Policies and notices

How this works here

For counseling, the estimate covers the cost of sessions. Before your first session you'll get a written estimate based on the fees below, by email or in your client portal, whichever you prefer. It's an estimate rather than a contract, and it doesn't commit you to anything. If you'd like one before you decide to book, just ask.

Fees

Current fees are on the Fees page. They may change once a year, on January 1, and never by more than $15.

Payment

Payment is by credit, debit or HSA card, kept on file and charged at the start of each session.

Cancellations and missed sessions

Please cancel at least 24 hours before your session, through your client portal, by email, or by phone. If you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice, or miss a session, there's a $120 fee, charged to the card on file. When someone cancels early enough, I can offer that time to another client who needs it that week.

If you arrive late, the session still ends at its usual time. Arriving more than 15 minutes late counts as a missed session.

If I ever have an emergency and need to cancel, I'll let you know as soon as I can and we'll find another time.

Insurance and superbills

I'm out of network with all insurance plans. I can give you a superbill to submit for reimbursement. More on what's usually covered is on the Fees page.

Between sessions

Once you're a client, you can reach me through your Sessions Health client portal or by email. Phone calls are for scheduling. I check voicemail on weekdays and generally return calls within 24 to 48 hours. If you need to talk by phone between sessions, that time is billed as a prorated share of the session fee.

Social media

To keep our work together professional, I don't accept social media requests from clients.

Ending therapy

You can stop therapy at any time, and you never owe anything beyond sessions that have already happened. If you're planning to stop, a week's notice gives us a chance to finish well. If we haven't been in touch for 30 days and nothing is scheduled, I'll take that to mean you've decided to stop.

What you tell me stays between us, with the exceptions Washington law requires. I'm required to make a report, or may share information, when:

• I have reason to believe a child is being abused or neglected
• I suspect abuse, neglect, abandonment or financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult
• sharing information is necessary to prevent imminent danger to you or to someone else
• a court orders it

If I ever have to make a report, I'll tell you, unless telling you would put someone's safety at risk or interfere with an investigation.

To make sure you're getting good care, I sometimes consult with other professionals, and as an associate I discuss my work with my clinical supervisor. Those conversations keep your identity confidential.

If you have a concern about my conduct

You're welcome to raise it with me directly. You can also contact the Washington State Department of Health, which licenses counselors and reviews complaints. The standards for professional conduct are set out in RCW 18.130.180.

Where you need to be

All sessions are by video, and you need to be physically located in Washington State at the time of each session. That's a licensing requirement.

Setting up for a session

Find a private room, close the door, and put phones away. For couples sessions, sit together in the same room on one screen. If one of you would have to join from a car, we'll reschedule.

In an emergency

This practice can't respond to emergencies, and I don't monitor messages outside business hours. If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.

This section covers this website only. Your records as a client are kept separately, and how they're handled is explained in the paperwork you receive before your first session.

What the site collects on its own

• Hosting. The site is hosted by Cloudflare, which keeps standard technical logs, such as IP addresses and browser types, to deliver the site and protect it from abuse.
• Visit counts. Google Analytics counts visits and shows which pages get read, roughly where visitors are, and what kind of device they use.
• How pages get used. Microsoft Clarity shows how visitors move through a page, such as where they click and how far they scroll, so I can see what's confusing.

Google Analytics and Clarity use cookies. I use them to improve the site, not to identify anyone, and I don't sell any of this information.

What you send me

If you call, email, or send a message through the site, I get the details you choose to share and use them only to reply to you. Email and website messages aren't secure channels, so please keep clinical or health details for our first conversation.

Questions

Email alan@lirelationshipcounseling.com with any question about this page.