Practice Policies

Office Hours

Services are by appointment only. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm. 

Telehealth Services

Psychotherapy is offered through telehealth only. 

At this time, the therapist at Tales of Resilience Counseling is licensed in the state of Florida, and can only provide psychotherapy services to residents within the state of Florida. Section 456.47 of Florida Statutes states that a, “telehealth provider has the duty to practice in a manner consistent with his or her scope of practice and the prevailing professional standard of practice for a health care professional who provides in-person health care services to patients in this state.” The therapist will not conduct clinical practice in any state or country in which they are not licensed and/or permitted to practice.

Telehealth services will be provided via HIPAA compliant video conferencing following an assessment determining the appropriateness of telehealth services. In order to conduct telehealth appointments, a stable internet connection is required. Telehealth appointments may be conducted via audio only conferencing in the case that video conferencing is not available, as determined to be appropriate by the therapist.

Coaching Services

Coaching services are offered through video conferencing or audio conferencing.

Coaching services are non-clinical in nature, and not meant to treat any health condition. Coaching may focus on motivation, productivity, creativity, self-expression, integrity, or other subjects. Privacy policies and practices for coaching clients are held to the same standard as psychotherapy clients.

Appointments and Fees

Appointments can be scheduled within 72 hours. Appointment reminders are sent via practice management system 72-24 hours prior to the appointment. It is the responsibility of the client to verify delivery of and review reminders.

Clinical and non-clinical services average 45-60 minutes long. Clinical assessments may have a duration of 90-120 minutes. Relationship counseling services may span 60-90 minutes. Group counseling services are provided as 90 minute sessions, spanning from 10-12 consecutive weeks. Short-duration phone coaching may span 15-30 minutes. 

Late Cancellations

A late cancellation fee of $25 will be applied to any appointment rescheduled within 25-48 hours of the scheduled appointment time. A late cancellation fee of $50 will be applied to any appointment rescheduled within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment time. These fees are only reduced via Reduced Fee Agreement.

No Show

A no show fee equal to the total amount of the scheduled service will be applied to any appointment where the client does not appear by 15 minutes past the scheduled appointment time. These fees are only reduced via Reduced Fee Agreement.

Payment For Services

Payment for services is due at the time of service. Payments by credit or debit card are processed through a HIPAA compliant payment system. Payment arrangements will be made prior to the first appointment. A form of reliable payment must be established before the first session occurs.

Self-Pay

Psychotherapy assessments are offered at a rate of $175. Individual psychotherapy services are offered at a rate of $150 per hour. Relationship counseling services are offered at a rate of $175 per hour. Group counseling services are offered at a rate of $50 per 90 minute session. Phone coaching is offered at a rate of $10 per 15 minutes.

Coaching services are offered at a rate of $100 per hour. 

Third Party Payer Client Responsibility

Clients using third party services to pay for services, including insurance, grants, and other funding sources, are responsible for their copay amount, if applicable. If there is any change to a third party funding source, it is the responsibility of the client to inform Tales of Resilience Counseling in writing.

Insurance information must be submitted for verification of benefits at least 10 business days prior to billing third-party payers for services rendered. Tales of Resilience Counseling will submit claims for reimbursement for clinical services to the insurance on file. Per contractual agreement with insurance companies, Tales of Resilience Counseling must collect all due deductible or copayment fees at the time of service. If the cost of services provided is not fully covered by insurance, the client is responsible for the remaining balance.

Reduced Fee According to Need

Therapeutic and coaching services can be offered at a reduced fee according to demonstrated need. This demonstrated need is determined by client income according to the United States HHS Federal Poverty Guidelines. Clients who are not able to afford the identified rate may negotiate costs with Tales of Resilience Counseling further. Clients intending to access reduced fees must sign a form stating their need for reduced fees for services, their intention not to use insurance, and their agreed upon flat rate for each session, to be paid at the time of service. This agreement will be reviewed and updated every 6 months. 

A reduced fee agreement may be requested at any time during the counseling or coaching process.

Failure to Pay For Services

A client may not schedule a follow up appointment if they owe the equivalent of three (3) appointments worth of late cancellation or no show fees; three (3) clinical session fees, copays, or deductibles; three (3) non-clinical session fees; or $300, whichever is lowest.

A client may resume scheduling follow up appointments if they enter into a payment plan with Tales of Resilience Counseling. At this time, they may opt to sign or update a reduced fee agreement.

Contacting Your Therapist

You may contact your therapist or coach between sessions should an issue arise. To schedule, cancel, or reschedule an appointment, please contact the office directly via phone or email, as the therapist or coach may not be available to address the scheduling conflict. Expect a response within 24 to 48 business hours of any communication.

