Intro to Therapy

Treatment Process 

In the first session, you will complete introductory paperwork and meet with your therapist. This is a time to get to know your therapist better as well as express your concerns about why you/your child are seeking counseling. Your therapist will have questions regarding your family’s history. You and your therapist will develop a treatment plan based upon the concerns for yourself/your child within the first two sessions. Frequency of sessions will be based on your/your child’s individual assessment. Please talk as openly as possible about the concerns for yourself/your child so that we can better assist you in developing or adjusting your/your child’s treatment plan.

Benefits and Risks of Therapy

Benefits of therapy may include, but are not limited to: temporary relief or complete cessation of symptomology, increased understanding of self and/or others, acquirement of effective coping strategies, and various others.

Risks of therapy may include, but are not limited to: worsening of symptomology, emotional discomfort and various others. As with any treatment (i.e. medical, mental, alternative, etc), there is not a guarantee of effectiveness, nor a guarantee that symptoms will not worsen. Due to the nature of psychotherapy, many difficult topics are brought up and explored, often resulting in increased symptomology or intensity of emotions. The majority of clients experience a brief increase in symptomology followed by relief and often a cessation of symptoms altogether. If you have questions or concerns regarding the risks, benefits, or alternatives to therapy, please ask your clinician.

Confidentiality

Sankalpa Therapy and Wellness Center takes seriously the responsibility to hold in confidence what is discussed in counseling. Written permission is required to release any information to another agency or to receive any information from another agency. The exceptions to this policy occur when your clinician has concerns about possible elder or child abuse/neglect, when we receive a subpoena of records, or when we believe there is a serious threat of self-harm or harm to others. Clinicians are required by law to notify appropriate persons/agencies under these circumstances.

Client Responsibilities

Please call at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled appointment if you need to reschedule. Clients will be subject to the full session fee for failure to show up for a scheduled appointment or cancel within 48 hours prior to the appointment.* Insurance companies do not reimburse for missed appointments.

Fee Policy

As a courtesy, Sankalpa will submit your insurance claim directly to your insurance company. It is your responsibility to verify your insurance benefits with your insurance company and request any pre-authorizations your insurance company may require prior to your first appointment. Failure to do so may result in you having to pay the out-of-pocket fee. Contact the number on the back of your insurance card to inquire about your outpatient mental health benefits (including co-pays and deductibles) and to determine if Sankalpa is within your network. Any amount that your insurance company will not be paying (co-payments/deductibles/denied claims) is your responsibility. Please discuss openly if you feel there may be difficulty meeting these financial obligations. You are responsible for providing this office with copies of your insurance cards or with any changes with your insurance or coverage within 5 business days. Failure to do so may result in denial of your claim. Denied claims will be billed directly to you and will be your financial responsibility. If you choose to not use insurance, fees for service will be addressed on a case by case basis with the therapist. If you have not spoken to your therapist or our office manager to set up a payment option, and your account becomes more than 30 days delinquent, we reserve the right to charge the card on file and/or send your account to a collections agency.

Fees that are not covered by insurance and will be your responsibility are as follows:

  1. Progress Report/Court Report writing - $140/hour

  2. Requested or Subpoenaed Court Appearances/Testimony - $185/hour including travel time.

  3. Denied claims due to failure to provide complete and accurate information about your account (updated insurance, address changes, Dates of birth, name changes, etc.)


Important Notices

  1. Please have your payment ready at the beginning of your session. Cash, credit card, or check are accepted. There will be a $30.00 handling fee in addition to the bank fee for all returned checks.

  2. A therapy session is normally 45-53 minutes.

  3. A 48-Hour Cancellation is required, otherwise the full session fee may be charged. Insurance companies do not reimburse for missed appointments.

*All clients are subject to this No Show/Late Cancel policy with the exception of those utilizing Medical Assistance (MA) or a Prepaid Medical Assistance Plan (PMAP). MA and PMAP do not allow providers/clinicians to charge No Show/Late Cancel fees, and due to this exception, we have the following policy regarding clients with MA/PMAP:  

One to two No Show/Late Cancels will be followed up with a conversation with your provider/clinician to determine potential conflicts, resistance, if continuing therapy is the best option, or if referrals are needed. Clients will also be notified that a third No Show/Late Cancel will result in Restricted Scheduling status.

Restricted Scheduling

  1. All future appointments (including recurring appointments) will be canceled. The designated session time will be lost and offered to other clients.

  2. A client wishing to have a session may call up to 48 hours in advance to see if an appointment time is available, AND/OR a client may be asked to be put on a DAY OF call list - this is when a clinician would be notified of the client's desired day, and if there is availability, will reach out to the client to get them in.

  3. Clients in this status can expect to discuss any continued barriers to reliably attending therapy sessions, and brainstorm ways to resolve these issues.

  4. After a client has attended 3 appointments in Restricted Status, and solutions for any barriers have been explored, the client may return to their regular scheduling status.

This policy is in place to ensure each MA and/or PMAP client is able to hold themselves accountable, for our clinician's time to be respected, and to maintain each client's access to receive care.