Cancellations:
Cancellations must be made by phone 24 hours before a scheduled appointment to avoid being charged the full session rate. A message left 24 hours before a scheduled appointment is fine even if I don't get the chance to return your call right away.
Being part of the same community:
Portland is a small city, and there's a good chance that I will run into clients while I'm out in the community. When this happens, I follow the lead of my client. I don't initiate contact and may even seem to act like I don't recognize you. If you say hello, I won't ignore you, but it's okay for you to walk on by if that is more comfortable for you.
Checking “Goodness of Fit”
If at any time in our therapeutic work together I feel that I am no longer the right fit for you, we will talk about it promptly. If at any point you feel that you want to try a different type of therapy, or seek a different therapeutic fit, we should also talk about it promptly! This is not uncommon in therapeutic work, and on my end it is my ethical obligation to never practice out of my scope of training and experience, or to have barriers to providing ethical and clinically appropriate services for any reason.
Ending services
Research shows that a planful ending to therapeutic services is most beneficial, for many reasons. When you feel done, or if we determine that we’re done together, let’s take a few sessions to close things with intention. If we’re not able to do this, and I don’t hear from you for 90 days, please know that I will close your file and will not consider you an active client.
Phone contact:
I do not use text messaging to communicate with clients. You can message me using the end-to-end encrypted “Secret Chat” feature of texting app, Telegram. Even then, messages should be utilized for scheduling, not clinical conversations or emergency mental health needs.
I do not program client phone numbers into my phone, so unless you leave a message, I won't know that you called.
Confidentiality:
The conversations that happen in session are private and kept strictly confidential. There are 4 circumstances in which your consent is not required to break confidentiality:
When a client reports an intent to harm him or herself, or someone else.
When a client reports information that indicates abuse of a child or elder.
When information about a client can be provided by me to facilitate care of the client in a life-threatening emergency.
When information is subpoenaed by a court of law.
Otherwise, I will not communicate with anyone about client information without the client (or guardian) signing a Release of Information indicating permission. If you are the parent of a client aged 14-18, there are additional issues about confidentiality that we should discuss during consultation.