practice policies
The relationship between client and therapist is incredibly unique given that it is both deeply personal as well as professional. The following policies are in place to create a structure of continuity and accountability within which you and your provider can more freely focus on your clinical work together. If you have any questions or concerns about a practice policy, please feel free to address them with your provider so that they can discuss its purpose and its impact on your therapeutic relationship if needed.
APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
If you need to cancel or reschedule your session, we ask that you do so at least 24 hours in advance. The full session fee ($150) will be charged if cancellation is less than 24 hours before the session. A fee is charged because late cancellations prohibit another client from accessing services and the provider from being compensated for their time, as insurance does not cover missed appointments. This is a standard practice for mental health providers, and we believe it supports accountability within the therapeutic relationship. Three late cancels/no-shows in a row for an existing client may result in termination of services. Five cancellations, or repeated rescheduling, in a two month period may also result in a discussion with your clinician about scheduling and strategies for attending appointments; and may lead to termination. In the case of termination, we will refer you to another provider that might better meet your needs.
For new clients, we will reschedule two times after either a late cancel or a no-show. After three late-cancels and/or no-shows, we will refer you to another provider that might better meet your needs.
At times, we may need to cancel our appointments due to illness, family emergencies, or other circumstances outside of our control. In this case, we will give you as much notice as possible. Depending on your communication preferences stated in your client profile, we will reach out to you via phone or email to ensure to the best of our ability that you are informed of the cancellation. We will also work to reschedule any appointment we cancel to the best of our ability.
PAYMENT AND INSURANCE
Payment is expected at time of service. It is your responsibility to be aware of your co-pay or deductible before your session. We accept credit card or check for payments. We do not accept cash at this time. A $35.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.
Please note that all clients are automatically enrolled in autopay. Copays, coinsurance, deductible, sliding scale fees or self-pay fees will be charged within 24 hours of your session. You may OPT OUT of autopay through your client portal when you fill out your paperwork, or by notifying us at hello@wildhopetherapy.com
We accept many major insurance policies. Our billing specialist will do their best to complete a benefit check before your appointment, however it is your responsibility to identify your insurance plan and whether your provider is in-network with your particular plan. As insurance can be confusing we will assist you in any way we can to navigate your coverage. Please communicate any insurance concerns before our first session. If your insurance does not provide coverage, you will be responsible for the full fee of service. Our billing specialist can be reached at billing@wildhopetherapy.com.
We can provide a super bill to you in the case that you choose to submit your own claim for reimbursement if your provider is out-of-network with your insurance plan. In this case, the full fee for service would be due at time of service.
You may obtain a good faith estimate of my charges upon request prior to scheduling with a provider.
The No Surprises Act is a federal law which provides you with the right to a good faith estimate of the cost of services at my practice. However, Ohio licensing board rules require me to provide you with the actual cost of my charges in a written informed consent form to which you must agree prior to my providing services. That will be available to you prior to you being seen for services and prior to any billing. In most cases it is impossible to estimate how many sessions you will need, and that will not be determined until your concerns are evaluated and will also vary based on the progress that you make, which depends in part on your efforts with the process. You will be free to discontinue services at any time or the services may otherwise be terminated in accordance with the informed consent form language.
Although the No Surprises Law says that you may initiate a dispute process if the actual charges are substantially in excess of the Good Faith Estimated charges, i.e. if you are charged $400 more than the estimated cost for a session or for the total estimate provided, that is unlikely to happen and would be a violation of licensing board rules, since you will be agreeing up front to actual charges per session prior to being seen. Dispute information is available upon request, however. Any changes to our fees will require a change in the informed consent form fees, which you must agree to prior to having them go into effect, otherwise the fees will remain in effect for 12 months.
If you think you may have trouble paying your bills on time, please discuss this with your provider. We will also raise the matter with you so we can arrive at a solution together. If your unpaid balance reaches $300.00, we will notify you. If it then remains unpaid, we may terminate therapy with you if we cannot agree on a payment plan. Fees that continue unpaid after this may be turned over to small-claims court or a collection service and you agree to allow us to do that. If we choose to do that, we will report only enough information to collect fees due to the practice.
