NO SHOW/LATE CANCELLATION ($100 CHARGE)
CANCELLATIONS AND MISSED APPOINTMENTS
The client is expected to attend each scheduled session on time. A cancelled or delayed appointment delays our work and can negatively impact other clients. Because your appointments involve time reserved specifically for you, and out of respect for your therapist and our other clients, a minimum of 24 hours’ notice is required for rescheduling or canceling an appointment. We appreciate more than 24-hours’ notice, when possible, as we can then make that time available to other clients. Therefore, if you know before the required 24-hours’ notice that you will not be able to attend our session, please call the office, so that we have time to fill your slot and can put another client in your space that may need it. A late cancel or no-show appointment hurts at least three people: you, your therapist, and another client, who could have utilized your time slot. When a session is cancelled without adequate notice, we are unable to fill this time slot by offering it to another current client, a client on the wait list, or a client with a clinical emergency.
WHEN THE NO-SHOW/LATE-CANCEL FEE IS WAIVED
The only exception to this cancellation policy is in the event of a serious or contagious illness or emergency. We offer one grace for these purposes every six months. Examples of emergencies are car accidents, deaths in the family, or extreme (or contagious) illness. Work issues do not constitute emergencies. This cancellation policy also applies even if missing the appointment was an unintentional act. In the event of prohibitive weather, we can conduct the session on the phone or video (individual counseling). If both parties in a couple cannot attend, consider having one come alone instead of canceling altogether and wasting the slot.
FREQUENT CANCELLATIONS OR MISSED APPOINTMENT
Frequent cancellations (3 or more in 6 months or 2 consecutive) and/or missed appointments (no show) will result in the termination of treatment. If you have arranged with your therapist to have recurring appointments, the next recurring appointment will stay in the calendar. Therefore, please call the office if you choose to cancel that appointment to avoid a second no-show/late-cancel charge of $100. A voice mail is sufficient because this will be date- and time-stamped. The recurring appointment will be removed after the second consecutive no show/late cancel.
Although the Therapy Portal may send you text or email reminders about upcoming appointments, this is done as a courtesy and only if you consent to receive such communications by providing us with your email address and cell number. It remains your sole responsibility to keep track of and attend all scheduled therapy appointments, whether or not you receive the text or email reminder. It is your responsibility to inform the office if your phone number or email has changed. After 2 consecutive cancellations or no shows, you will not be able to schedule another appointment unless you have discussed this with your therapist.
FEES FOR NO-SHOWS & LATE CANCELLATIONS
No-Show Fees: Anytime you fail to attend a scheduled appointment without giving appropriate prior notice of cancellation, you will be charged $100 for the no-show session. The credit card information or other payment information you previously provided will be used to process this payment. By providing your credit card information or booking an appointment, you consent to this policy. Two consecutive no-shows may result in the termination of therapy.
Late Cancellation Fees: Any session that is missed by canceling less than 24 hours in advance will be charged a $100 fee. You will be charged even if the cancellation is work-related and even if you rescheduled the appointment. The credit card information you previously provided will be used to process this payment. By providing us with your credit card information or booking an appointment, you consent to this policy. Repeated late cancellations (more than 2) may result in the termination of therapy. Multiple no-shows will result in the termination of therapy services.
You should note missed-session fees are not reimbursable by your insurance.
HOW 24-HOUR NOTICE WORKS
A fee of $100 will be charged when you miss or cancel an appointment without giving 24 hours advance notice. This means that if an appointment is scheduled for 3:00 pm on a Thursday, notice must be given by 3:00 pm on Wednesday at the absolute latest. Note that if your appointment is on a Monday, the cancellation needs to be provided no later than the prior Friday, by your appointment time, to be considered adequate 24-hour notice. Also note, our office is closed on Tuesdays, so if your appointment is on Wednesday, you would need to cancel by Monday. You can cancel your appointment by calling the office.
WAIT TIME/GRACE PERIOD
Your wait time is kept to a minimum. Due to the length of time provided for each appointment, it is critical that you arrive on time for your appointments. If you are more than 10 minutes late to your appointment, we will have no choice but to reschedule your appointment and you will be responsible for the $100 fee of a no show. To avoid paying no show fees, we require at least 24 hours’ notice for all cancellations (as described above). Both therapist and client have a grace period of 10 minutes.
Additionally, please understand that therapy should be viewed as any other important medical appointment. While it is a time commitment, this is for your personal betterment, and consistency is key for optimal results. If the therapeutic relationship is terminated pursuant to this policy, you may return to our practice after 3 months should you so choose. However, you may be placed on a waiting list if there are other clients waiting to use your time slot. This is standard practice with most therapy agencies and private-practice offices. We value you as a client and hope to help you with your future endeavors; however, we can only accomplish this with your understanding of your obligations set forth in this policy and consistency with treatment. Thank you for your understanding. Your therapist looks forward to beginning this therapeutic journey alongside you!