Mental Health Services

Mental health therapy is not easily described in general statements. It varies depending on the therapist, the client, and the client’s particular situation and goals. Many different methods may be used to deal with a particular situation, goals, and objectives.  For the best outcome, each client must choose to invest energy in the process and work actively on relevant topics both during and between sessions.

Counselling often involves discussing difficult aspects of your life.  During our work together you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, anxiety, or frustration. These difficult journeys in counselling may also lead to healthier relationships, solutions to specific problems, increased life satisfaction, improved physical health, and significant reductions in feelings of distress.  However, there are no guarantees as to what each client will experience.

If you ever have any concerns about your therapy process, I encourage you to discuss this in our sessions so that we can collaborate as you move forward.

Sessions:

The counselling process is unique to each client and the challenges that they are experiencing.  Some challenges can be worked on very effectively in a fairly short period of time whereas other challenges may take much longer.  It can be difficult to predict exactly how long counselling will last and this is best discussed in your first session.  You and I will put together a treatment plan and goals that you will be working towards.

If you have questions regarding the length of treatment, please feel free to discuss this with me at the start and at any point during therapy.

Counselling sessions are weekly, alternate weekly and are scheduled in advance.  Standard sessions are 60 minutes in length and begin and end on time. I ask that you please respect your 60-minute session time.

If I find that your session tends to run longer, we will discuss this in session to maintain healthy boundaries around starting and ending on time or if appropriate book a longer session. However, longer sessions are only available on request in advance and depend on the availability of my schedule at a pro-rated fee.

If I find that your session tends to run longer, we will discuss this in session to maintain healthy boundaries around starting and ending on time or if appropriate book a longer session.

Understandably, occasionally you may be late. If you are late to your sessions, please understand that the session will not extend past your 60 minutes, nor will the time be made up at future sessions, as this will impact other clients I see. If you have called to state that you will be late, the remaining time of our scheduled session is available to you.  If you have not called, I may not be available after 15 minutes from the scheduled start time.

Confidentiality

In general, the law protects the privacy of all communication between a client and a mental health provider.  I may only release information about your treatment to others if you sign a written authorization form.  You may revoke any such authorization at any time, which must be in writing.  However, in the following situations, your authorization is not required to release your personal information:

• Counsellor’s duty to warn another in the case of potential suicide, homicide, or threat of imminent, serious harm to another individual.
• Counsellor’s duty is to report suspicion of abuse or neglect of children or vulnerable adults.
• Counsellor’s duty is to report prenatal exposure to cocaine, heroin, phencyclidine, methamphetamine, amphetamine or their derivatives, THC, and excesses, and habitual use of alcohol.
• Counsellor’s duty to report the misconduct of mental health or health care professionals.
• Counsellor’s duty is to provide a spouse or parent of a deceased client access to their child or spouse’s records.
• Counsellor’s duty is to provide parents of minor children access to their child’s records.  Minor clients can request, in writing, that particular information not be disclosed to parents.  Such a request should be discussed with the Counsellor.
• Counsellor’s duty is to release records if subpoenaed by the courts.
• Counsellor’s obligations to contracts (e.g., to an employer of client, to an insurance carrier, or health plan).

These situations are very unusual in my practice but if such a situation should occur, I will make every effort to discuss it with you fully before taking any action and I will limit any discloser about you to what is necessary.  While this written summary of exceptions to confidentiality should prove helpful in informing you about potential problems, I am not an attorney, please discuss any questions or concerns you have about confidentiality with me at any time.  If you have specific legal questions about the laws regarding confidentiality, the exceptions, and how they may relate to your situation, please seek formal legal advice from an attorney.

Referrals of Friends, Family, Co-Workers

The greatest compliment a therapist can receive is referrals from current or former clients.  There are times when clients wish to introduce me as their therapist so they can recommend me as a referral, which is ethical and acceptable.

Please understand that your confidentiality is extremely important to me.  If another client that I see referred you to me, or if you refer a friend, co-worker, or family member to me, legally and ethically I am not able to acknowledge that other person’s attendance to you if they should begin seeing me in therapy or if they are currently in therapy with me.  If you choose to share that I am your therapist with the person who referred you or with someone you refer, that is a decision that you must make if you choose to reveal you are in therapy with me.  Please be assured that I will not acknowledge you as my client to anyone without your written consent.

Because this may sound rather official to clients and because I will not acknowledge whom I see in therapy, including you, I thank my clients here on this page one time in advance for any referrals they may make:  Thank you for the referral; I am honored by your trust and confidence.

Professional Fees and Payments

Hourly Fee: Each session will be invoiced for and payment can be made by EFT.

– R750 for individual sessions

– R750 student or under 18

– Consession rate can be applied for R600

– R900 for family sessions

– R1200 for group discussions

– R900 marriage counselling

– R650 for online sessions

Online services are via Zoom, Teams or Whatsapp. Online sessions require payment before the session. You are welcome to have a short chat via Whatsapp or Zoom before the session to see if you think we would be a good fit.

In addition to weekly appointments, it is my practice to charge for other professional services you may require such as: report writing, telephone conversations that last longer than 10 minutes, attending meetings or consultations with other professionals which you have authorized, preparing records, or treatment summaries.

Each session will be invoiced for and payment can be made by EFT. Payment schedules for other professional services will be agreed to when they are requested.  If your account has not been paid for more than 60 days and I have been unable to collect the fees, I have the option of using legal means to secure the payment.  This may involve hiring a collection agency or going through a small claims court which will require me to disclose otherwise confidential information.  In most collection situations, the only information I release regarding a client’s treatment is his/her name, the nature of services provided, and the amount due.  If such legal action is necessary, its costs will be included in the claim.

Professional ethics prohibit “barter” (i.e. trading of services or goods) as payment of fees.

You will be notified within 30 days of any changes to the policies, practices, procedures, and fees described in this document.  If you have any questions regarding my fee policy, please discuss this with me.