Office Policies and Procedures

Alexander Hill, LMFT PLLC 

About Therapy

The benefits of psychotherapy depend on many factors including motivation and joint effort between the client and therapist. The length of treatment varies according to the nature and severity of presenting problems. While therapy is designed to be helpful, it can also be difficult and uncomfortable at times. 

Confidentiality 

Information disclosed in therapy is considered strictly confidential and will not be released to any third parties without your written authorization, except where required or permitted by law. Exceptions to confidentiality include but are not limited to: 1) mandated reporting of child, elder, and dependent adult abuse, 2) when a patient makes a serious threat of violence towards a reasonably identifiable victim, or 3) when a patient is dangerous to him or herself, or the person or property of another. 

Fees 

The therapy hour is 50 minutes, unless otherwise discussed. Payments are made by credit card using Square. Your card will be charged at the end of each month for all sessions held within that month unless otherwise arranged in advance. A Square manual-entry fee of 3.5% will be added to each charge total for which the client is responsible. Additional services such as but not limited to requests for documentation, communication outside of session times, or consultation with your other providers, will be charged on a prorated basis after the 10-minute minimum. Fees may be reviewed at the beginning of each calendar year or when there are significant changes in client’s financial circumstances or changes in income.

Insurance Reimbursements

If you are paying for therapy ‘out-of-network’ and choose to use your insurance, I will provide you with a Superbill that will facilitate reimbursement by your insurance or employer. 

Cancellations 

Once we agree on a regular meeting schedule, I will reserve a weekly hour for you. It is important for the continuity of therapy that you come to all sessions, if possible. I allow four cancellations per calendar year, not including therapist-initiated cancellations. You will be billed for any missed sessions beyond these four. However, if you need to cancel an appointment, you can avoid using one of these allotted cancellations if we are able to make up your appointment within one week. I will do my best to accommodate requests to reschedule on short notice, but cannot always guarantee availability. 

Please be aware that beyond the four allotted cancellations, the client is responsible for the full fee and the session will not qualify for reimbursement by insurance providers.

Email / Cell Phone Communication / Telehealth 

Please be aware that while all communication is held as confidential, email and cell phone communication can be more easily accessed by unauthorized third-parties. Email in particular can be vulnerable to unauthorized access by persons known or unknown to you. Please advise me if you are in any way concerned about confidentiality as it relates to a specific form of communication. 

Availability

If you would like to speak with me outside of your sessions for reasons concerning scheduling, fees, or urgent issues that have arisen as a result of our work together, please call or email me and I will generally return your message within 24 hours, except on weekends. Please be clear in your message as to whether or not you want a return call and/or must speak with me immediately. 

I encourage you to contact me if you are in emotional distress as a first resort. However, I am not an emergency or crisis-response resource. If you are experiencing a life-threatening medical emergency, a severe physical safety risk, or are in imminent danger of hurting yourself or others, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. For mental health distress or suicidal ideation without immediate physical danger, you can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, available 24/7.