You may email or leave a confidential voice message for your therapist or coach 24 hours a day. However, Tales of Resilience counseling does not offer crisis counseling services and your therapist is not on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Expect a response within 24 to 48 business hours of any communication. Phone coaching services must be previously scheduled with your therapist or coach.

Confidential communications should only occur via phone, email, video conferencing, or secure client portal. 

SMS/Text messages are not secure, and should not be used to communicate sensitive information or PHI. You may communicate via text message regarding scheduling conflicts or to inform therapist or coach of technical issues regarding audio or video conferencing. 

The therapist or coach reserves the right to restrict communication outside of appointments. 

Psychotherapy For Minors

Psychotherapy services at Tales of Resilience Counseling are offered for individuals age 15 and older. The treatment of a minor must be authorized by a parent, legal guardian, or other individual with legal authority over medical care.

Consistent follow-up care is important for effective psychotherapy. Appointments will be scheduled directly with the minor, with reminders sent to the minor and their designated contact. It is the responsibility of the legally responsible party to ensure appointments are attended, rescheduled, or canceled if there is a conflict.

Parents, legal guardians, and those with legal authority over medical care have the right to request records regarding the medical care of a minor. Tales of Resilience Counseling recommends that verbal and written requests for information regarding treatment be kept to a minimum in order to preserve the therapeutic relationship.

In order to reduce the perceived need to request records, the therapist will discuss with the minor and their responsible adult situations where the therapist will reach out for a family session involving the minor and parents and/or guardians. These situations include but are not limited to: disclosure of abuse or neglect of a minor or vulnerable adult, the use of illicit substances by a minor, or instances of self-injurious behavior.

Coaching For Minors

Tales of Resilience Counseling does not offer coaching services to individuals under the age of 18.

Release of Records

The release of information regarding clinical and non-clinical services that is not for the purpose of Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations (TPO) must be consented to in writing. Tales of Resilience Counseling will provide a form outlining the records to be released and their purpose. This release is valid for one year after the date of signature unless the consent for release is revoked in writing. A record request may take up to 15 business days to complete. 

Termination of Services

The end of a therapeutic or coaching relationship is considered the termination of services. Because these relationships are meaningful, these endings can be difficult to navigate. In order to reduce potential distress, termination should be planned and follow a process.

Termination may be initiated if the goals of clinical and/or non-clinical services have been met and the therapist or coach determines that further services will not be beneficial to the client. In this case, the therapist or coach will discuss their findings with the client. If both parties agree that termination is appropriate, at least one (1) appointment will be scheduled to review treatment goals and progress, identify potential future goals, and identify resources for approaching those goals.

Termination may also occur if a client fails to schedule an appointment or contact Tales of Resilience Counseling in a reasonable amount of time. In order to maintain concise records and adhere to legal and ethical requirements, a client’s relationship with Tales of Resilience will be terminated if there is no contact within 45 days of their last appointment.

Termination may also occur if a client fails to pay for their services. If a client fails to enter into a payment plan or pay fees owed to Tales of Resilience within 90 days of the fees being incurred, future services will be terminated.

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Your health record contains personal information about you and your health. Information that identifies you and relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services is referred to as Protected Health Information (“PHI”). This Privacy Policy describes how we may use and disclose your PHI in accordance with applicable law, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) It also describes your rights regarding how you may gain access to and control your PHI.

We are required by law to maintain the privacy of PHI and to provide you with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. We are required to abide by the terms of this Privacy Policy. If there is a breach of unsecured PHI concerning you, we may be required to notify you of this breach, including what happened and what you can do to protect yourself.

We reserve the right to change the terms of our Privacy Policy at any time. Any new Privacy Policy  will be effective for all PHI that we maintain at that time. We will provide you with a copy of the revised Privacy Policy by posting a copy on our website: talesofresilience.com and/or sending a copy to you via  email upon request, or providing one to you at your next appointment.

How We May Use And Disclose Health Information

After you have read this Privacy Policy, you will be asked to sign this form to authorize treatment and allow us to use and share your PHI. In almost all cases we intend to use your PHI here or share your PHI with other people or organizations to provide treatment to you, arrange for payment for our services, or some other business functions called health care operations. Together, these routine purposes are called Treatment, Payment, or Health Care Operations (TPO) and the consent form allows us to use and disclose your PHI for TPO.

For Treatment

Your PHI may be used and disclosed by those who are involved in your care for the purpose of providing, coordinating, or managing your health care treatment and related services. This includes consultation with clinical supervisors or other treatment team members.

For Payment 

We may use and disclose PHI so that we can receive payment for the treatment services provided to you. This will only be done with your authorization. Examples of payment-related activities are: processing claims with your insurance company, reviewing services provided to you to determine medical necessity, or undertaking utilization review activities.

