Policies

About Therapy

→ Collaboration. Therapy is a collaborative endeavor requiring active participation. To maximize the benefits of therapy, full engagement is vital during sessions and in the time between sessions. Although sessions are typically an hour long, the true transformation occurs when dedicated effort is exerted beyond these scheduled meetings.

→ Risks & Benefits. In the realm of therapy, there exist both risks and benefits. It is hoped that engaging in therapy will lead to a decrease in symptoms, improvement in relationships, and overall life satisfaction. However, therapy is a nuanced practice without definitive outcomes. Potential risks are possible such as frustration, fear, anger, and sadness. Delving into therapy may require confronting challenging subjects and uncovering uncomfortable truths about oneself or one's past. Embracing new insights may provoke discomfort. Therapy might require making changes or adopting unfamiliar approaches to challenge established patterns, which can be initially difficult or unpleasant to do.

→ Therapeutic Relationship. A crucial element for the success of therapy lies in establishing a strong working relationship between the client and therapist. The strength of our relationship is a key indicator of successful therapy. In the initial sessions, we will collaborate to find ways we work well together. I will continue to gather information that will help me develop a context for your current experiences by inquiring about both the present and the past. Throughout this process, I will acquaint you with my therapeutic approach and address any questions you may have regarding my methods.

→ Communication. Effective communication is essential for maintaining a healthy working relationship. I urge you to openly express your comfort levels and any discomfort you may experience in the therapy process. Additionally, please feel free to share your thoughts or feelings on therapy and raise any concerns or questions you may have, I will often check-in with you to assess whether the therapy is meeting your needs or goals. You are investing time, energy, and money into coming to therapy, it is important to me that we address issues to develop a plan to meet your needs most effectively, including offering referrals or shifting therapy approaches if possible. At times, I may be able to adjust my therapeutic approach or methods to better suit your needs. It can also be beneficial to ask questions in order to gain a clearer understanding of my actions and why I believe they may be helpful for you. If you still have reservations about therapy, I am willing to referring you to another therapist who might be a better fit for you.

→ Schedule. I have discovered that I can best assist clients when they are committed to regular weekly or biweekly sessions, actively participate in setting agendas for therapy sessions, prioritize honesty and effective communication, and are open to exploring and trying on new perspectives and behaviors. Throughout the therapy journey, there may be times when you feel it is helpful to attend therapy more or less often. Please let me know your needs and bring this to therapy to discuss. Some clients find some resolution of their problems, but would like to keep maintenance or check-in sessions to increase their confidence in the changes they have made in therapy; whereas, some clients do not feel they need these sessions. This is up to you and I encourage you to communicate what you need to me as often as possible in sessions.

→ Intensives. Some Clients find they need more time in a given session and would prefer longer sessions. If you are interested in 2hr individual or couples sessions, please let me know & we can discuss if this would be an appropriate option for you.

NOTE ON INSURANCE. If you are utilizing insurance to pay for therapy services, please be aware that a clinical diagnosis will be required in order to submit for billing. This information will become a part of your insurance company’s record.

Confidentiality

What you share with me will stay with me UNLESS:

1. If a client of mine threatens to harm him or herself, I may be required to seek hospitalization for the client or contact a family member or other who can help provide protection

2. If I believe that a client of mine is threatening serious bodily harm to another person, I may be required by law to take protective action, which could include notifying the potential victim, notifying the police, or seeking appropriate hospitalizations.

3. If I believe a child, elderly, or disabled person is being abused, I am required by law to file a report with the appropriate state agency.

4. If a court of law issues a legitimate subpoena if a client of mine is being ordered to therapy by the court of law

5. If you give me written permission to share with someone else.

NOTE ON PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION. Occasionally, I find it helpful to consult with other professionals about a situation in therapy to offer varying perspectives, explore potential interventions, and to overall seek areas to improve in our therapy work. In these consultations, I avoid revealing the identity of my clients.

PUBLIC ENCOUNTERS. If I happen to see you in public, I will never approach you first and will defer to you on how you would like to interact, if at all.

UPHEAL: Kalyn Brumbley uses external providers to enhance services including the Upheal platform. Upheal empowers counselors to concentrate on their services by offering automated notes and analytics for client conversations. As a part of this process, Upheal handles protected health information for counselors, adhering to HIPAA regulations as a Business Associate.

Kalyn Brumbley has signed a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to protect data that is shared with Upheal. Under the BAA, Upheal adheres to regulations such as the HIPAA Security Rule and Privacy Rule. This ensures that electronic health information (ePHI) is safeguarded through appropriate administrative, physical, and technical measures, ensuring its confidentiality, integrity, and security. You can learn more about Upheal and its privacy practices at www.upheal.io/privacy.

Cancellations/No Shows

Each time you schedule an appointment, that time is saved specifically for you. I require at least a 24 hour notice of cancellation before our scheduled session to ensure I can make proper arrangements with both myself and other clients. I understand that situations happen that are out of your control and I will waive your 1st no show or late cancellation. Following your 1st, the charge will be $50 for each no show or late cancel. If there is a pattern of no shows or late cancelations, we may need to revisit if therapy with me is the best fit going forward.

