Practice Policies
Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness, PLLC
3001 Wrightsville Ave, Suite B Wilmington, NC 28403
910-769-6360
PRACTICE POLICIES
Welcome to Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness, PLLC! If this is your first visit, we hope what is written here can answer some of your questions as you seek therapy. If you are a client continuing therapy with us, we hope this is a supportive reminder to navigate our office with ease. Please let us know if you want clarification on any of the topics discussed in our practice policies, or if you have any questions that are not addressed here. When you sign this document, you are stating that you understand and will adhere to the information provided in these policies.
RATES AND INSURANCE
Therapy is a commitment of time, energy and financial resources. If you have health insurance, it is important for you to verify your mental health benefits so you understand your coverage prior to your appointment. Some insurance companies require a pre-certification before the first appointment or they will not cover the cost of services. Our current fee schedule is outlined in the attached RATES AND FEES ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
These fees are reviewed annually and an increase of $5 per year applies to our rates every January 1st.
We also provide telephone and online therapy sessions. Some health insurance carriers cover Telehealth (telephone/online therapy). If your insurance plan does not cover tele therapy, it is your responsibility to pay the full rate for the session.
We are happy to assist you by having our billing department file claims to your insurance company on your behalf. However, you, not your insurance company, are responsible for payment of the fee for therapy. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, check and major credit cards, and payment is expected at the time of service. Deductibles, co-insurances, and co-pays are your responsibility. Our billing department will do an initial benefits verification; however, we encourage you to contact your insurance company to know your benefits and fully understand your financial responsibility. We check insurance benefits as a courtesy for our clients. There are times when insurance misquotes benefits. In the event of a misquote, clients are still responsible for their copay/coinsurance/deductible amount that insurance reports after claims are submitted. Clients can call their insurance company to check their own benefits as well by calling the number on the back of their insurance card.
If you are with an out of network insurance company, at your request, we can provide you with a Superbill monthly to submit to your insurance company per your out of network benefits. Most insurance agreements require you to authorize us to provide a clinical diagnosis and sometimes additional clinical information. If you request it, we will provide you with information to send to your insurance company. This information will become part of the insurance company’s files. Insurance companies claim to keep information confidential, but you should check with your insurance company directly if you have questions about their confidentiality practices.
Our reduced rate private pay schedule is unique to each provider and outlined in the attached RATES AND FEES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. These rates are for individuals without insurance or who choose not to use insurance for whatever personal reasons.
We do not bill secondary insurance.
APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for a $100 fee if the cancellation is less then 24 hours.
The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 55 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 55-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance. If you are 20 minutes late for your appointment, this is considered a no show and you are subject to the no show fee as outlined as the full rate of the session.
A $15.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.
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.
If fees for services are not paid in a reasonable amount of time, and attempts have been made to resolve the financial matter to no avail, a client account may be sent to a collection service. You will be notified in the event this happens.
TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY
If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on the practice voicemail. I may not be 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, Telehealth or phone sessions are available. These may or may not be covered by your insurance. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room. Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness is not a crisis facility. Do not contact us by email or fax in an emergency, as we may not get the information quickly.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND 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.
If you follow Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness social media accounts, know these are psycho educational purposes only and are not part of your treatment plan.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will do so. 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.
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 therapy is often 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.
MINORS
If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. I will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.
COURT RELATED SERVICES
We do not provide or perform evaluations for custody, visitation or other forensic matters. Therefore, it is understood and agreed that we cannot and will not provide any testimony or reports regarding issues of custody, visitation or fitness of a parent in any legal matters or administrative proceedings. If we are contacted by an attorney regarding your treatment (either at your behest or related to a legal matter you are involved in) please note the following:
TERMINATION
Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, I will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.
Should you fail to schedule an appointment for four consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.
COMPLAINTS
If you have a concern or complaint about your treatment or about your billing statement, please talk to us about it. We will take your criticism seriously, openly, and respond respectfully.
QUESTIONS
If during the course of your therapy, you have any questions about the nature of your therapy or about your billing statement, please ask.
The counseling relationship is a very personal and individualized partnership. We want to know what you find helpful and what, if anything, may be getting in the way. We want you to feel free to share with us what we can do to help. Please reach out to administrative staff or the owner with any questions or concerns at any time.
3001 Wrightsville Ave, Suite B Wilmington, NC 28403
910-769-6360
PRACTICE POLICIES
Welcome to Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness, PLLC! If this is your first visit, we hope what is written here can answer some of your questions as you seek therapy. If you are a client continuing therapy with us, we hope this is a supportive reminder to navigate our office with ease. Please let us know if you want clarification on any of the topics discussed in our practice policies, or if you have any questions that are not addressed here. When you sign this document, you are stating that you understand and will adhere to the information provided in these policies.
