Terms and Policies

Please read the following section. This section provides important information about the professional services I offer and my business policies, which will help you determine if working with me is something you want to pursue. I’m glad to answer any questions you have about the procedures, therapy in general, or the policies.

Qualifications

I am a Licensed Psychologist in the State of Texas. I have been licensed since 2001. My license number is 30551. You may verify any Texas psychologist’s license at https://www.bhec.texas.gov/verify-a-license/index.html.

Psychological Services

Psychotherapy is not easily described in general statements. It varies depending on the personalities of the psychologist and patient, and the particular problems you hope to address. There are many different methods I may use to deal with those problems. Psychotherapy is not like a medical doctor visit. Instead, it calls for a very active effort on your part. In order for the therapy to be most successful, you will have to work on things we talk about both during our sessions and outside of our sessions.

Psychotherapy can have benefits and risks. Because therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. On the other hand, psychotherapy has also been shown to have benefits for people who go through it. Therapy often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, and significant reductions in feelings of distress. Even so, there are no guarantees as to what you will experience.

Our first few sessions will involve an evaluation of your needs. By the end of the evaluation, I will be able to offer you some first impressions of what our work will include and a treatment plan to follow, if you decide to continue with therapy. You should evaluate this information along with your own opinions about whether you feel comfortable working with me. At the end of the evaluation, I will notify you if I believe that I am not the right therapist for you and, if so, I will give you referrals to other practitioners whom I believe are better suited to help you.

Therapy involves a large commitment of time, money, and energy, so you should be very careful about the therapist you select. If you have questions about my procedures, we should discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, I will be happy to help you set up a meeting with another mental health professional for a second opinion.

Telepsychology

Telepsychology focuses on doing psychotherapy remotely using the telephone or videoconferencing. Please read this carefully, and let me know if you have any questions.

Benefits and Risks of Telepsychology

Telepsychology refers to providing psychotherapy services remotely using telecommunications technologies, such as videoconferencing or telephone. This allows clients to participate in psychological treatment without being in the same physical location. It is also more convenient and takes less time. Telepsychology, however, requires technical competence on both our parts to be helpful. Although there are benefits of telepsychology, there are some differences between in-person psychotherapy and telepsychology, as well as some risks. For example:

Risks to confidentiality. Because telepsychology sessions take place outside of the therapist’s private office, there is potential for other people to overhear sessions if you are not in a private place during the session. On my end I will take reasonable steps to ensure your privacy. But it is important for you to make sure you find a private place for our session where you will not be interrupted. It is also important for you to protect the privacy of our session on your cell phone or other device. You should participate in therapy only while in a room or area where other people are not present and cannot overhear the conversation. If you are using Internet to facilitate our meeting, you should take care to only use Internet connections that are secured with a password. Using a VPN is recommended, but not required.
Issues related to technology. There are many ways that technology issues might impact telepsychology. For example, technology may stop working during a session, other people might be able to get access to our private conversation, or stored data could be accessed by unauthorized people or companies.
Crisis management and intervention. Usually, I will not engage in telepsychology with clients who are currently in a crisis situation. Before engaging in telepsychology, we will develop an emergency response plan to address potential crisis situations that may arise during the course of our telepsychology work. Assessment of telepsychology appropriateness is an ongoing process. We will both continue to assess whether meeting this way offers a good option for your care.
Preference. Most research shows that telepsychology is about as effective as in-person psychotherapy. However, some therapists and patients believe that something is lost by not being in the same room. For example, there is debate about a therapist’s ability to fully understand nonverbal information when working remotely. Additionally, some patients report feeling a superior connection to their therapist in-person. When examining telephone counseling, it was viewed by clients as effective and satisfactory (Reese, Conoley, & Brossart, 2002). In another study, “more than half (58%) of the respondents who had experienced both telephone and face-to-face counseling preferred telephone counseling” (Reese, Conoley, & Brossart, 2006).

Electronic Communications

We will decide together which kind of telepsychology service to use, but video is preferred. You must have certain technologies (e.g., a mobile device or computer) or services (e.g., high speed Internet, a mobile data plan) to use telepsychology services. You are solely responsible for any cost to you to obtain any necessary equipment, accessories, or software to take part in telepsychology.

Treatment is most effective when clinical discussions occur at your regularly scheduled sessions, but if an urgent issue arises, you should feel free to attempt to reach me by phone. I will try to return your call within 24 hours except on weekends and holidays. If you are unable to reach me and feel that you cannot wait for me to return your call, contact your primary care physician or the nearest emergency room and ask for the psychologist or psychiatrist on call. If I will be unavailable for an extended time, I will provide you with the name of a colleague to contact in my absence if necessary.

