2) I use an individualized and patient-centered way to help create therapy goals and to collect data on our progress toward your goals. I make a point to review the data together with my clients at regular intervals to make sure we are making in-roads. This holds me accountable and makes good use of your investment. As Dr. Martinez, an assistant professor at Brown University and member of the APA Advisory Committee for Measurement Based Care outlines, these tools "empower patients, clarify treatment goals, strengthen the therapeutic alliance, and improve outcomes." Right now, about 36% of my clients experience some symptom relief within eight sessions, and 72% experience significant relief within 16 sessions. If you are not starting to feel a little better in four months of therapy, the work needs to be re-evaluated. Maybe a pivot is in order.
3) I take your confidentiality seriously and work hard to protect your health information. The healthcare industry, even small psychology practices, is a prime target for cyber attacks. Protected Health Information is very valuable to cyber-criminals because it has a long shelf life on the black market: unlike financial data that can be locked or shut down quickly, PHI contains personal identifiers that make it an attractive purchase for identiy thieves. In fact, 14 covered entitities in Colorado alone have reported data breaches of Protected Health Information to the Office of Civil Rights in the last 24 months, and those entities were just the ones involving more than 500 patients. This is why I do not use electronic health records or internet-based programs to document your very sensitive and private information from our sessions. I document the old fashioned way, with paper and pen, and lock it up securely so that I am the only one with access to it. I also do not use internet-based AI resources for diagnostic algorithms or treatment planning support. I do not record therapy sessions or use AI for writing clinical notes.
4) I am not hostage to private equity, investors, or corporate practice of mental health services. Together, you and I will be in charge of your care and your treatment plan, not shareholders. You've probably heard of BetterHelp. What you might not know is that they are owned by Teledoc, a multi-national, for-profit health care company with over 600 institutional stakeholders. Their revenue is in the billions and yet, they just paid a fine leveraged from the FTC regarding deceptive data collection and sharing private user data with third parties. Therapists complain about heavy pressure to take on more clients and treat folks they may not be qualified to see, and customers complain about inaccurate matching algorithms, misleading policies, and fraudulent billing practices.
5) I peruse emerging research all the time and collect little tidbits to put into client handouts with the aim to summarize important and helpful points. This way you don't have to invest in a whole library of self-help books or spend massive amounts of time finding good tools.
6) I offer walk-and-talks when you want to get out for sunshine and exercise.
7) In unique and urgent situations, I sometimes offer home visits.
8) If you decide to return for another round of therapy at a future point, I will honor the rate which you paid prior. No rate increases for you.