For Health Care Operations

We may use or disclose, as needed, your PHI in order to support our business activities including, but not limited to, quality assessment activities, employee review activities, licensing, and conducting or arranging for other business activities. We may share your protected health information with third party “business associates” that perform various activities (e.g., billing, transcription services, accounting services, legal services) for the practice. Whenever an arrangement between our office and a business associate involves the use or disclosure of your protected health information, we will have a written contract that contains terms that will protect the privacy of your protected health information.

Use And Disclosure Of Your Health Information Without Authorization

Following is a list of the categories of uses and disclosures permitted by HIPAA without an authorization. Applicable law and ethical standards permit us to disclose information about you without your authorization only in a limited number of situations. This use and disclosure may be made electronically. 

Child Abuse or Neglect 

We may disclose your PHI to a state or local agency that is authorized by law to receive reports of child abuse or neglect.

Abuse or Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult 

We may disclose your PHI to a state or local agency that is authorized by law to receive reports of abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults.

Judicial and Administrative Proceedings

We may disclose your PHI pursuant to a subpoena (with your written consent), court order, administrative order or similar process.

Required by Law 

We must make disclosures to the government agencies for the purpose of investigating or determining our compliance with the requirements of the Privacy Rule.

Health Oversight

If required, we may disclose PHI to a health oversight agency for activities authorized by law, such as audits, investigations, and inspections. Oversight agencies seeking this information include government agencies and organizations that provide financial assistance to the program (such as third-party payors based on your prior consent) and peer review organizations performing utilization and quality control.

Law Enforcement

We may disclose PHI to a law enforcement official as required by law, in compliance with a subpoena (with your written consent), court order, administrative order or similar document, for the purpose of identifying a suspect, material witness or missing person, in connection with the victim of a crime, in connection with a deceased person, in connection with the reporting of a crime in an emergency, or in connection with a crime on the premises.

Public Health

If required, we may use or disclose your PHI for mandatory public health activities to a public health authority authorized by law to collect or receive such information for the purpose of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability, or if directed by a public health authority, to a government agency that is collaborating with that public health authority.

Public Safety

We may disclose your PHI if necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the health or safety of a person or the public. If information is disclosed to prevent or lessen a serious threat it will be disclosed to a person or persons reasonably able to prevent or lessen the threat, including the target of the threat.

Use And Disclosure Of Your Health Information With Authorization

Uses and disclosures not specifically permitted by applicable law will be made only with your written authorization, which may be revoked at any time, except to the extent that we have already made a use or disclosure based upon your authorization. This use and disclosure may be made electronically.

Verbal Permission

We may also use or disclose your information to family members that are directly involved in your treatment with your verbal permission. Verbal permission can be revoked at any time.

Written Permission

You may provide written permission to disclose PHI to a third-party. The written permission must include the type of information to be disclosed, the date range of information to be disclosed, and the purpose of disclosure. The written authorization must be completed in full. Written permission can be revoked at any time.

Your Rights Regarding Your PHI

You have the following rights regarding PHI we maintain about you. To exercise any of these rights, please submit your request in writing to: support@talesofresilience.com.

Right to Request Restrictions

You have the right to request a restriction or limitation on the use or disclosure of your PHI for treatment, payment, or health care operations. We are not required to agree to your request unless the request is to restrict disclosure of PHI to a health plan for purposes of carrying out payment or health care operations, and the PHI pertains to a health care item or service that you paid for out of pocket. In that case, we are required to honor your request for a restriction.

Right to Request Confidential Communication

You have the right to request that we communicate with you about health matters in a certain way or at a certain location. We will accommodate reasonable requests. We may require information regarding how payment will be handled or specification of an alternative address or other method of contact as a condition for accommodating your request. We will not ask you for an explanation of why you are making the request.

Right of Access to Inspect and Copy

Unless your information was compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or for use in a civil, criminal, or administrative action or proceeding, you have the right, which may be restricted only in exceptional circumstances, to inspect and copy PHI that is maintained in a “designated record set”. A designated record set contains mental health/medical and billing records and any other records that are used to make decisions about your care. Your right to inspect and copy PHI will be restricted only in those situations where a licensed professional believes it is reasonably likely that access would endanger the life or physical safety of, or cause substantial harm to the individual or another person. We may charge a reasonable fee for copies. If your records are maintained electronically, you may also request an electronic copy of your PHI. You may also request that a copy of your PHI be provided to another person.

Right to Amend

If you feel that the PHI we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask us to amend the information although we are not required to agree to the amendment. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with us. We may prepare a rebuttal to your statement and will provide you with a copy. Please contact the practice if you have any questions.

Right to an Accounting of Disclosures

You have the right to request an accounting of certain of the disclosures that we make of your PHI. We may charge you a reasonable fee if you request more than one accounting in any 12-month period.

Right to a Copy of this Notice

You have the right to a copy of this notice.