Email

For communication between sessions, I only use email communication with your permission and only for administrative purposes unless we have made another agreement. Administrative matters include things like setting and changing appointments, billing matters, and other related issues. You should be aware that I cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information communicated by email even though I use a HIPAA compliant email service. Therefore, I will not discuss any clinical information by email and prefer that you do not either. Also, while I do regularly check my email, do I not respond immediately, so email should not be used if there is an emergency.

Text Messages

I do not use text messaging since this form of communication, as implemented on most cell phones, is not private.

Patient Portal

I also use the TherapyNotes patient portal. This is a more secure way of communicating, but it functions similarly to email. It is not real time communication like the telephone.

Social Media

I do not communicate with, or contact, any of my clients through social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn. In addition, if I discover that I have accidentally established an online relationship with you, I will cancel that relationship. This is because these types of casual social contacts can create significant privacy risks for you.

I participate on various social networks, but not in my professional capacity. If you have an online presence, there is a possibility that you may encounter me by accident. If that occurs, please discuss it with me during our time together. I believe that any communications with clients online have a high potential to compromise the professional relationship and thus, I don’t engage in them. Please do not try to contact me in this way or interact with my social media content. I will not respond and will terminate any online contact no matter how accidental.

Websites

I have a website that you are free to access. I use it for professional purposes to provide information to others about me and my practice. You are welcome to access and review the information that I have on my website and, if you have questions about it, we should discuss this during your therapy sessions.

Web Searches

I will not use web searches to gather information about you without your permission. I believe that this violates your privacy rights; however, I understand that you might choose to gather information about me in this way. In this day and age, there is an incredible amount of information available about individuals on the internet, much of which may actually be known to that person and some of which may be inaccurate or unknown. If you encounter any information about me through web searches, or in any other fashion for that matter, please discuss this with me during our time together so that we can deal with it and its potential impact on your treatment.

Web Reviews

Recently it has become common for clients to review their health care provider on various websites. However, mental health professionals cannot respond to such comments because of confidentiality restrictions. It is also generally preferable for clients to discuss their concerns directly with their health care provider. If you have concerns or questions about any aspect of our work together or about any previously posted online reviews of my practice, please let me know so that we can discuss them. I recommend that you do not rate my work with you on any website for several reasons. If you rate my work on a website while you are in treatment with me, it has the potential to affect our therapeutic relationship. If you choose to post an online review about me or another health care provider either while you are in treatment or afterwards, please keep in mind that you may be revealing confidential information about your treatment.

Confidentiality

I have a legal and ethical responsibility to make my best efforts to protect all communications that are a part of our telepsychology. However, the nature of electronic communications technologies is such that I cannot guarantee that our communications will be kept confidential or that other people may not gain access to our communications. I will try to use updated encryption methods, firewalls, and back-up systems to help keep your information private, but there is a risk that our electronic communications may be compromised, unsecured, or accessed by others. You should also take reasonable steps to ensure the security of our communications. For example, only using secure networks for telepsychology sessions and having passwords to protect the device you use for telepsychology.

If we happen to cross paths outside of a telepsychology session, I will do my best to not identify you as a current or former client. Thus, I will not typically acknowledge you in a public setting in order to protect your confidentiality. If you choose to approach me and initiate contact, I will try to make such interactions brief, simply to protect your confidentiality and to protect our professional relationship. I do not respond to current or former clients on any social network platform to protect your confidentiality.

Exceptions to Confidentiality

In most legal proceedings, you have the right to prevent me from providing any information about your treatment. In some legal proceedings, a judge may order my testimony if he/she determines that the issues demand it, and I must comply with that court order.

There are some situations in which I am legally obligated to take action to protect others from harm, even if I have to reveal some information about a client’s treatment. For example, if I believe that a child (or an elderly person or disabled person) is being abused or has been abused, I must make a report to the appropriate state agency.

If I believe that a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person, I am required to take protective actions. These actions may include notifying the potential victim, contacting the police, or seeking hospitalization for the client. If a client threatens to harm himself/herself, I may be obligated to seek hospitalization for him/her or to contact family members or others who can help provide protection. If you inform me that a mental health professional has been sexually inappropriate with you, I am required to report that to the appropriate state licensing board.

I may occasionally find it helpful to consult other professionals about a case. During a consultation, I make every effort to avoid revealing the identity of my client. The consultant is also legally bound to keep the information confidential. Ordinarily, I will not tell you about these consultations unless I believe that it is important to our work.

Although this summary of exceptions to confidentiality is intended to inform you about potential issues that could arise, it is important that we discuss any questions or concerns that you may have at our next meeting. I will be happy to discuss these issues with you and provide clarification when possible. However, if you need specific clarification or advice I am unable to provide, formal legal advice may be needed, as the laws governing confidentiality are complex.

