Practice Policies

GENERAL CLINIC INFORMATION

Practice Address: 10400 Dixie Highway, Louisville KY, 40272

Practice Phone: 502-387-1224

Practice hours of operation: Monday - Friday: 8:00am - 5:00pm

For all scheduling and billing concerns please contact:

Practice Manager: Jada Martin

Phone: 502-387-1224 (Talk or Text)

Email: Jmartin.sheacenterwellness@gmail.com

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS 

The standard session time for psychotherapy is 50 minutes. It is up to you and your therapist, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 50-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist for time to be scheduled in advance.

Sessions can be facilitated face-to-face and/or by telehealth, depending on your therapist’s availability. Modality of the session must be planned at time of scheduling. Clients are to notify Practice Manager of session modality changes at least 24 hours in advance.

A $40 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling.

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.

Cancellations of your session will be subject to a $30 fee 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 will lose some of that allotted session time.

Recurring Appointments: Recurring appointments are available weekly, bi-weekly and monthly. After TWO missed or canceled recurring appointments, clients will be removed from their recurring appointment slot and subject to discharge (see below).

Three Missed Appts: Clients who miss or late cancel THREE appointments within a 45 day period are to be discharged from treatment services. A letter should be sent to the client from the therapist explaining the Clinic policies, the reason for the discharge from treatment services, and offer to make a referral to another mental health provider if the client desires one. This letter should be written in consultation with the therapist’s supervisor. A copy of this letter will be placed in the client file.

No Call/No Show: Clients who No Call/No Show their session will be subject to a $50 fee and will be charged to your card on file with the practice. Clients with Medicaid or Medicare insurance coverage are not charged the No Call/No Show fee but remains subject to discharge after THREE missed or late cancelled appointments within a 45 day period.  A letter is sent from the therapist to the client to notify of the discharge. A copy of this letter will be placed in the client file.

If a true emergency arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.

In-Office Clients: Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment, be sure to bring your State ID/Driver's License and insurance card.

Virtual Clients: Insurance eligibility and benefits will be checked before each session.

Appointments are subject to cancel or change based on coverage checks.

*Policyholders for insurance providers are encouraged to call the number on the back of the insurance card for more details about coverage. For more information about your rights, please view our Privacy Policy located in the client portal.

ACCESSIBILITY

Please reach out to the Practice Manager for scheduling, billing concerns or additional support outside of psychotherapy. If you need to speak directly with your clinician, please schedule a time with the Practice Manager. We will attempt to get you in contact within 24 hours.

Practice Manager: Jada Martin

Phone: 502-387-1224 (Talk or Text)

Email: Jmartin.sheacenterwellness@gmail.com

CLINICAL FACILITY

Sound Machines: The Clinic’s therapy room walls are not soundproof. A white noise generator is kept outside of each room. This should be turned on whenever therapy sessions are in progress so that the humming sound produced by the generator will help to prevent people in the waiting area from overhearing therapy sessions conducted in normal speaking tones. These generators should be turned off at the completion of the therapy session.

The main Clinic door can remain open as long as there is someone in the Clinic (in or out of a session). This should only be done when clients are scheduled back-to-back, and a client will need to gain access to the Clinic waiting room and not be left standing in the hallway waiting to gain entrance. Clinicians should note any unusual noises if the door has remained open and s/he is in session. For security reasons, the clinician should halt a session to investigate who may be making those noises.

The Clinic is neither equipped nor insured for handling crisis situations on a routine basis. If clients or walk-ins arrive at the Clinic in an agitated state or in an immediate crisis, contact any available supervisory staff. These individuals may be referred to a local hospital emergency room.

CRISIS CONTACTS

Louisville: University of Louisville Hospital 530 South Jackson Street, Louisville Kentucky, 40202

Lexington: UK Healthcare 1000 Limestone St, Lexington, Kentucky 40506)

Frankfort: Frankfort Regional Medical Center 299 Kings Daughters Dr, Frankfort Kentucky, 40601

National Crisis Line: Talk: 800-273-8255 Text: 741741

INTAKE EVALUATION (First Therapy Appointment)

Therapists conduct both intake evaluations and therapy. Generally, the primary purpose of the intake evaluation is to: (a) establish rapport, (b) familiarize the client with the Clinic, and (c) to gain more specific information about the nature and scope of the client's problems. Specifics of the intake evaluation will vary from client to client. During the course of the intake evaluation, clients should be given some positive expectations about therapy and should be familiarized with the type of therapy services available at The Shea Center for Mental Wellness. Therapists should have obtained enough information during the intake to arrive at a preliminary diagnosis.

Clients must have a card on file with Simple Practice in order to move forward with initial appointment.

SERVICES

Psychotherapy: Regularly scheduled sessions with the assigned therapist are offered. The term, length and modality of therapy are to be determined by the therapist and the client.

Coaching: Regularly scheduled coaching sessions with the assigned coach are offered. The term, length and modality of the sessions are to be determined by the coach and the client.

Case Management: Case managers assist clients in assessing needed services, and monitoring progress by making referrals, tracking appointments, performing follow-up on services rendered, and performing periodic reassessments of client’s changing needs.  Case managers also perform advocacy activities on behalf of the client.     

Community Referral: Calls received with requests for assistance not appropriate for the Clinic are referred to the most appropriate community agency or person that may be able to assist the caller.

WAITING LIST

There may be times when there will be more individuals seeking service than there are therapists available. Potential clients who call the Clinic to schedule services during this time should be given the option of being placed on our waiting list or being referred to one of the other psychology clinics run by another agency (e.g., give the client the agency’s phone number).

SOCIAL MEDIA & TELECOMMUNICATION

Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, we do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc). We 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

We 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, we will do so. While we may try to return messages in a timely manner, we 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. Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail are considered telemedicine by the State of Kentucky. Under the Kentucky Telemedicine Act of 1996, telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. If you and your therapist 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 and olfactory 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 and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues such as: your physical condition including deformities, apparent height and weight, body type, attractiveness relative to social and cultural norms or standards, gait and motor coordination, posture, work speed, any noteworthy mannerism or gestures, physical or medical conditions including bruises or injuries, basic grooming and hygiene including appropriateness of dress, eye contact (including any changes in the previously listed issues), sex, chronological and apparent age, ethnicity, facial and body language, and congruence of language and facial or bodily expression. 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 to the therapist.

MINORS

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

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. We 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. We 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. 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.