I will attempt to limit my own cancellations to as much as possible and to provide as much notice as possible. Either myself or office will notify you by your listed preferred method of contact.

LATE. If you are late for session, session will still end at the scheduled time unless there is availability following your scheduled session.

RESCHEDULE. I typically will reach out to you via email or text following up and offering a reschedule. You may call the office to reschedule or you are welcomed to utilize online scheduling using the link “book a session” on my website at www.kalynbrumbleylmft.com

Social Media/Digital Policy

I do not accept any personal social networking requests from current or former clients. I believe interaction on social media can compromise your confidentiality and privacy. Please do not use any social media platforms, even professional ones, to contact me as I may not read these messages timely and they limit confidentiality. I do have a professional Instagram page that you are welcomed to follow @kalynbrumbleylmft

I do have a BBA with Google Workspace and can use email/phone/calendar securely. However, please be mindful of the contact information you provide me as your workplace or school may be able to view your email. In addition, if you are in a potentially dangerous environment or relationship, please inform me so I can best know how to reach you without causing disruption.

Concluding Therapy

Every clients’ needs are different when it comes to number of therapy sessions needed to reach their goals. Some clients come for a few sessions and some clients come for years. The choice of how long and at what interval to continue your therapy is yours. If you feel you are ready to terminate therapy, please mention this at the beginning of our next session so we can plan for a final session to review original therapy goals, identify progress, address any unresolved issues, and make plans to continue your progress including any needed referrals.

There also may come a time when I reach the conclusion you would be better served by working with another therapist due to our relationship or need for different therapist orientation or scope. If this is the case, I will first discuss this with you to determine the most appropriate course of action, including identifying referral sources to qualified providers.

Please note that ongoing failure to pay for treatment, attend sessions, or communicate with me in a respectful and timely manner can also result in discharge from therapy. In these instances, to ensure you have continued access to care, I will still make every reasonable effort to get in touch with you and provide referrals to a new provider before I consider our relationship ended.

Contacting Me

You may contact the Therapy Center Counseling & Consultation office at 229-244-9688 8am-5pm Mon-Thurs & 8am-2pm Fri. You may leave me a message with them for me. If you should need me for other reasons, you may email me at info@kalynbrumbleylmft.com or call/text at 229-231-0352. Both my number, calendar, and email are confidential. When contacting me, please leave your preferred contact method including number or email address. I typically return calls the same day besides weekends and holidays; however, please allow me 1 business day to respond.

In an emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. You also may call or text 988 to receive mental health crisis support. Please visit my website at KalynBrumbleyLMFT.com for other resources.

Telehealth

Online therapy presents a unique risk to client confidentiality. It is important that you understand the risks, including others in the client vicinity overhearing and captured internet transmissions. I encourage you to seek out a private space for therapy sessions. Therapist sessions in public spaces or while driving will not be completed until client can get to a private space or park the vehicle.

I utilize Doxy.Me to provide HIPAA secure video/audio sessions. I, additionally, utilize Upheal app as disclosed in informed consent paperwork to automate my notes. I utilize either the Therapy Center Office, Headway, or Grow Therapy for administrative (scheduling, billing, progress notes) purposes. For session, you will need wifi or cellular data, video camera, and audio function to engage in sessions. You can utilize a computer, tablet, or smartphone. To access session, you will follow the Doxy.Me link to enter the waiting room by and I will add you to the session

*if you are typically an in-person client & need to switch to teletherapy at any time due to convenience or preference, please let me know & vice versa from telehealth to in-person.

TRANSMISSION DIFFICULTIES. Due to the nature of teletherapy, we may have transmission barriers. If we become disconnected, I will try 3 times to restart video session then I will call you to determine if we will continue session on the phone or if we will reschedule. Reminder: position yourself as close as possible to your WIFI router or utilize an ethernet cable.

Therapist sessions in public spaces or while driving or operating machinery will not be completed until client can get to a private space or park the vehicle.

Couples

For couples sessions, I will typically only meet with each partner individually during our second meeting. It is important to remember that I do not keep secrets between partners, in other words, you cannot swear me to secrecy from the other partner. Please keep this in mind before disclosing information to me. Following the first 2 sessions, I will offer my recommendations for treatment going forward.. Each couples’ situation is different and we will collaborate to identify how to overcome your problems by creating specific goals for therapy.

If we have scheduled a couples session, I will not meet with only one partner and if a partner is late, we will wait on the other partner before proceeding with session.

FEES. 60-minute couples sessions are self-pay at $125. I cannot accept insurance due to couples therapy not meeting necessary billing criteria for insurance & can blur the lines of medical records with an identified client. If you would like to schedule longer intensive sessions, please let me know and we can discuss options.

RELEASE OF INFORMATION. In order to release information in regards to couples therapy, I will need written releases from both of you. I will sometimes ask to speak with one or both of your individual therapists or previous therapists; however, I will need both of you to sign a release in order to do this.