Counselworx Policy
How it Works
PLEASE NOTE: People under 18 must have the permission of a parent or guardian in order to receive counseling services.
CONFIDENTIALITY
What you say in a counseling relationship is protected by law and cannot be revealed to anyone without your written consent. Legal exceptions to this law include: revealing intent to harm yourself or someone else; information you share about an abused child or being compelled by court subpoena to release our records.
POLICIES
APPOINTMENTS
Because part of your session time is required for the review of previous session progress notes and for writing them as well, please note that a quarter hour will be deducted from session times for sessions over one hour in length. To facilitate your personal progress we recommend that you schedule two hour sessions that would be actually one and three quarter hours in duration.
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Standard practice is for your appointment to be confirmed through email. If you wish to continue, subsequent appointments can be set-up at the end of each appointment. If you will be continuing, a regular and ongoing appointment time may be chosen for the sake of convenience. Available hours are by appointment only using Eastern Standard Time (Indiana) Zone times.
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EMAIL:
Please be advised that the confidentiality of email cannot be guaranteed, and your use of email to contact Counselworx assumes that you are aware of this risk. Please be aware that it is impractical for Counselworx counselors to always answer you promptly.
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EMERGENCY CONDITIONS:
If you feel a need for immediate mental health crisis intervention, please go to the nearest hospital emergency room or dial 911 and ask for assistance.
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E-COUNSELING OPTIONS:
e-Counseling videoconference sessions are conducted through Zoom.
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E-COUNSELING CONCERNS:
Please be aware that much of natural human conversation is conveyed through non-verbal cues that may make it more difficult for our counselors to fully comprehend what you are communicating. Counselors look for subtle gesticulations, hand gestures and body movements to help them be able to detect the intensity of your emotional state. When those are missing, counselors may not be able to tune into this type of communication which may delay diagnosis and subsequently treatment. In addition an offset in video eye-contact may be disturbing or distracting to you. Furthermore you may not receive necessary cues and proper feedback from Counselworx counselors that would help you to know that they understand your thoughts and feelings. In other words there may be deficits and drawbacks to this form of counseling that you should be aware of before agreeing to it. Notwithstanding these concerns, numerous studies agree that videoconference counseling is indeed a viable, comparable and effective alternative to office visits.
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E-COUNSELING INTERUPTIONS:
In the case of an interruption in service please keep your counselor's phone number nearby in order to let them know in the event that a connection has been lost.
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E-COUNSELING OUT-OF-STATE CLIENTS:
Since there is presently no uniform national licensure for counselors, each state in the United Sates regulates the practice of its own counselors. As Mental Health Counselors Licensed by the state of Indiana, Counselworx counselors are allowed to practice counseling only in Indiana. That means that Counselworx counselors are allowed to counsel with any Indiana resident and anyone who comes to Indiana for treatment. It also means that that Counselworx counselors are not allowed to travel to another state and practice counseling without first obtaining the proper state license to do so. To avoid counseling beyond the limitations of licensure (by counseling across state lines) and to comply with the spirit of the law, it will be important that you come to Indiana (electronically) and initiate all videoconference sessions. For Counselworx counselors to videoconference you unsolicited may constitute practicing in another state unlawfully. Consequently, we must agree to and schedule all videoconference sessions in advance.
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E-COUNSELING PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Prior to the beginning of each and every videoconference session you must send an email of the physical address and room location where you will be conferencing from if it will be different than the one initially supplied by you. As counselors our primary responsibility in accepting you as a client is to provide for your safety when we are together. As disclosed in the confidentiality section above, Counselworx counselors must report to proper authorities your exact location in the event they have reason to believe you have become a danger to yourself or to another person. Every attempt will be made to discuss this with you before any action will be taken.
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CANCELLATIONS: If you need to cancel an appointment, 24-hour notice is required. Appointments missed without 24-hour notice will not be refunded.
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FEES:
After the initial consultation, fees are due upon receipt of your PayPal invoice.
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PAYMENTS:
Our Paypal website accepts debit/credit cards (Visa, Master Card and Discover) and health savings account cards. Counseling is a legitimate medical expense
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INSURANCE:
Counselworx will be happy to provide you with an electronic invoice in file format (.pdf) that you can send to your insurance company for reimbursement. If you would like to exercise this option, please supply the email address that you would like to have invoices sent to. Please be aware that if you choose this option it will require that you receive a mental health diagnosis that may be disturbing to you.
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