What Is Your Cancellation Policy?

When cancelling a scheduled Counselling, Therapy, and Equine Assisted Counselling & wellbeing session, a minimum of 24 hours is required. Exceptions will be made for illness or emergencies. If prior and timely notification is not provided, you will be charged the full session fee for the missed session.

Confidentiality & Privacy Policy

One of the primary building blocks of the counselling relationship is the client's belief in the confidentiality of the information shared with the counsellor. Without this level of trust, it is virtually impossible to build trust into the therapeutic relationship.

As the counselling process moves forward, clients use the trust to form the in-depth emotional sharing present in a successful counselling relationship.

I will preserve the client's right to confidentiality and privacy and not release any identifying information verbally or in writing without the client's signed permission.

Every client needs to be aware there are exceptions to confidentiality:
• When the client threatens to harm themself or others
• When there is suspected abuse of a vulnerable person (child, elder, or disabled person)
• When requested by a court of law

Social Media Policy
This social media policy was copied and adjusted to fit my practice. This policy was written by Keely Kolmes, Psy.D and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, making it available to other mental wellness professionals.

Please review this policy to understand my policies related to the use of social media and what you can expect concerning interactions that may take place online. I will update this policy per any changes regarding the use of social media as per the CPCA (Canadian Professional Counsellors Association).

Friending and Connecting
I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site. 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 to talk more about it.

Following on Social Media
I publish updates on my website. I post and share wellness, counselling, and therapy-related content on Facebook and Instagram. I do not expect you to follow my blog or social media.

My primary concern is your privacy. You are welcome to use your discretion in choosing whether to follow me.

Note that I will not follow you back. I believe casual viewing of clients' online content outside of the therapy hour can confuse whether it's done as part of your treatment or satisfy my curiosity. In addition, viewing your online activities without your consent and our explicit arrangement towards a specific purpose could potentially negatively influence our working relationship.

If you wish to share things from your online life with me, please bring them into our sessions, where we can view and explore them together during the therapy hour.

Interacting via Text

Although texting has become an increasingly common method to connect efficiently, I take every precaution to maintain client confidentiality. Every client needs to know any communication by unsecured means (i.e., non-encrypted email, text messaging, instant messaging, etc.) should only be used for scheduling or clarifying questions related to the services being provided. If you send any texts or messages involving personal information without encryption, you agree to waive your privilege to confidentiality.

Please do not use Wall postings, @replies, or other means of engaging with me online if we have an already established client/therapist relationship. Engaging with me this way could compromise your confidentiality. It may also create the possibility that these exchanges become a part of your legal client record and will need to be documented and archived in your chart.


Use of Search Engines
It is NOT a regular part of my practice to search for clients on Google, Facebook, or other search engines. Infrequent exceptions may be made during times of crisis. Suppose I have a reason to suspect that you are in danger and have not been in touch with me via our usual means (coming to appointments, phone, text, or email). In that case, there might be an instance in which using a search engine (to find you, find someone close to you, or check on your recent status updates) becomes necessary to ensure your welfare. These are unusual situations, and if I ever resort to such means, I will fully document it and discuss it with you when we next meet.

Business Review Sites
You may find my counselling practice on sites such as Yelp, Google, or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums where users rate their providers and add reviews. Many of these sites comb search engines for business listings and automatically add listings regardless of whether the business has added itself.

If you should find my listing on these sites, please know that my listing is NOT a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement from you as my client.

The Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA) 2021 Standards of Practice states,
Client Testimonials
1. 6.2.1. Clinical counsellors do not solicit or place testimonials (e.g., print, paper, online, website) from those persons/institutions (past or present) who are/have been recipients of mental health services, or those who, because of their circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.
2. 6.2.2. Even when offered voluntarily, clinical counsellors do not use statements, testimonials, or quotes from clients, past or present, as advertising or endorsement in promoting their services.

Of course, you have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. Due to confidentiality, I cannot respond to any review on these sites, whether positive or negative. I urge you to take your privacy as seriously as I take my confidentiality commitment to you.

You should be aware if you are using these sites to communicate with me about your feelings regarding our work, there is a possibility that I will never see it. If we are working together, I hope you will bring your feelings and reactions to our work directly into the therapy process. Even if you decide we are not a fit, this is essential for therapy. None of this is meant to keep you from sharing that you are in therapy with me wherever you like.

If you choose to write something on a business review site, keep in mind that you may be sharing personal information in a public forum. I urge you to create a pseudonym not linked to your regular email address or friend networks for your privacy and protection.

Location-Based Services
Suppose you use location-based services on your mobile phone. In that case, you may wish to be aware of the privacy issues related to using these services. I do not place my practise as a check-in location on various sites like Facebook. However, suppose you have GPS tracking enabled on your device. Others may surmise that you are a therapy client due to regular check-ins every week. Please be aware of this risk if you are intentionally "checking in" from my office.

Emailing
If you choose to communicate with me by email, be aware that all emails are retained in the logs of your and my Internet service providers. While it is unlikely that someone will be looking at these logs, they are, in theory, available to be read by the Internet service provider's system administrator(s). You should also know that any emails I receive from you and any responses I send to you become a part of your legal record. Emails containing therapeutic content will be addressed in session only. Clients wishing to maintain regular contact between counselling sessions to discuss therapeutic material will be billed at 15-minute intervals.

Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to review my Social Media Policy. If you have questions or concerns about these policies and procedures or our potential interactions on the Internet, do bring them to my attention to discuss them.