Finding help: Important issues for clients to consider

Before one enters a therapeutic relationship with a therapist, some information should be obtained and considered. Answers concerning type of therapy, location, cost or specialty will differ with each therapist. Clients have a right to have questions answered before they decide to enter the therapeutic relationship and "buy" a professional service. In other words, "consent" to enter therapy should be "informed." Some of the answers to the following questions may be found on each provider's web page.  We cannot answer these questions for the providers, as answers will differ with each individual therapist/patient relationship. You may wish to have all the information at once, or not all of it. Here are some of the important questions you should consider asking a therapist:

* What are your credentials? How long have you been a therapist?
* How will therapy be conducted? How long would it take?
* How will therapy online differ from in-person therapy?
* What are my chances of getting better or worse? What are the risks of therapy?
* Are there alternative methods or treatments that may be helpful to me?
* What happens if there is an emergency? Will you be available? If not, what should I do?
* What happens if you are away or on vacation and I need help?
* Do you keep records? Who gets to see records and how?
* Is all information given to you kept confidential? What are the limits of confidentiality?
* What are the fees for therapy? Will these be covered by my insurance?
* Where do clients go with questions or complaints about therapy?
Getting started: Age requirement

In most cases, clients must be at least 18 years old to independently obtain professional services from a therapist. Minors are welcome to use all the free resources, but need to invite their parents (or legal guardians) to examine and approve service by a licensed counselor for them. In life threatening and/or emergency situations, minors can contact a professional for initial guidance and referral without charge.While some therapists accept calls without charge for initial consultation or referral, on-going professional counseling usually requires a fee. Get details from your selected professional.

If you are a parent seeking online therapy or another form of consultation for a child or adolescent, please forward the selected therapist a signed informed consent form, so that services can be legally provided to your child.

Instructions for patients

1. Register for FREE with e-mail verification.

2. Read Instructions. Use will indicate agreement to terms.

3. Secure communications: See options for private consults.

4. Login. Enter: Clinician Directory, find clinician.

5. Enter web office. Request service or Enter scheduled appointment. 

After Request Service is used, clinician needs to approve, decline or re-schedule, and the confirmation arrives via e-mail. Keep USER NAME and PASSWORD safe, as these will allow entry to your account as well as use of the Request Service feature on the clinician page. If you requested chat service, make sure to also KEEP SESSION ID. It will be needed to use Enter Chat feature on the clinician 's page.

All registered users have FREE e-mail encryption feature in their account to maximize privacy.

New CPT Code 0074T covers online service for some clients. Ask your clinician or insurance company about their billing policies.
Emergency? Get instructions. Child abuse? Report Child Abuse.

Note: Company is not involved with any aspect of treatment, service or billing on behalf of the clinicians who self-manage their private site directly. Company is not responsible for services that are provided by others.

Instructions for Clinics and clinicians

1. Clinician: Register after review of Membership and Office Options.

2. Group member: Enter your group code in Login.

3. Group Administrator: Register a group. 

4. Special designs for groups, clinics or clinicians: Contact Us.

5. To operate office: Login. Use Manage Services to handle service requests. Use Encrypt/Decrypt for secure e-mail. Use Enter Chat in web office to initiate secure chat session.

See: Privacy Policy, Informed Consent and Legal Disclaimer. Use will indicate agreement to the terms.

Some words of caution:

This site displays links to other organizations, services and individuals online so that the public can be educated about available resources. The owners of this site can not be responsible for any aspect of service which is provided by others, such the quality of service, availability of service providers, accuracy of data displayed, and the like. Visitors are encouraged to carefully review recommendations made on this site before selecting the service or service provider that best fits their needs.

EMERGENCY? click here for instructions.

To find a professional visit: Clinician Directory.

 
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