Practice Policies

Desert Sky Therapy Services, LLC

Paige PIerson, MS, LPC, LPCC, NCC

1505 15th Street Suite A6

Los Alamos, NM 87544

(505) 692-5472

www.desertskytherapy.com

desertskytherapy@icloud.com

PRACTICE POLICIES

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS Due to the high need of therapists in this area please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for a $30 session fee if cancellation is less than 24 hours, and $40 for a no-show fee. I will charge your credit card on file for late cancellation/no show fee or send an invoice for this fee. 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. I appreciate prompt arrival for appointments. Please notify me at (505) 692-5472 if you will be late. You may text or call. Five to ten minutes is acceptable; however, I typically bill insurance for counseling visits and insurance companies maintain strict guidelines related to minutes billed.

The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 53-minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 53-minute session needs to be discussed with the therapist in order for time to be scheduled in advance.

UNEXPECTED ILLNESS If you are sick or feel you may be getting sick, please call to reschedule your appointment. There may be times during the course of our counseling relationship wherein I may need to cancel due to illness. I make every attempt to notify you and reschedule your appointment promptly.

SELF-SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS It is my practice to ask my clients to self-schedule and cancel their appointments. After your initial appointment, I recommend that you make 12 weekly appointments so that you’re guaranteed a time. Unfortunately, due to the lack of providers in this area, and the high need for therapy services, I am typically booked up to two months in advance. Until other clients discharge from services, you may not be guaranteed a consistent weekly appointment.

TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on my voicemail. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call within 24 hours. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or visit your local emergency room.

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, Instagram, etc.). This also includes removing your requests or follows. 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. Texting or emailing is typically utilized for the sole purpose of scheduling or cancelling appointments.

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. 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.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE Due to the nature of counseling and my ethical responsibility to you, if I suspect you are unable to effectively engage in the counseling session due to substance abuse, I will terminate the session and reschedule for a later date.

WEATHER POLICY During inclement weather, I will normally attempt to be in the office; however, if the weather presents a driving hazard, I may have to reschedule your appointment. If you feel unsafe due to driving conditions please contact me to reschedule.

PAYMENT Payment is due at the time of service being rendered. I take all major credit cards, cash and checks from established clients. Non-payment of services will result in the suspension of services until the balance is paid in full. I will send you a bill if services are not paid.

THIRD-PARTY BILLING Effective April 2021, I have hired a third-party biller: Hudspeth Billing, LLC. This was done in order to more effectively and efficiently keep track of your claims and fees. During this initial process, Hudspeth Billing will be examining previously submitted claims and fees. There may be corrections, fees assessed and/or refunded.

I look forward to working with you and please reach out if anything needs clarification.

Paige Pierson, MS, LPC, LPCC, NCC