Location

As when delivering in-person care, I conduct my telepsychology appointments from a setting that is appropriate for the delivery of healthcare. It is important that you receive your care in a setting that is also appropriate for healthcare. As stated earlier, please attempt to find a location that is private, and allows you to have interactions that cannot be seen or overheard by others. This will help protect your privacy and confidentiality. If we begin our session and you are not located in a private space, we may not be able to have our meeting.

I am licensed to practice in the state of Texas. While I have obtained the Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) from the PSYPACT Commission, I need you to tell me what state you are residing in for our sessions as I must follow the state’s rules and regulations you reside in. I can only see individuals that reside in those states that are participating in PSYPACT. Currently, those states include:

PSYPACT® PARTICIPATING STATES (42 ENACTED, 42 EFFECTIVE)

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

Colorado

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio

Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Again, please communicate with me, if you will be out of your home state during a scheduled meeting.

Emergencies and Technology

Assessing and evaluating threats and other emergencies can be more difficult when conducting telepsychology than in traditional in-person therapy. To address some of these difficulties, we will create an emergency plan before engaging in telepsychology services. I will ask you to identify an emergency contact person who is near your location and who I will contact in the event of a crisis or emergency to assist in addressing the situation. I will ask that you sign a separate authorization form allowing me to contact your emergency contact person as needed during such a crisis or emergency.

If you are in crisis, you can go to the nearest emergency room or call 911.
You may also call a crisis hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).
There is also the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline. You can call or text to 988.

If the session is interrupted for any reason, such as the connection to the internet fails, and you are having an emergency, do not call me back; instead, call 911or go to your nearest emergency room. Call me back after you have called or obtained emergency services. A list of toll free, national hotlines can be found at: http://www.pleaselive.org/hotlines/. If you need to contact a 24-hour national suicide hotline, please call

If the session is interrupted and you are not having an emergency, disconnect from the session and I will wait two (2) minutes and then re-contact you via the telepsychology platform on which we agreed to conduct therapy. If you do not receive a call back within two (2) minutes, then call me on the phone number I provided you (979-337-8281).

If there is a technological failure and we are unable to resume the connection, you will only be charged the prorated amount of actual session time.

Contacting Me

I am often not immediately available by telephone. Though I am usually in my office between 8 AM and 5 PM, I will not answer the phone when I am with a client. When I am unavailable, my telephone is answered by an answering machine that I monitor frequently. I will make every effort to return your call on the same day you make it, with the exception of weekends and holidays. If you are difficult to reach, please inform me of some times when you will be available. As noted above, if you are unable to reach me and feel that you cannot wait for me to return your call, contact your family physician or the nearest emergency room and ask for the psychologist or psychiatrist on call. If I will be unavailable for an extended time, I will provide you with the name of a colleague to contact, if necessary.

No Show/Cancellation Policy

If you cannot attend your scheduled appointment, a 24-hour notice is required to avoid any charge for your missed appointment. If you no-show, cancel or reschedule your appointment within 24-hours of the scheduled appointment time, it indicates that you are agreeing to pay for the time you reserved and you will automatically be charged a no-show/late cancellation fee of $100. Emergency situations can be discussed when you are able.

If you are 15 or more minutes late to your appointment, the appointment will automatically be canceled and you will be charged the no-show/late cancellation fee of $100. If you are less than 15 minutes late, we will meet for the remainder of the scheduled appointment and you will be charged the full session fee.

If lateness or missing appointments becomes a repeated occurrence, we will discuss this as it may be interfering with your treatment. If it is determined that treatment cannot continue, your treatment will be terminated due to this issue. Appropriate referrals can be provided at your request.

Phone messages

You may leave a phone message (or email). I will return your message as soon as possible. If you indicate that you need to discuss something before your next therapy session, the rate for phone support is the same as a standard psychotherapy session and will be prorated in 15-minute increments.

Records

The telepsychology sessions shall not be recorded in any way unless agreed to in writing by mutual consent. I keep records of payment and of each session consisting of progress notes, treatment plans and any additional relevant treatment documentation. These records are maintained on a secure electronic health records system called TherapyNotes. If we need to discontinue your treatment due to a disability, illness or premature death on my part, you agree to the transferring of your records to another appropriate clinician or professional organization. They will ensure appropriate confidentiality of your records as well as provide appropriate access to your records.

Notice to the Public of Complaint Process:

The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct committed by marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, psychologists, psychological associates, social workers, and licensed specialists in school psychology.

Although not every complaint against or dispute with a licensee involves professional misconduct, the Executive Council will provide you with information about how to file a complaint.

Please call 1-800-821-3205 for more information.

Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council and Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists

1801 Congress Ave., Ste 7.300

Austin, TX 78701

512-305-7700