Cancellation Policy

A commitment to our time together is essential for meeting your counseling goals. To ensure a beneficial experience, I kindly ask that you familiarize yourself with my cancellation policy:

CANCELLATIONS AND MISSED APPOINTMENTS

The client is expected to attend each scheduled session on time. A canceled or delayed appointment delays our work and can negatively impact other clients.  Since your appointments involve the reservation of time 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-hour notice when possible, as we can then make that time available to other clients. Therefore, if you should know before the required 24-hour notice that you will not be able to attend our session, PLEASE, call/text/email  so that we have time to fill your slot and can put another client in your space that may need it. The more time, the better for the therapist and other clients who are in need.

A late cancellation or no-show appointment hurts at least three people: you, your therapist, and another client who could have potentially utilized your time slot. Therapy sessions are scheduled in advance and are a time reserved exclusively for our clients. When a session is canceled without adequate notice, we are unable to fill this time slot by offering it to another current client, a client on the waitlist, or a client with a clinical emergency.

Please note that if you miss two scheduled intake/first-time appointments for any reason we will not be able to schedule a third intake appointment. We are happy to provide you with some outside referrals if you wish.

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. Some examples of emergencies are car accidents, deaths in the family, or extreme 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 via video (individual counseling). 

If a session is cancelled, but was able to be held through Telehealth and you declined this, you will still be charged the fee.

You will also not be charged a fee if your therapist cancels a session. The therapist will also do their best to uphold the 48-hour notice rule if they have to cancel a session. Depending on the reasoning for cancelling the therapist might offer to reschedule to another day or move sessions to video/phone.

FREQUENT CANCELLATIONS OR MISSED APPOINTMENT

Frequent cancellations (3 or more in 6 months) and/or missed appointments (no show) will result in same-day scheduling.  Same-day scheduling means you need to reach out to me by phone/email/text and see if there is availability that day to meet for a session. Sessions will not be made in advance if you are on same-day scheduling. We will return to weekly scheduling once you have been able to show for 3 same-day scheduling sessions consecutively.

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 as they are date and time stamped. The recurring appointment will be removed after the second consecutive No Show/Late Cancel.

Although Creative Path to Healing 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 timely 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 3 consecutive cancellations or no shows, you will not be able to schedule another appointment and will be referred to another provider.

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 us with your credit card information or booking an appointment, you consent to this policy. Multiple no-shows will result in the termination of therapy.

Late Cancellation Fees:  Any session that is missed by canceling less than 48 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 three) may result in the termination of therapy. Multiple no-shows will result in the termination of therapy.

You should note that insurance companies generally do not reimburse for missed appointments.

HOW 24-HOUR NOTICE WORKS

A fee of $100 will be charged when you miss or cancel an appointment without giving 24-hour advance notice. This means that if an appointment is scheduled for 3:00 pm on a Wednesday notice must be given by 3:00 pm on Tuesday 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 proper 24-hour notice.  You can cancel your appointment by calling the office, sending an email or a text.

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 15 minutes late to your appointment, we will have no choice but to reschedule your appointment and you will be responsible for the $100 fee for a no-show. To avoid paying no-show fees, we require at least forty-eight (48) hours’ notice for all cancellations (as described above). Both therapist and client have a grace period of 15 minutes.

Additionally, please understand that therapy should be viewed as any other important medical appointment would be viewed. While it is a time commitment, this is for your personal betterment and consistency is key in order to achieve this. If the therapeutic relationship is terminated pursuant to this policy, your case may be reopened at any time 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.

THANK YOU!

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!