RATES AND INSURANCE
Therapy is a commitment of time, energy and financial resources. If you have health insurance, it is important for you to verify your mental health benefits so you understand your coverage prior to your appointment. Some insurance companies require a pre-certification before the first appointment or they will not cover the cost of services. Our current fee schedule is outlined in the attached RATES AND FEES ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
These fees are reviewed annually and an increase of $5 per year applies to our rates every January 1st.
We also provide telephone and online therapy sessions. Some health insurance carriers cover Telehealth (telephone/online therapy). If your insurance plan does not cover tele therapy, it is your responsibility to pay the full rate for the session.
We are happy to assist you by having our billing department file claims to your insurance company on your behalf. However, you, not your insurance company, are responsible for payment of the fee for therapy. Acceptable forms of payment include cash, check and major credit cards, and payment is expected at the time of service. Deductibles, co-insurances, and co-pays are your responsibility. Our billing department will do an initial benefits verification; however, we encourage you to contact your insurance company to know your benefits and fully understand your financial responsibility. We check insurance benefits as a courtesy for our clients. There are times when insurance misquotes benefits. In the event of a misquote, clients are still responsible for their copay/coinsurance/deductible amount that insurance reports after claims are submitted. Clients can call their insurance company to check their own benefits as well by calling the number on the back of their insurance card.
If you are with an out of network insurance company, at your request, we can provide you with a Superbill monthly to submit to your insurance company per your out of network benefits. Most insurance agreements require you to authorize us to provide a clinical diagnosis and sometimes additional clinical information. If you request it, we will provide you with information to send to your insurance company. This information will become part of the insurance company’s files. Insurance companies claim to keep information confidential, but you should check with your insurance company directly if you have questions about their confidentiality practices.
Our reduced rate private pay schedule is unique to each provider and outlined in the attached RATES AND FEES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. These rates are for individuals without insurance or who choose not to use insurance for whatever personal reasons.
We do not bill secondary insurance.
APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for a $100 fee if the cancellation is less then 24 hours.
The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 55 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 55-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance. If you are 20 minutes late for your appointment, this is considered a no show and you are subject to the no show fee as outlined as the full rate of the session.
A $15.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.
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.
If fees for services are not paid in a reasonable amount of time, and attempts have been made to resolve the financial matter to no avail, a client account may be sent to a collection service. You will be notified in the event this happens.
TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY
If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on the practice voicemail. I may not be 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, Telehealth or phone sessions are available. These may or may not be covered by your insurance. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room. Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness is not a crisis facility. Do not contact us by email or fax in an emergency, as we may not get the information quickly.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND 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.
If you follow Stillpoint Counseling and Wellness social media accounts, know these are psycho educational purposes only and are not part of your treatment plan.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will do so. 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.
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 therapy is often 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.
MINORS
If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. I will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.
COURT RELATED SERVICES
We do not provide or perform evaluations for custody, visitation or other forensic matters. Therefore, it is understood and agreed that we cannot and will not provide any testimony or reports regarding issues of custody, visitation or fitness of a parent in any legal matters or administrative proceedings. If we are contacted by an attorney regarding your treatment (either at your behest or related to a legal matter you are involved in) please note the following:
- We charge a $500 retainer prior to any preparation or attendance of legal proceedings.
- We charge $125/hour to prepare for and/or attend any legal proceeding and for all court related services.
- Charges for court related services are not covered by insurance.
- Court related services include: talking with attorneys, preparing documents, traveling to court, depositions and court appearances.
- If the court or attorneys do not pay our fee, you will be charged for the time we spend responding to legal matters
- You will also be charged for any costs we incur responding to attorneys in your case, including but not limited to fees we are charged for legal consultation and representation by our attorneys.
TERMINATION
Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, I will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.
Should you fail to schedule an appointment for four consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.
COMPLAINTS
If you have a concern or complaint about your treatment or about your billing statement, please talk to us about it. We will take your criticism seriously, openly, and respond respectfully.
QUESTIONS
If during the course of your therapy, you have any questions about the nature of your therapy or about your billing statement, please ask.
The counseling relationship is a very personal and individualized partnership. We want to know what you find helpful and what, if anything, may be getting in the way. We want you to feel free to share with us what we can do to help. Please reach out to administrative staff or the owner with any questions or concerns at any time.
