Fees:

  • Emory sets her fees to be affordable to most and commensurate with professional fees for psychotherapy and parent consulting in the Washington, D.C. area.
  • Emory will never charge you more for seeing you with your partner or your family.  She has only one fee for her time, regardless of how many people are in the room.
    • Most sessions are one hour (60 minutes) in length, and the fee is $150.
  • Session fees include follow-up letters and phone calls up to 20 minutes.
  • Emory has always reserved 20% of her practice for clients who cannot afford to pay her full fee. There is usually a waiting list to see her for a reduced or no-fee.
  • Insurance reimbursement: Most of Emory’s clients get partial or full reimbursement for her services from their health insurers.  If you wish to be reimbursed by your health insurer, here are some questions you might ask about what reimbursement you are entitled to:
    • Can I be reimbursed for Out-of-Network mental health services?
    • Do I need pre-authorization from my insurer to get reimbursement?
    • Is there a limit to how many sessions I will be reimbursed for?
    • How much will I be reimbursed for each session of individual therapy?  Family therapy?
    • How do I submit my receipts for reimbursement?
    • What information will I need to provide to provide when I submit receipts for reimbursement?  Do I need a diagnosis code?

Payment:

  • Payment is due at the time of the appointment, unless other arrangements have been made.
  • Emory accepts cash, checks and credit or debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express) through her online bookkeeping program (Quickbooks). You will receive an email receipt through Quickbooks. Your receipt will be formatted for you to submit to your insurer, if you wish.
  • She suggests that checks be written before the session begins, so that the session is not cut short at the end to give you time to write your check.
  • Every client receives a receipt for their payment at the end of the week by e-mail.  Receipts are formatted to be appropriate to submit for insurance reimbursement.  If you need a diagnosis code for insurance reimbursement, please let Emory know and she will discuss your diagnosis with you.
  • Emory recognizes that therapy is costly in terms of both your time and your money. She respects your commitment to improving your life and your family, and she will do her utmost to provide you with quality service that will benefit you now and in the years to come.

Phone and On-line Consultations:

Emory offers phone and Zoom consultations to her clients, when they are unable to visit her in person. The fees for these consultations are the same as for in-person services.

Late Cancellation:

Please note that twenty-four hours notice is required to cancel an appointment. Emory doesn’t like to charge for late cancellations, and she is willing to reschedule it later that week at no additional charge. Otherwise, your payment is requested to cover the cost of the time Emory has reserved for you in her schedule.

Severe Weather Cancellation:

Emory generally follows federal government cancellation announcements. If the federal government is closed, then it is safe to assumer her sessions are also cancelled. Otherwise, you are asked to either keep your appointment, reschedule for later in the week or pay for the missed session.

Confidentiality:

All information disclosed within your therapy session, including case notes and records, is treated as confidential. No information will be revealed to anyone not present in therapy without the permission of the client or a legally authorized representative unless an applicable legal or ethical exception exists. When seeing couples and families, it is an important part of Emory’s work to promote honesty and openness. Therefore, she does not keep secrets between family members. If someone tells her something important that is not known by other family members, she will work with that individual to assist them in sharing their secret.

Confidentiality with Adolescents

Sometimes, a teen wants to talk to a trustworthy and helpful person outside of usual family and friendship circles.  Emory offers under-age adolescents conversations that are private, but not secret.  Emory always has the duty to report when her client or someone else is in danger.  Otherwise, when she has a concern, she works with the adolescent to help him or her share these concerns with their parents in a timely fashion. Along the way, Emory keeps parents posted on her progress with their child and she is available to talk whenever they have questions or concerns.

Confidentiality in Communication and with Social Media

You can communicate confidential information to Emory by speaking to her in person or on the Zoom platform, which is encrypted. Otherwise, you should be aware that internet and cellular communication systems are not secure. Emory recommends that you do not communicate confidential information to her over the internet or by cell phone. If you do, she will assume you have made an informed decision and understand that there is a risk your message may be intercepted by someone other than her. Please notify Emory if you wish to avoid or limit the use of any or all internet and/or mobile communication devices such as e-mail, voice-mail, or texting. For privacy reasons, Emory will not accept your invitation to ‘friend’ you on your social media sites (though she appreciates the thought!).

Duty to Warn/Report:

Emory is required by law to report to the appropriate law enforcement agency any suspected abuse and any situation where the client threatens violence to an identifiable victim. If feasible, this means that she is also legally required to inform the specified victim or victims of the nature of the threat, the identity of the person making the threat, and the identity of the specified victim or victims. All actual or suspected acts of such abuse will need to be reported to the appropriate agency. Emory is also legally permitted to break confidentiality if you present a danger to yourself or others.

Ending Therapy:

It is Emory’s goal to provide encouragement and support for her clients when they are ready to end therapy, for any reason. It has been her experience that every client would like to end their therapy experience in a positive way. When you feel ready to end therapy, she will happily work together with you to finish your sessions well.

Giving Emory Feedback, Including Complaints

Emory takes responsibility for maintaining excellent professional standards at all times, yet she also recognizes that she is bound to make mistakes at times.  She asks her clients to help her learn and improve from her errors by sharing their feedback with her, to help her become a better therapist.