Social Media, Counseling Relationship, & Telehealth Social Media
Social media forums are not HIPAA compliant forms of confidential communication between counselor and client. To protect your confidentiality, I will not “friend” you on Facebook, accept a “friend request,” Tweet, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or any other social media means to participate in communication with you.
Counseling Relationship
The counseling relationship is a professional relationship that is set up for your treatment and care. Counselors are held to very high ethical standards of treatment and are prohibited from engaging in what is called “dual relationships” with clients. This means, counselors are not allowed to provide counseling to persons they have a formed relationship with already that is personal and once counseling is in progress or ends a relationship that is personal or professional outside of the counseling realm is considered unethical.
For confidential purposes, if you see your counselor outside of the counseling room please note that counselors are not allowed to come up to you but you can come up to them in a community setting. This is for your protection. Therefore, the counselor is not ignoring you when we walk by without saying hello instead we are allowing you to choose whether you want to at that time to engage in a conversation.
Telehealth
Telehealth is counseling via electronic means such as a telephone or video. There are times when your counselor is traveling outside of Arizona and may offer telehealth services while out of town. We will arrange beforehand the means by which the telehealth will be provided and make sure you are aware of how to use the means to contact us. The purpose in offering telehealth while out of town is to ensure you have an opportunity to meet with a counselor in the weeks we are not in the physical location. Things to consider when using telehealth:
Benefits: Include the opportunity to explore needs and continued treatment progress with a counselor.
Risks: If you share there is an emergency or concern we are not physically available to help you so will need to inform local authorities such as 911 or police to help you if you are not able to provide a satisfactory response that ensures safety. If you hang up the phone and we cannot reach you after you tell us there is an emergency we will have to send police to your residence. We will provide the officers with your name, phone number, address, diagnosis, statements of safety concern and any other information that is pertinent to help you to be safe.
Alternative means of therapy: While absent, another therapist will be scheduled with you if you choose.
Email: Your clinician assigned to you will send out an email to you provided by you with the link for the video online telehealth forum for counseling. Please follow the link. To make follow up appointment call or email: 602-358-7073 or teri@terishealthservices.org
In an emergency: You are to contact 911 or local police department, not your therapist or the front desk. If you are at a facility or group home please go to your staff first.
Confidentiality: When using telephone communication or video format please make sure you are in a private location. This will ensure your confidentiality. In terms of your therapist, when we call you we will be in a private setting that is not around other people or in public.
Technology failure: If the phone goes dead or bad service results we will contact you again or at a later time, if when failure results and you have shared with me a crisis situation we will contact police for a wellness check or crisis.
Anticipated response time: If you contact the front office they will get back to you within 24 hours.
Time zones: When we are out of town I will ensure you are aware of time zone changes.
Body language and nonverbals: Please note that telehealth communication restricts the counselor’s ability to recognize your nonverbal reactions and needs (we cannot see tearfulness, difficulty with controlling emotion, or physical ailments), therefore, we may ask about presentation throughout the session. This may also mean that we may ask directly about your feelings and behaviors.
License to practice counseling: All counselors are licensed in the state of Arizona or practicing in the state of Arizona and being supervised by a licensed clinical supervisor licensed by the state of Arizona. Even if visiting another state or country Teri’s Health Services remains under the rules, regulations, standards, and laws of Arizona. Therefore, all counselors only provide counseling to clients residing in Arizona.
Email, Text, Phone Calls During Working Week – If you have questions or need to schedule or cancel please call the front office directly. You and your clinician will set up follow up appointment after each visit. If you need to cancel please do so within 24 hours of the appointment date as this helps the clinician to schedule another person in that time spot.
Email: You can email front desk team at frontdesk@terishealthservices.org. This is a fully secured email and staff will respond within a 48-hour period. You can also email leadership@terishealthservices.org
Text: We have a secure text you may use for questions that is the office text line at: 602-825-1513. This line is available 24/7.
Client:
- Understands that telemental health/medical services are completely voluntary and that you can withdraw this consent at any time.
Understands that none of the telemental/telemedicine health sessions will be recorded or photographed.
- Understands not to make or allow audio or video recordings of any portion of the sessions.
- Understands that the laws that protect privacy and the confidentiality of client information also apply to telemental health/telemedicine, and that no information obtained in the use of telemental health/telemedicine that identifies you will be disclosed to other entities without your consent.
- Understands that telemental health/telemedicine is performed over a secure communication system.
- Understands that any internet based communication is not 100 % guaranteed to be secure.
- Understands that the provider/therapist and Company (THS) will not be held responsible if any outside party gains access to your personal information by bypassing the security measures of the communication system.
- Understands there are potential risks to this technology, including interruptions, unauthorized access, and technical difficulties.
- Understands that you or your provider/therapist may discontinue the telemental/telemedicine sessions at any time if it is felt that the video technology is not adequate for the situation.
- Understands that if there is an emergency during a telemental health/telemedicine session, then my therapist/provider may call emergency services and/ or my emergency contact.
- Understands that this form is signed in addition to the Notice of Privacy Practices and Consent to Treatment and that all office policies and procedures apply to telemental health/telemedicine services.
- Understands that if the video conferencing connection drops while you are in a session, my therapist/provider will contact me back. During the evaluation process at times your therapist/provider will complete an evaluation over the phone. All therapists/providers who call from Teri's Health Services are held to the same practice procedures as in office providers/therapists. All providers/therapists over telemental health/telemedicine services are mandated reporters by law. If your the client reports they might harm themselves or someone else or hang up the phone during session and you have stated risk of harm your therapists/providers is permitted by Arizona law to break confidentiality to get you help or someone else in foreseeable harms way. In addition, if you as the client/patient are in crisis and you hang up the phone and your therapist/provider is unable to contact again 911 or the nonemergency line will be contacted to respond for help.