Protecting your confidentiality is critically important to me. I will not discuss your case with anyone including other professionals or family members that you have previously given me permission to do so. The exceptions to this policy are as follows:

• Threat of serious harm to self or others

• Reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect of a child, or abuse, neglect or exploitation of an incapacitated or dependent adult

• A court order signed by a judge

• Voluntary release signed by you

For clients who are engaging in telehealth it is your responsibility to make sure you are in an area that is safe and confidential, such as your home or private office. If you are in a public space such as a park, library, retail space, with friends/partners, etc. I cannot guarantee your confidentiality and may need to cancel our session. I will conduct all telehealth sessions in my private office.

I use Spruce Health, a HIPAA compliant telephone, fax and texting service for all of our conversations conducted via phone. Telehealth sessions will be completed through SimplePractice, a HIPAA compliant EHR and Telehealth platform.

If you need to contact me between sessions to reschedule or cancel, please send a brief text (207 492 5080), leave a voicemail, or email me. Please note that I am not able to respond to emails or text messages immediately. My working hours are typically 8:30 – 4:30, Tuesday – Thursday. Please note I am not available “on call” and will not return messages outside of my working hours, unless we have pre-arranged it in a safety plan. I kindly request that you do not use email or text message to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.

If a true emergency or mental health crisis arises, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. You may also call The Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or the Maine Crisis Line at 1 (888) 568-1112. Both numbers are available for crisis, emergency or consult

Click here for the 988 Lifeline

Once an appointment is scheduled, you will be expected to attend unless you provide 24 hours advance notice of cancellation.

If there is a late cancellation or a missed appointment, there will be a $75 fee assessed to your account, unless we both agree that you were unable to attend due to circumstances beyond your control. If you are more than 15 minutes late for your scheduled appointment, you will be asked to reschedule for another day and you will be charged the cancellation fee. If there is a history of 3 or more missed, cancelled or rescheduled appointments or noncompliance, I may need to terminate services.

Please remember that your insurance policy is a contract between you, your employer and your insurance company. I have no control over the terms of your contract, the methods of reimbursement or the determination of benefits. All insurance companies are different and you are responsible for knowing your provisions. You, not your insurance company, are responsible for full payment of fees. As the client, you will be accepting full responsibility for any payments that the insurance company does not cover.

My hourly fee is $140. If you do not have insurance coverage and financial hardship is an issue, I can work with you on a sliding scale basis, from $100 - $140. In addition to your psychotherapy appointments, I charge this amount for other professional services you may need, though I will break down the cost if I work for periods of less than one hour.

“Other services” include: report writing, telephone conversations lasting longer than 10 minutes, attendance at meetings with other professionals you have authorized, or preparation of records or treatment summaries.

If you become involved in legal proceedings that require my participation, you will be required to pay for my professional time. Please note that these fees are not covered by insurance companies and will be billed to you directly. Payment schedules for these additional services will be agreed to when they are requested.

Payment is expected at time of service, including insurance co-pays. I use IvyPay, a HIPAA compliant app that stores your card information and can be charged easily at the end of each session. If your account has not been paid for more than 60 days, and arrangements for payments have not been agreed upon, I have the option of using legal means to secure payment. This may involve a collection agency or small claims court. If such legal action is necessary, its cost will be included in the claim.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care will cost.

Under the No Surprises Act, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.

You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services.

You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service.

If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.