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                                What Can you Expect as a Client

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• The therapy hour is 50-minutes in duration. If you are late, your appointment is held for 15 minutes before it is considered a “no show” appointment. Please notify your clinician if you know you will be late.

 

• Limits of the Therapy Relationship:​​

Psychotherapy is a professional service clinician’s at Rooted+Vitality provide to you. However, because of the nature of therapy, our relationship must be different from most other relationships. It may differ in how long it lasts, in the topics we discuss, or in its goals. It must also be limited to the relationship of therapist and the client only. If we were to interact in any other ways, we would then have a “dual relationship,” which might be harmful and may not be legal. The different therapy professions all have rules against such relationships to protect us both. 

       Examples of improper dual relationships:

• Clinician cannot be your supervisor, teacher, or evaluator for custody, disability, or similar issues.

• Clinician cannot serve as your advocate or take your side in any legal matter or court action.

• Clinician cannot be a therapist to your relatives, friends (or the relatives of friends), people the clinician knows or knew socially, or business contacts.

• Clinician cannot have any other kind of business relationship with you besides for therapy. For example, your clinician or Rooted+Vitality could not employ you, lend to or borrow from you, trade or barter your services (such as for tutoring, repairing, childcare, etc.) for their services, or trade goods for therapy.

• Clinician cannot give legal, medical, financial, or any other type of professional advice.

• Clinician cannot have any kind of romantic or sexual relationship with a current or former client, or with any other people close to a client.

• Clinician and client should not exchange gifts.

• Clinician will not “friend” clients on social media or accept clients’ “friend” requests.​​

 

• Potential risks to psychotherapy: 

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• Making changes in beliefs or behavior can be difficult and sometimes disruptive to the relationships clients already have established. For example, improving boundaries in relationships is likely to upset people who are used to ignoring your boundaries. Participating in therapy may involve some discomfort, including remembering and discussing unpleasant events, feelings and experiences. The process may evoke strong feelings of sadness, anger, fear, etc. 

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• During the therapeutic process, clients may find that they feel worse before they feel better, which is generally a normal course of events. Personal growth and change may be easy and quick at times, but may also be slow and frustrating. It is important to carefully evaluate whether these risks are worth the benefits of changing.  

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• Therapy requires a financial investment and there is no guarantee that it will work or how quickly it will work. Although the American Psychological Association states “the average person who engages in psychotherapy is better off by the end of treatment than 80 percent of those who don’t receive treatment at all” you might be one of the exceptions to this finding. By measuring where you are at each session, we will minimize this risk. Please know that a lack of success with one therapist does not mean you will not be successful with a different therapist; the relationship between counselor and client is a key component of the outcome. Some therapist/client “fits” are better than others. You may get very different results with two different therapists. We will not accept a client we do not believe we can help but if we do find that you are not making the progress we want, we will help you to find another therapist who may end up being a better fit for you.

 

• Clients are strongly encouraged to discuss any fears, concerns, or doubts about his/her progress with his/her therapist, including specific risks and benefits not listed that may be associated with their situation.

 

• Here at Rooted+Vitality Health Collaborative we take necessary measures to secure your privacy in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the California Board of Psychology Laws and regulations. 

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• When you enter this office you are important, respected, understood, treated with kindness, fairness and unconditional positive regard. It is our goal to create a safe and nonjudgmental environment where you can heal and thrive.

 

• At Rooted+Vitality Health Collaborative we strive to be your guide not your map maker.  We believe that you are the expert of you, and therefore utilize a collaborative approach to therapy to help you achieve your goals.

 

• There may be rare occasions where you may run into your clinician in a public setting.  In order to protect your privacy and confidentiality, we will not acknowledge you first in public spaces. However, if you acknowledge me first, I will be more than happy to speak briefly with you, but feel it appropriate not to engage in any lengthy discussions in public or outside of the therapy office.