Welcome
Welcome to the office of Stephanie Hall, PsyD. I have a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology and practice as a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Texas. I look forward to working with you. Please read the following information about my practice policies. I have tried to answer some frequently asked questions.
Treatment Participation: Your treatment here will involve engaging in psychotherapy. It is important that you take an active role in your treatment including the following:
· Attending regularly scheduled psychotherapy sessions,
· Talking about your life openly and honestly,
· Discussing any issues related to your treatment with me.
It is important for me as your psychologist to have a professional and therapeutic relationship with you, and therefore not have any other type of social or personal relationship.
Missed appointments : I try to keep wait time in the lobby to a minimum. Therefore, I do not overbook patients or allow patients to exceed their agreed upon timeframe during the 45-minute therapy hour. This means that your appointment time is a reservation just for you. In order to make this work successfully, I ask that you cancel or reschedule appointments at least 48 hours in advance. It is my policy to charge the full fee for missed appointments according to the time that was scheduled. Payment of fees is an important aspect of our therapeutic relationship and failure to do so could result in the termination of that relationship.
Confidentiality : Anything you reveal in your sessions is confidential and cannot be released to another person without your consent. Exceptions to this rule of confidentiality occur when I reasonably believe that there is an imminent risk of harm to yourself or another person, if a judge requests information as part of a trial in which your mental health is an issue or if you report to me that you or someone you know is being physically, sexually or emotionally abused. I sometimes obtain professional consultation and supervision for my cases. Specific, but anonymous information is exchanged in these meetings, and never goes beyond the consultants. Finally, if you are a minor/under the age of 18-years-old, your legal guardian(s) have a right to access your psychotherapy records.
Phone calls : I do not take phone calls while I am with other patients for any reason. It is vey possible that I will not be able to return calls for several hours. Phone hours are Monday – Thursday 9:00 am-6:00 pm. I make every effort to return calls received during phone hours by the end of the day or the following morning. Non-urgent messages left for me after hours will be received and called back by the end of the next business day. If you do not hear from me by the end of the business day, please call back as I may have had a problem understanding the message that was left. In the event of any medical or psychiatric emergency that you feel cannot wait, you should call 911 or go to the nearest ER and then contact me once you are safe at the emergency room. Phone calls that run over 10 minutes will be billed at a rate of $265/hour in 5-minute increments.
Financial : Payment is due at the time of service unless other arrangements are made ahead of time. I accept cash, personal checks and credit cards; however, my rate differs if you choose to pay by credit card. I do not accept insurance, but I will provide you the necessary information allowing you to file the claim yourself. Please check with your health insurance provider for outpatient mental health coverage and out of network benefits. Your insurance company or employer is the best source for information about actual coverage. Be sure to get the details prior to commencement of treatment.
Additional Requests : Session fees cover the cost of the visit and paperwork associated with completing that visit. This includes letters or records sent to your other doctors/therapists in regard to your direct treatment. Personal request for copies of your medical records will be billed at the allowable rate. Also any requests for forms, summaries, letters, or similar documents that are not related to your direct treatment will be billed at a rate of $275/hour in 5-minute increments. This includes paperwork for disability and legal matters. If you expect to be involved in any legal proceedings, please let me know before beginning your treatment. Should you request that I become involved in any legal proceedings; there will be a $5,000 retainer and an hourly rate of $450/hr related to those services.
Coverage : If I am out of town or out of the office for any reason, a predetermined licensed clinician will cover calls for me. However, please keep in mind that if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, you need to call 911 or go to the nearest ER.
Discontinuation of Treatment : I usually discontinue treatment with a patient only after a reasonable amount of discussion and usually only for one of the following reasons: (1) failure to pay your bill, (2) canceling/missing appointments too often, and/or (3) not doing the work of treatment. If you foresee problems in any of these areas, please let me know. If I see an issue with one of these areas, I will bring it up with you right away so that we can try and correct the problem together. If you find that you are having trouble paying your bill, please talk with me about it and we will attempt to come up with a working solution. Sometimes money is one of the more difficult things to discuss. If you decide to discontinue treatment, you can do so at any time in person, by phone, or in writing. Hopefully we can confer about the decision, so that I can be of assistance to you in transferring your care to another provider. Should you decide to reenter treatment with me, you can usually do so by simply calling me, as long as your treatment ended in good standing.
Hopefully these policies will answer questions about my practice and make our interactions easier. Please bring up any issues regarding these policies that may come up during your treatment. It is my goal to be flexible, and understanding.