an appointment without providing proper notice, another client is prevented from receiving care. Therefore, I reserve the right to charge a fee for all missed appointments as well as appointments that are not cancelled with a 24-hour advance notice. “No Show” fees will be billed to you for the full rate of your session. This fee is not covered by insurance and must be paid prior to your next appointment. Multiple “no shows” in any 1-month period may result in termination from services. An appointment is considered missed or “no show” if you are late by 15 minutes for a telehealth session. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as I strive to best serve the needs of all my clients.

FEES

First Appointment/Intake/Diagnostic Intake $300

Psychotherapy 53-60min $220

I highly recommend that you contact your insurance company for coverage of these services. I will have informed you of this during our initial contact. It is your responsibility to contact your insurance company regarding your coverage. If your insurance does not cover, we can discuss a payment plan.

Insurance co-pays are billed through SimplePractice Software and paid electronically via the Client Portal, which is why it is necessary to keep a credit card on file.

If you suffer financial hardship and find you cannot pay for services with me, or otherwise feel you cannot afford it, I can help refer you out to Northland Health Center where services are assessed on a sliding fee scale depending on your income. I reserve the right to freeze further appointments if your bill exceeds $250. This is to prevent you from developing a big medical bill that you cannot pay.

TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY

If you need to contact me between sessions, you may contact me using the client portal, voice message or text messaging. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call within 24 hours. Please note that telehealth sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency department.

BOUNDARIES, SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION

It is important to know the limits and restrictions that need to be in place for you to have a healthy therapeutic experience. In short, I am not your friend, I am your therapist. This may sound harsh, but these ethical standards are put in place to protect you from unscrupulous therapists who use clients/patients to fulfill their own emotional needs. When lines get blurred between therapist and client, the client is put at risk of being harmed emotionally.

I am here to guide you, support and give you feedback. That doesn’t and shouldn’t include “hanging out” as friends, doing business together, exchanges of money (other than for billing purposes) or any other social contact. I realize we live in a small community, and we may bump into each other from time to time. I will not acknowledge you first as it is my duty to protect your privacy.

The Social Work Code of Ethics prohibits engaging in personal relationships with clients until at least one year has passed since the conclusion of our professional work together. To protect confidentiality and minimize dual relationships, I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and others. Adding clients as friends or contacts can compromise both your privacy and the integrity of our therapeutic relationship by blurring professional boundaries.

I encourage clients to use text messaging to schedule, cancel, or reschedule appointments. To maintain HIPAA compliance and ensure privacy, I use Spruce Health as my secure phone and text platform instead of my personal cell number. To access this service, you'll need to sign up after receiving an invitation from me. Signing up is free and easy.

Therapy sessions will not be conducted via text messaging. Casual texts like 'Hey, what’s up?' are considered inappropriate as they blur the professional boundary between the client-therapist relationship and resemble friendly communication. I will not respond to such messages. Maintaining appropriate boundaries is essential; excessive texting, social media stalking, or similar behaviors are unacceptable. If these boundaries are not respected, I reserve the right to terminate services.

If you ever have questions throughout your therapy experience, please don’t hesitate to ask. I welcome feedback and open discussion regarding your rights and the boundaries within the client-therapist relationship.

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 or text messaging 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.

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.

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 arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.

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