Policies
Additional Fees
There are additional fees for a copy of your medical records, preparation time for reports, forms or documents required by your insurance company or any other party (given with your written consent). Additional fees will also apply for clinical consultations with other treatment (or legal) providers and will only be conducted with your written consent. A fee schedule for the aforementioned Additional Fees can be found in the Client Intake Form.
Cancellation Policy
I require 48 hours notice if you wish to cancel/reschedule your appointment. If you do not notify me at least 48 hours in advance of your scheduled appointment that you need to cancel/reschedule your appointment or if you do not show up for your scheduled appointment, you will be required to pay for the full cost of the treatment as booked before another appointment will be scheduled. Requiring clients to pay for late cancellation or no show appointments is standard practice in the mental health field, and takes into account that you are not just paying for my clinical services, but reserving a time slot which I will not be able to offer to another client on short or no notice.
Attendance Policy
Attending scheduled appointments is critical to the success of counseling. If missed or late-cancelled appointments become a concern, I will initiate a conversation with you about how to remain engaged in services. If attending regular appointments continues to be an issue, I reserve the right to terminate treatment. Further, if more than 30 days elapse since your last date of service and there has been no communication from you during that time period, I will consider our therapeutic relationship to be terminated on the 31st day after the last date of service.
Payment Information
Payment is due at the time services are rendered. I accept cash, checks, credit cards, Venmo, or Cash App. Please note that if using a credit card, a 4% convenience fee per transaction will be charged. A fee of $25 will be charged for all returned checks and denied credit card charge transactions. I require a credit card number that will be kept on file and will be charged for telephone/videoconference sessions, "no-shows" and late cancellations (less than 48 hours' notice), or for accounts delinquent more than 30 days. Accounts not paid within 15 days of the date of the invoice are subject to a .83% monthly finance charge. Any account more than 90 days delinquent will be turned over to an attorney whom I retain to collect fees from former clients who have behaved with me in a financially unsavory or irresponsible manner.
Telephone and Videoconference Sessions
Telephone or videoconference sessions are allowed on a case-by-case basis. However, because non-verbal communication throughout the psychotherapy session is so vital to the counseling process, telephone sessions need to be held to a minimum. Typically, telephone calls are permitted for purposes of rescheduling or canceling appointments. If a telephone call lasts longer than five minutes, you will be billed in 15-minute increments, pro-rated on $250 per hour.
Social Media
My license requires that I follow the Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association (2014). This Code considers “virtual relationships” to be equivalent to face-to-face relationships and the Code generally discourages multiple relationships with clients. Further, the Code states that “Counselors are prohibited from engaging in a personal virtual relationship (e.g., through social and other media) with individuals with whom they have a current counseling relationship." (Section A.5.e., ACA Code of Ethics, 2014). Therefore, my practice policy shall be to not knowingly accept a “friend” request (or similar virtual relationship that uses another term) on any social networking platform from current clients or in any case in which I believe that blurring of the counselor-client relationship may be adversely affected. This policy includes (but is not limited to) the following social networking platforms on which I might have a personal presence: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked-In, GroupMe. Note that I maintain a professional presence for my practice (Troy Gremillion, LLC) on Facebook. This presence exists solely to provide information to the public pertaining to my practice and related counseling topics. It also assists in directing interested individuals to the official website for my practice.
Insurance and Managed Health Care
I DO NOT ACCEPT INSURANCE. If requested at the beginning of treatment, I will provide you with a superbill for reimbursement from your insurance company, FSA/HSA administrator, or for tax purposes. Requesting a superbill after services have already been provided or terminated will incur an additional fee, per the Additional Fees section in the Client Intake Form.