Consultation & Supervision Practice Policies
General Information
The policies outlined below are for the consultation and / or supervision services with Catherine McLaughlin, MA, NCC, LPC. If you are seeking consultation for the purposes of obtaining certification, you understand that it is your responsibility to obtain all relevant information and paperwork necessary for my certification and to track supervision and client hours. By entering into a consultation & supervision relationship, I agree that I will be in a position to evaluate the quality of my work and, if I am seeking certification, she will need to complete paperwork that accurately reflects her assessment of my clinical skills.
The consultation and / or supervision process differs from therapy in that while I am a therapist, I will focus on your skills and treatment planning in service of your patients. Should a therapeutic need arise for you, a referral for therapy will be made. I cannot provide therapy for you as that would consist of a dual relationship.
Financial Policies
I agree to provide therapeutic services to you for a fee. Session length and cost will be confirmed with you via your intake session. Payment is expected in full at the time of service in the form of cash, check (made payable to Catherine McLaughlin LPC) or credit card. All credit card payments are processed using IvyPay, a HIPAA-compliant payment processing system designed for therapists. After our first appointment you’ll receive a text message from IvyPay prompting you to enter payment information. If there is a failure to pay two consecutive sessions, I reserve the right to cancel future sessions until the balance is paid. If this is the case, referrals will be made for you.
Cancellations and re-scheduled session will be subject to a full charge if not received at least 24 HOURS in advance. 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.
You will receive 30 days notice if rates are going to increase. Rates increase each 1-1.5 years in January or June, depending on additional trainings I’ve attending and subsequent new skills acquired. A few sliding scale slots are available. Please inquire should you have concerns about paying my full fee.
Telephone calls in excess of 15 minutes to parents, schools, or other professionals will incur a charge of $25 per 15 minute increment. The fee for completion of forms for schools, medical, or FMLA purposes will be $200/hour prorated. A $25.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.
Telephone Accessibility
If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on my voice mail. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call within 24 hours. Please note that Face- to-face sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, in the event that you are out of town, sick or need additional support, phone sessions are available. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.
Social Media & Telecommunication
Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.
Electronic Communication
I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. My email address cat@rosemarycollaborative.com is secured by a third-party, HIPAA-compliant provider, Paubox; however, if your email is not secured in the same manner, our communication may not be secure. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will do so. You may also contact me using my HIPAA-compliant contact button on my website at www.rosemarycollaborative.com. 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. I typically respond to emails within 48 hours.
Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail is considered telemedicine by the State of California. Under the California Telemedicine Act of 1996, telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. If you and your therapist chose to use information technology for some or all of your treatment, you need to understand that:
(1) You retain the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled.
(2) All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable.
(3) Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee.
(4) Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent.
(5) There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine. Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, improved quality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to therapy, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs.
Effective consultation and supervision is facilitated when the therapist gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. Therapists may make clinical assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third person consultations, but also from direct visual and olfactory observations, information, and experiences. When using information technology in therapy services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the therapist's inability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues such as: your physical condition including deformities, apparent height and weight, body type, attractiveness relative to social and cultural norms or standards, gait and motor coordination, posture, work speed, any noteworthy mannerism or gestures, physical or medical conditions including bruises or injuries, basic grooming and hygiene including appropriateness of dress, eye contact (including any changes in the previously listed issues), sex, chronological and apparent age, ethnicity, facial and body language, and congruence of language and facial or bodily expression. Potential consequences thus include the therapist not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally the therapist.
Termination
Should either of us wish to terminate this supervision relationship, we will inform the other in writing.
Should you fail to schedule an appointment for two consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued and will inform you in writing.
About the Therapist & Rosemary Collaborative LLC
I am an integrative clinician, which means that I take multiple approaches to the therapy. We will work together to address your most pressing concerns first, using strategies to enable you to have some relief from your symptoms. As symptoms improve, emotions are uncovered and acknowledged. Above all, I am interested in developing the relationship, which provides a safe place to explore your concerns together in a respectful and collaborative way. Personally, I am a white, cis-gender, straight woman, wife, and mother.
I have years of experience working with children and their families as a Professional School Counselor, have worked as a community mental health professional, and in college counseling centers. I am a member of the American Counseling Association and follow their ethical and professional guidelines.