A late payment fee of $25.00 will be charged each month that a balance remains unpaid, since the practice will incur costs to rebill and other accounting costs. A returned check fee of $35.00 will be charged if your check bounces. Once a check is returned, I will no longer accept checks for future payments.
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SESSIONS
PLEASE NOTE THAT EMAIL, ELECTRONIC MESSAGING, VOICEMAIL, OR OTHER COMMUNICATION OUTSIDE OF A FACE-TO-FACE SESSION IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THERAPY. YOUR PROVIDER IS UNABLE TO PROVIDE A PROPER ASSESSMENT VIA THESE FORMS OF COMMUNICATION AND CANNOT PROMISE THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS BETWEEN SESSIONS. IF YOU EVER FEEL YOU ARE HAVING A MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY, PLEASES GO TO YOUR NEAREST EMERGENCY ROOM OR CALL 911.
The best way to reach the practice between sessions for cancellations, rescheduling, or other administrative concerns is through email: hello@wildhopetherapy.com. Please direct billing and insurance concerns to billing@wildhopetherapy.com. Email is checked several times a day and we will respond to your message as soon as possible. Please note that the practice uses Google Mail for email correspondence, and cannot guarantee confidentiality through email or any form of electronic communication.
SECURE MESSAGING
You may send your provider a secure message through your Simple Practice client portal. This messaging system is HIPAA compliant and a better way to send information between sessions that you would like to ensure is confidential. As noted above, communication between sessions is not a substitute for therapy and your provider is not able to provide assessment or interventions between face-to-face sessions, or via electronic or telecommunications.
If you provide clinical information between sessions, your provider will follow up at the next face-to-face session. If your message is more than a standard paragraph in length, your provider cannot guarantee they will be able to read it in its entirety. If your provider notices a pattern of sending messages of this nature often, they may discuss increasing sessions during the week, implementing journaling, or other strategies during a face-to-face session. Each provider has discretion over how they communicate via email or other means.
TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY
You may also contact the practice or your provider by phone between sessions at 614.328.9714. Providers will not answer the phone if they are in a session with another client, after 5 PM Monday through Friday, on weekends, or other holiday or vacation time. If your call is not answered, please leave a message on our voice mail. This voicemail is confidential and will only be listened to by staff of Wild Hope Therapy, LLC. Note that if someone is not immediately available to take your call, we will attempt to return your call within 24 hours.
At this time, we provide primarily telehealth services. In-person services are provided at the discretion of the individual provider. All insurance plans have different coverage for telehealth services and it is your responsibility to ensure your coverage before a phone session occurs.
If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or go to your local emergency room.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION
Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, providers do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social media site (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.). Adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship. Wild Hope Therapy, LLC maintains public social media accounts that you may follow. The practice and providers will not follow current or former clients from this account for the same reasons listed above.
TELEHEALTH AND TELEMEDICINE
We offer telehealth exclusively at this time. In-person sessions should be discussed directly with your provider. It is your responsibility to ensure insurance coverage of telehealth or telemedicine services.
INTERACTIONS OUTSIDE OF THERAPY
From time to time, a provider will run into clients outside of therapy. If this happens, your provider will not acknowledge you due to your right to confidentiality. You may say hello to them if you would like, but are not in any way expected or required to do so. Your provider will acknowledge that we ran into each other at the following face-to-face session.
TERMINATION
Ending a therapeutic relationship can be complex and difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to process the end of the relationship, review achievements, and ensure continuity of care if needed. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment.
Termination happens for many reasons: you decide you have met your goals; you move or change insurance carriers; you and your provider identify a goal which requires a clinician with different training, etc. Your provider may terminate treatment if they determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. They will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating with you directly. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, the practice will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source. If you choose not to continue with another provider, your provider can assist in creating a plan for implementing coping skills after you have concluded therapy. We will support you in any way we can with this transition.
Should you fail to schedule an appointment for six consecutive months, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, the practice must consider the professional relationship discontinued.
If you have any questions about these policies, please direct them to hello@wildhopetherapy.com