Practice Policies

PRACTICE POLICIES

IN CASE OF A MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY:

I am not equipped to have 24/7 coverage for my practice as a sole provider. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, you will need to call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. Meadows Hospital in Bloomington, IN is also an option for mental health needs:

Meadows Hospital

3600 N Prow Rd, Bloomington, IN 47404

812-331-8000

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS

Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation is less than 24 hours.

The standard meeting time for adult psychotherapy is 60 minutes (with a few minutes of that time given to billing, scheduling, and updating patient files). Some insurance companies prefer 45 minute session. Session times are based on the work we are doing. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 60-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance. For minors, the length of sessions will be discussed on a case by case basis.

A $10.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.

Cancellations and re-scheduled session will be subject to a full charge if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time. Please use the Client Portal to cancel or re-schedule appointments by sending me a secure message. You may also text me at: 812-240-7442 or email: bronwyn@bronwynshroyer.com - however, I cannot guarantee confidentiality if you use phone or e-mail as these are not as secure as the Client Portal is, although I do use a HIPAA compliant email platform with encrypted messaging.

If using an HSA card for payment, you MUST provide an additional credit/debit card to be charged in case of a late cancellation.

INSURANCE: You are responsible for your deductible (if applicable) and any copays or coinsurance. These will be billed at time of service.

SELF-PAY: You will be billed at time of service.

TELEPHONE/MESSAGING ACCESSIBILITY If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on my voice mail or send me a secure message through the Client Portal. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call/message within 48 business hours. Please note that Face- to-face/telehealth sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, in the event that you are out of town, sick or need additional support, phone sessions are available. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room. ****At this time, all sessions will be telehealth due to the COVID-19 pandemic.****

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION 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, LinkedIn, etc). I believe 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.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION I cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, I will do so. While I may try to return messages in a timely manner, I cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies. I prefer that you use secure messaging through the Client Portal as much as possible.

If you chose to use information technology for some or all of your treatment, you need to understand that: (1) You retain the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled. (2) All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable. (3) Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee. (4) Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent. (5) There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine. Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, improved quality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to therapy, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs. Effective therapy is often facilitated when the therapist gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. Therapists may make clinical assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third person consultations, but also from direct visual observations, information, and experiences. When using information technology in therapy services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the therapist's inability to make visual observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues. Potential consequences thus include the therapist not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally the therapist. There could be interruptions to service and unauthorized individuals may be able to access my information, sessions, and/or records.

MINORS

If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. I will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.

TREATMENT OF MINORS

It is important that I form a therapeutic relationship with your child that is centered around trust. I will give you general updates on the progress your child is making in therapy, but it is important that your child trust me so that we can work together toward treatment goals. I may, therefore, choose not to disclose information about your child’s thoughts, behaviors, or activities that they disclose to me. I will encourage your child to share their thoughts, behaviors, and activities with you if I feel it is in the best interest of your child to do so. If I feel that your child is in imminent danger, I will disclose this information to you or to appropriate authorities. Although it is your right to request your child’s written record, I request that you not do so, as this will undermine the therapeutic relationship you are asking me to provide for your child. If a minor client discloses abuse/neglect, I am bound by law to report to DCS.

Custody: I am not a custody evaluator and therefore am not able to give my opinion on whether or not a child should live or have visitation with one parent or another. I ask that you not subpoena me or my records for custody/visitation purposes or ask that I write letters stating my opinion on these issues. In these situations, my role in your child’s life is to help your child deal with any conflict you and their other parent are having and help them with coping skills.

Consent for Treatment From Both Parents: Sometimes one parent will want a child to be in therapy and another does not. A parent’s outlook on therapy is important to a child’s treatment. If a parent who shares legal custody declines treatment for the child even if the other legal guardian/parent has agreed, we will stop treatment or not initiate treatment if this is discovered during intake/assessment unless there are extenuating circumstances. I do strive to get permission from both parents for treatment when there is shared legal custody in the cases of divorced/separated or never married parents. It is in your child’s best interest that all parties be on board with the therapy process/treatment goals.

Communication With Divorced/Separated/or Never Married Parents: I will strive to keep both parents up to date on how therapy is progressing, but depending on who is in contact with me more, that may not be exactly equal in all situations.

TERMINATION

Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, I will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.

Should you fail to schedule an appointment for three consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.