Still Waters Counseling Center, LLC

400 Office Park Drive, Suite 230

Mountain Brook, Alabama 35223

Connect@StillWatersCounseling.online

205-883-1423

 

Date last modified:  09/30/2023

 

Appointment Cancelations and Late Cancelation Fees

Since the scheduling of an appointment involves the reservation of time set aside especially for you, a minimum of 24 hours notice is required for rescheduling or cancellation of an appointment.  If for any reason you reschedule or cancel a session with less than 24 hours notice, a $75 fee will be charged.  Please note that insurance does not cover payment for or reimburse for these fees.

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It is important to know that, if you are doing therapy by telehealth, you must show up for your session in an environment conductive to therapy. For example, therapy can not be conducted when you are operating a vehicle, in a public place, or have others in your company. If you show up for your telehealth session in an environment that is not conducive to therapy, your therapist will be required to not hold the session. This will be considered. a late cancelation by you and you will be charged the fee for late canceling the session.

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Accessibility

If you need to contact your therapist directly between sessions, please do so by using your client portal in Simple Practice.  This communication goes directly to therapist and it allows communication to be secure and confidential.  Still Waters Counseling, LLC and its' therapists are not able to offer emergency services. If an emergency arises, you agree herein to call 911 or go to any local emergency room.  Other resources to call if you need extra support but do not find yourself in an emergency, are 988, or the Birmingham Crisis Center at 205-323-7777.

 

Social Media and Telecommunications

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.

 

Minors

If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. If you have any questions about this, please discuss it with your therapist.

 

Terminating Therapy

It is best practices to have clear procedures for the termination of therapy.  You may terminate therapy at any time for any reason.  I request that you discuss it with me, but this is not a requirement.  I may terminate therapy at any time, my reasons for doing so may include but are not limited to: If I determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used, if you are not regularly attending sessions, or if you are in default of payment.  If I terminate therapy, I request that we have a final session and discuss your continued care.  If we are not able to do so, I will attempt to provide written notice of termination to your e-mail address on record.  If therapy is terminated for any reason, I will, if you request it, provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source, such as your insurance provider or psychologytoday.com.

 

Termination of therapy does not mean that we can not resume therapy at some point in the future, it means that our therapeutic relationship has ended until and unless it is renewed.

 

Other Professional Services

Fees will be charged if you require services such as report writing, telephone conversations with others that last longer than 15 minutes, my attendance at meetings or consultations with other professionals which you have authorized, and for preparation of records or treatment summaries, or the time required to perform any other service you request of me. You are responsible for $25.00 for every 15 minutes spent on such professional services. If you become involved in litigation which requires my participation, you will be responsible to pay for my time required even if I am compelled to testify by another party.

 

Please be advised that I do not participate in-person, by phone, or in writing, in any court-related matter that you may become a party to in any way. I will not write letters regarding your treatment to any court entity. At no time will I offer an opinion or recommendation in any court matter, especially as it relates to custody matters.

 

If I am requested to write a letter in conjunction with any court-related matter, I will NOT submit an opinion in writing or in person. As your counselor, I only provide observations and feedback. At no time will I make a recommendation in regards to custody or any other court related matter.

 

If you are involved in a court proceeding and a request is made for information concerning your treatment, I will not disclose information without your (or your legal representative’s) written authorization or a court order. I will discuss with you exactly what has been requested by the court and there is no guarantee that the information will remain confidential. Requested information may include mental health history, current status and inclusive records. Be aware that this content may not be to your advantage. The counselor/client relationship does not obligate me to be your advocate. Together, these roles would represent a “dual relationship” which is considered unethical.

 

Court Related Fees

a. Testimony

If I am subpoenaed to testify for any reason in your case, my fees for testifying are $2,000 per day. The fee will be payable by my client, or client’s representative from whom I receive the subpoena, 48 hours in advance of the scheduled court appearance. This is necessary because a court appearance will require me to clear my counseling schedule for a full day. If my records are subpoenaed, there will be an hourly charge to organize and copy these records. Additionally, there will be a standard copying charge per document page. If a judge requires my testimony or records, the parties will be expected to split the cost.

b. Court-Related Fees

If you, your attorney, or the court requests my appearance or testimony in court you will be responsible for the following fees (to be paid in advance)

1. Preparation time (including submission of records): $200/hr

2. Phone calls: $200/hr

3. Court and Deposition appearance (attendance fee) $2,000 plus $200 per hour for travel to and from court if the court is more than 10 miles from the counselor’s office.

4. All attorney fees and costs incurred by the counselor as a result of the legal action.

5. Filing a document with the court: $100 plus actual costs incurred (less any attorney fee awarded by the court).

 

All depositions shall be conducted at a mutually agreed location and time coordinated through the therapist at least two weeks in advance. All production of records or other compliance with court orders or attorney requests must be coordinated through the therapist at least two weeks in advance.

 

I will not be on-call at any time. Should a case be trailed or continued, I will be paid in full for each day as well as an additional $2,000 per day as it hinders my ability to be available to other clients. A retainer of $2,000 is due in advance. If a subpoena or notice to meet attorney(s) is received without a minimum of 48-hour notice, there will be an additional $500 ‘express’ charge. Also, if the case is reset with less than 72 business hours notice, the client will be charged $500 in addition to the $2,000 retainer. Finally, all fees are doubled if counselor had scheduled plans to go or is out of town, or should any activities related to legal actions fall on holiday or weekend. If I am on vacation, the party initiating the court order must take reasonable steps to avoid imposing undue burden or expense on a person subject to the subpoena. All court fees must be received by cashier’s check 14 days prior to the court date. If the court calendar resets the hearing for another date, I must be re-issued a court order with the new court hearing date.

 

Payment

You are fully responsible for payment for all services rendered. All services rendered will be charged by our office staff to you, your contracted insurance plan, and/or your guarantor. Payment in full is due on the day services are received. There will be a $25 fee for payments returned as non-sufficient or non-payable.

Credit Card on File

1. Payments will only be received through credit card or debit card. We do not accept payments via cash or check.

2. A credit card is required, Still Waters Counseling Center, LLC (SWC), will keep your credit card on file. SWC uses Simple Practice Autopay services. You will select a default card that will be stored in your profile and it will be charged your invoice amount. AutoPay will only charge the amount the SWC has indicated to be your copay/coinsurance/self-pay rate in your file and for which the balance has been invoiced. By signing this document, you are agreeing to be enrolled in the AutoPay services through Simple Practice.

3. Payment due for sessions is expected to be paid in full on the day of your session and will be charged overnight between the hours of 12AM and 2AM

4. If you do not show up for your session and do not comply with our cancelation policy, your credit card will be charged a fee at the rate of your session, or $105, whichever is the lesser amount.  This fee can not be submitted to insurance and insurance can not be billed for the missed session.

5. If you have an unpaid balance on your account and have not come to a financial agreement with SWC, another appointment will not be made until the payment is received.

 

If you have questions regarding your account balance, you may call 205-883-1423 to speak with SWC Practice Manager, Chelsea Jordan. 

 

If any of our business office procedures present a problem for you, please discuss your concern with your therapist or with the SWC Practice Manager, Chelsea Jordan.