INFORMED CONSENT
Thank you for choosing our services. We would like to take this moment to share with you how things work at Family TLC.
If you need to contact us, please feel free to leave a message at any time on our confidential voicemail: (705) 300-6480. We will only be responding during the business hours of: Monday-Friday, from 8:00am – 5:00pm. IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY, PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF THESE 24-HOUR CRISIS SERVICES: THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS LINE AT 705- 728-5044, OR TELECARE BARRIE: 705-726-7922. IF IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY SERVIES ARE NEEDED, PLEASE DIAL 911.
Our services are confidential; no one at Family TLC is permitted to release your name, information about you, or details about your counselling to anyone outside of Family TLC without your informed, voluntary, and written consent. Exception may be required as outlined by law and as further described under the Terms of Services and Privacy Policy linked below. We highlight here that this confidentiality is subject to specific exceptions in situations related to:
1) a client’s intention to imminently end their life or to cause harm to others;
2) a member of a vulnerable sector suspected of being at risk or abused;
3) a court order to release a client’s file;
4) the reporting of a professional who has sexually abused a client;
5) Family TLC is contacted by Public Health tracing the spread of an infectious disease.
6) Under the Missing Person Act, If a client is established as a missing person, police officers can request information if they believe it will assist in finding them.
We encourage you to regularly review the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which you accepted during our intake process.
Now that you have booked your first appointment, we have agreed to provide our services to you as a Family TLC client. As described during the intake process, you were matched with a therapist who works with several Family TLC clients seeking services such as yourself. All Family TLC clients have the benefit of a team approach, which includes the therapists they are directly working with, and the supervisory team. All therapists engage in a one-on-one supervision relationship with a Family TLC supervisor. This entails: a weekly meeting, professional development, ethical practice, and case consultation. Your therapist will inform you who their supervisor is and how you may contact them if required.
In the interest of protecting all Family TLC clients, and to sedulously guard the unique privileges exchanged between patient and counsellor as part of the counselling relationship, at no point will any session notes, documents, recordings, records or any other kind of material created within the counselling service be voluntarily released for litigation purposes. By continuing with our services, you agree to refrain from causing, directly or indirectly, a summons or subpoena requiring any Family TLC member (including but not limited to, any agents, employees, directors, or any of their successors or assigned person(s) who conducted the initial intake, provided counselling, coaching and/or mediation), or any documents produced or prepared as part of Family TLC services, to appear before a judge, arbitrator, or tribunal in proceedings against any person, whether a family member, spouse or partner. You also agree that you will not disclose any information obtained from Family TLC on behalf of any person for whom you are consenting to receive services from Family TLC, such as a minor. In the event that a member of the Family TLC team is required to attend to a court process or court order, you will be responsible to pay the Family TLC team member their hourly rate for preparation time, time spent at court (whether testifying), the time required to report and record their attendance, as well as any lawyer’s costs, disbursements and expenses incurred by any Family TLC member where applicable.
Each standard counselling session has a set fee. Payment for your first session will be collected at the time of booking through a pay link transaction using a debit-visa or credit card processed through Stripe. Stripe is a PCI Compliant Service Provider Level 1, represented to be the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. For each consecutive appointment afterwards, payment will be automatically processed at 12:00am the day prior to your booked appointment. This is done to secure the session with your therapist. If you have any questions about how Stripe works and how they hold your information, we encourage you to visit their security page and review their terms of service.
First Appointment Cancellation Policy: First appointment cancellations made before the non-refundable 48 hour cancellation policy, will be subject to a $25.00 fee deducted from the refunded payment.
Cancellation Policy: we ask that you provide us with at least 48 hours notice if you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment to avoid full session fee payment.
Please Note: the average session is 50 minutes in length however, with special request, the time may be extended if scheduling permits, and you will be billed accordingly.
Adherence to the following principles will foster a strong relationship between you and Family TLC:
Family TLC is the Health Information Custodian of your file and will maintain your file adhering to the privacy legislations of Personal Health Information Act (PHIA). These outline that we must keep your file while in service, and for 10 years following your last appointment, OR, 10 years from your 18th birthdate.
Family TLC has a contingency plan, which will ensure continuity of services if you are no longer able to see the therapist you have been working with. Client Services will transfer you to another professional at Family TLC and continue to maintain your file.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Some Family TLC clients may be able to utilize their personal benefit programs to pay for the services rendered. If you wish to use your extended benefits, it is your responsibility to know what your benefits cover prior to engaging in the service. For example, if your benefits cover therapy received from a Psychologist, but you receive service under a Registered Social Worker, you may have to pay out of pocket. You may contact Client Services to ask about being paired with a therapist who aligns with your coverage; however, the cost for previous session(s) will remain covered by the client.
Family TLC is not responsible for interpreting your benefits, and so we ask that our clients thoroughly understand their own benefit programs.
GUIDELINES FOR CLIENTS
Website, Mobile Application and Social Media Information
We make content available on our website, social media pages, and mobile application for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be taken as therapeutic or clinical advice, nor as replacement for professional, medical, therapeutic, or clinical services. The information is not tailored to your specific circumstances.
You agree that Family TLC will not be responsible for any liability whatsoever resulting from other third parties that may be directly or indirectly related to our website, mobile app or social media pages, including but not limited to: books, comments, links to other websites, and/or all information and interactions of linked websites.
Use of Email
At Family TLC, we may communicate with our clients via email. We respect your privacy and will not share or sell your personal email address with anyone else. By opting into email communication, you agree to give Family TLC permission to communicate with you via email regarding appointments, customized care plan, bookkeeping and any letters or reports you request. You understand that email is not guaranteed to be private. See our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for further information about our mutual use of email.
To respect the boundaries of professionalism and privacy that we share with our clients, Family TLC will not communicate with its clients through social media platforms or text messages. If you need to contact Family TLC regarding your appointment, please call our phone number or send us an email. If you have a crisis, need suicide prevention, or deem yourself or others to be in danger of any kind, call 911.
Counselling/Therapy Responsibility
Family TLC does its best to serve its clients and is under the regulation of the professional colleges and regulatory bodies and their ethical policies and guidelines. We determine who our clients are, and the purpose of counselling for each client. We collaborate with the client to establish counselling goals and use our professional discretion to determine the appropriate counselling/therapy modalities. We do our best to provide you with the tools you need for your situation. The success of counselling is in your hands; it is your application of the therapist’s advice that will help you.