RELATIONSHIP SOLUTIONS CENTER, INC
301-960-7884
PRACTICE POLICIES
Relationship Solutions Center is committed to providing you with exceptional care. Your clear understanding of our policies is essential to our professional relationship. If you have any questions regarding these policies, please do not hesitate to ask.
APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS The standard meeting time for psychotherapy for individual sessions is 50-55 minutes and 75 minutes for couples sessions (MEDICAID appts are 45 minutes). However, you determine the length of your sessions. Requests to change the 50-55-minute session need to be discussed with the therapist in advance to schedule time. Credit cards are required to schedule an appointment.
IMPORTANT: Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. If you cancel less than 24 hours in advance, you will be responsible for the entire fee.
Cancellations and re-scheduled sessions 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. You may lose some of that time if you are late for a session.
INSURANCE
In those instances where we may accept your insurance, your policy may require you to contact your PCP when a specialist is needed, and you may need to obtain a referral or prior authorization. If this is your situation, please obtain the referral or authorization before your first visit. You may expect to pay out of pocket until insurance benefits are confirmed. A credit card must be on file for co-payments, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs. This form is an authorization to charge your credit card for such payments. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask them.
COUPLES COUNSELING and INSURANCE
Generally, insurance companies do not pay for couples counseling. However, they may cover some costs associated with a medically necessary condition, such as depression, anxiety, or mood adjustment due to the circumstances of the relationship. This requires one individual to have a diagnosis, and only that person will be considered the patient. However, most insurance companies will not cover the total cost of couples counseling, and the non-covered person will be charged for the difference if it is not covered by insurance. By signing this form, you agree to pay out of pocket for the difference not covered by insurance from the credit card on file. $100 will be charged to a credit card after the first session for all insurance clients. Full payment for the session is expected for self-pay clients.
TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY If you need to contact your therapist between sessions, please get in touch with them through the client portal. If you need to reach the office email at [email protected] (preferred), leave a voice message at 301-960-7884. We are often not immediately available; however, we will attempt to respond to your email or return your call within 24-48 hours. Please note that video telehealth sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, phone sessions are available if you are out of town, sick, or need additional support. If a true emergency arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.
SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION Due to 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). 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 let them know when we meet to talk more about it.
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
While my EHR is HIPAA compliant, I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. You may prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations; however, please do not discuss therapeutic content and request assistance for emergencies. While I may try to return messages promptly, I cannot guarantee immediate response and will usually respond within 24 hours. However, in cases of emergency, please dial 911.
Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail, are considered telemedicine by the State of Maryland. Under the Maryland COMAR, telemedicine is broadly defined as using information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. If you and your therapist choose 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. We will discuss this with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.
RISK OF THERAPY
Therapy may result in a variety of reactions. For some this may include suppressed feelings, memories surfacing, increase in symptoms, catharsis, and anger. Part of therapy is to become aware of emotions and appropriate ways to express, cope and manage them.
TERMINATION
You have the right to stop therapy at any time with the understanding that abrupt withdrawal without closure could result in additional unresolved issues and negative emotions. It is recommended that a discharge session occur before ending therapy. 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. If we initiate the termination, 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.
If you fail to schedule an appointment for three consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, we must consider discontinuing the professional relationship for legal and ethical reasons.
REFUND
We do not charge a booking fee or request payment before service. All payments are due at the time of service/session. If service has been rendered, no refund is tendered unless a professional error or misconduct has been made as determined by ethical and legal codes. However, refunds for charges made where the therapist missed a session will be made promptly to the original form of payment.
Fees (Telehealth and in-person) (Note: at this time all services are Telehealth)
Individual Sessions:
30-minutes $90.00
45-minutes $125.00
60-minutes $150.00-250.00
80-minutes $200.00-300.00
Evaluation and Assessment $250.00
Couples Counseling**
50-minutes $175-250.00*
75-minutes $200-300.00*
*Sliding scale offered per agreement with RSC
**If health insurance is used for couples counseling, one client will hold a medical diagnosis as medically necessary. The non-diagnosed client will be responsible for the difference not covered by insurance and will be charged to the credit card on file.
I accept full responsibility for all charges incurred and authorize payment of medical health benefits to Relationship Solutions Center, Inc./Elaine Oliver. I also understand that payment is due at the time of my appointment and that by signing this form, I authorize a charge to my credit card on file.
BY CLICKING ON THE CHECKBOX BELOW, I AGREE THAT I HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO THE ITEMS CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT.