Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 9, 2024

Benefits and Emotional Risks of Psychotherapy:

Most people who obtain mental health services benefit from the process. The therapeutic process is generally quite useful, but some risks do exist. Risks sometimes include experiencing uncomfortable feelings such as sadness, anger, guilt, or frustration. Also, psychotherapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life. However, many people have found that therapy ultimately leads to a significant reduction in feelings of distress, better relationships, and resolutions of specific problems. Still, there are no guarantees about what will happen in any one therapeutic process. I encourage you to raise any questions you may have about treatment goals, procedures, or your impression of the services you receive.

Cancellations:

Scheduling an appointment involves the reservation of a time specifically for you. Once an appointment is scheduled and reserved you will be expected to provide a minimum of 24 hours advance notice of the cancellation. It is important to note that insurance companies do not provide reimbursement for canceled sessions and that you will be responsible for charges incurred due to a cancellation or missed session. While it is common practice to charge the full fee for missed sessions outside of the cancellation window, I do understand that certain cancellations cannot be avoided and I do not charge the entire session fee, but do ask that you do your best to keep our appointments! There is a $75 cancellation fee for appointments missed or canceled after the 24-hour cancellation window.

Use of Diagnosis

Some health insurance companies will reimburse clients for counseling services and some will not. In addition, most will require a diagnosis of a mental health condition before they will agree to reimburse you. Some conditions for which people seek counseling do not qualify for reimbursement. Any diagnosis made will become part of your permanent insurance records.

Confidentiality

All of our communication becomes part of the clinical record. I will keep confidential anything you say as part of our counseling relationship, with the following exceptions: (a) you direct me in writing to disclose information to someone else, (b) it is determined you are a danger to yourself or others (including child or elder abuse and neglect), or (c) I am ordered by a court to disclose information.

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, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.). It is my belief 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.

Court-Related Work: PLEASE NOTE: I am not a forensic psychologist. I do not prepare my notes for court or share my notes with other parties (attorneys, caseworkers, care managers, or the Social Security Administration, etc.). I do not participate in depositions. I do not appear in court or provide testimony in court.

Complaints

Although clients are encouraged to discuss any concerns with me, you may file a complaint against me with your state’s organization below should you feel I am in violation of any of these codes of ethics. I abide by the ACA Code of Ethics (https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-eth ics.pdf?sfvrsn=55ab73d0_1).

Virginia Department of Health Professions

9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300

Henrico, Virginia 23233-1463

Phone: 1-800-533-1560

Florida Department of Health. 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin C75. Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3260

Phone: 850-488-0796

Availability and After-Hours Emergencies

Contacting Me:

Generally, I conduct sessions between 10:00am and 7pm on Saturdays. However, because of the nature of my profession, I am often not immediately available by telephone. When I am unavailable, the following line will be answered by voicemail: (571) 576-6660 (mobile device & main line). I can also be reached by email: mccallumrana@gmail.com

***In cases of life-threatening or psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

I do not answer my phone when I am with clients or otherwise unavailable. At these times, you may leave a message on my confidential voicemail and I will return your call once I’ve reviewed your chart, but it may take a day or two for non-urgent matters. I will make every attempt to inform you in advance of any planned absence, and provide you with the name and phone number of the mental health professional covering my practice. If I need to cancel an appointment at the last minute, I will reach out as soon as possible and reschedule, or have a member of my staff connect with you.

Discharge Process

There are several reasons why we may eventually end our professional relationship. You may decide you would prefer to work with a different provider. I may reach the conclusion you would be better served working with someone else. Regardless of the case, I will first discuss with you the reasons for discharging, and if you request, provide you with a list of other qualified providers. I will also extend the discharge process length if necessary based on your treatment needs, including continuing to provide emergency support for a time-limited period after you have been notified of the end of our treatment relationship.

Please note that ongoing failure to pay for treatment, attend sessions, or communicate with me in a respectful and timely manner can also result in discharge from my practice. In these instances, to ensure you have continued access to care, I will still make every reasonable effort to get in touch with you and provide referrals to a new provider before I consider our relationship ended.