Stacy Finch, RCC
Life Coach and British Columbia Registered Clinical Counsellor #20192
www.stacyfinch.com
stacy@stacyfinch.com
COUNSELLOR-CLIENT SERVICE AGREEMENT
Welcome to my practice. This document contains important information about my professional services and business policies. When you sign this document, it will also represent an agreement between us. We can discuss any questions you have when you sign them or at any time in the future.
COUNSELLING SERVICES
Therapy is a relationship between people that works in part because of clearly defined rights and responsibilities held by each person. As a client in psychotherapy, you have certain rights and responsibilities that are important for you to understand. There are also legal limitations to those rights that you should be aware of. I, as your therapist, have corresponding responsibilities to you. These rights and responsibilities are described in the following sections.
Counselling has both benefits and risks. Risks may include experiencing uncomfortable feelings, such as sadness, guilt, anxiety, anger, frustration, loneliness and helplessness, because the process of psychotherapy often requires discussing the unpleasant aspects of your life. However, psychotherapy has been shown to have benefits for individuals who undertake it. Therapy often leads to a significant reduction in feelings of distress, increased satisfaction in interpersonal relationships, greater personal awareness and insight, increased skills for managing stress and resolutions to specific problems. But, there are no guarantees about what will happen. Psychotherapy requires a very active effort on your part. In order to be most successful, you may have to work on things we discuss outside of sessions.
The first 2-4 sessions will involve a comprehensive evaluation of your needs. By the end of the evaluation, I will be able to offer you some initial impressions of what our work might include. At that point, we will discuss your treatment goals and create an initial treatment plan. You should evaluate this information and make your own assessment about whether you feel comfortable working with me. If you have questions about my procedures, we should discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, I will be happy to help you set up a meeting with another mental health professional for a second opinion.
APPOINTMENTS
Appointments will ordinarily be 45-50 minutes in duration, every two to four weeks, although some sessions may be more or less frequent as needed. The time scheduled for your appointment is assigned to you and you alone. If you need to cancel or reschedule a session, I ask that you provide me with 24 hours notice. If you miss a session without canceling, or cancel with less than 24 hour notice, my policy is to collect your session fee (unless we both agree that you were unable to attend due to circumstances beyond your control). If it is possible, I will try to find another time to reschedule the appointment. In addition, you are responsible for coming to your session on time; if you are late, your appointment will still need to end on time.
PROFESSIONAL FEES
The standard fee for each session is $130.00. You are responsible for paying at the time of your session unless prior arrangements have been made. Payment must be made electronically (eTransfer or PayPal) or with a credit card. Information for making payments will be given during session or with the invoice from your session. If you refuse to pay your debt, I reserve the right to use an attorney or collection agency to secure payment.
In addition to regular appointments, it is my practice to charge this amount on a prorated basis (I will break down the hourly cost) for other professional services that you may require such as report writing, telephone conversations that last longer than 15 minutes, attendance at meetings or consultations which you have requested, or the time required to perform any other service which you may request of me. If you anticipate becoming involved in a court case, I recommend that we discuss this fully before you waive your right to confidentiality. If your case requires my participation, you will be expected to pay for the professional time required even if another party compels me to testify.
PROFESSIONAL RECORDS
I am required to keep appropriate records of the psychological services that I provide. Your records are maintained in a secure location in my office. I keep brief records noting that you were here, your reasons for seeking therapy, the goals and progress we set for treatment, your diagnosis (if any), topics we discussed, your medical, social, and treatment history, records I receive from other providers, copies of records I send to others, and your billing records. You have the right to a copy of your file. Because these are professional records, they may be misinterpreted and/or upsetting to untrained readers. For this reason, I recommend that you initially review them with me, or have them forwarded to another mental health professional to discuss the contents. You also have the right to request that a copy of your file be made available to any other health care provider at your written request.
CONFIDENTIALITY
In general, the privacy of all communications between a patient and a psychologist is protected by law, and I can only release information about our work to others with your written permission. But there are a few exceptions.
In most legal proceedings, you have the right to prevent me from providing any information about your treatment. In some legal proceedings, a judge may order my testimony if they determine the issues demand it, and I must comply with that court order. There are some situations in which I am legally obligated to take action to protect others from harm, even if I have to reveal some information about a patient’s treatment. For example, if I believe that a child, elderly person, or disabled person is being abused or has been abused, I may be required to make a report to the appropriate government agency.
If I believe that a patient is threatening serious bodily harm to another, I may be required to take protective actions. These actions may include notifying the potential victim, contacting police, or seeking hospitalization for the patient. If the patient threatens to harm themselves, I may be obligated to seek hospitalization for them or to contact family members or others who can help provide protection. If a similar situation occurs in the course of our work together, I will attempt to fully discuss it with you before taking any action.
OTHER RIGHTS
If you are unhappy with what is happening in therapy, I hope you will talk with me so that I can respond to your concerns. If you find it difficult to bring up in session, feel free to send an email. Such comments will be taken seriously and handled with care and respect. You may also request that I refer you to another therapist and are free to end therapy at any time. You have the right to considerate, safe, and respectful care, without discrimination as to race, ethnicity, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, or source of payment. You have the right to ask questions about any aspects of therapy and about my specific training and experience. You have the right to expect that I will not have social or sexual relationships with clients or with former clients.
CONSENT TO COUNSELLING
Your signature below indicates that you have read this Agreement and the Notice of Privacy Practices and agree to their terms.