Initial Evaluation
Our initial meetings will be for consultation and not for treatment. We will review your history and pinpoint the problems you want help with. This will likely require at least two sessions, or one extended session. If I feel that I have the tools and skills to help you, I will share my treatment recommendations with you. They will likely involve cognitive therapy and home practice between sessions.
If you decide that you would like to work with me along the lines that I suggest I will be pleased to accept you as my patient at that time. If I feel that I do not have the tools to help you, or if the treatment methods I suggest do not appeal to you, you will be free to explore other treatment options and you will not become my patient. If you pursue treatment with another therapist, I will be happy to share the results of my evaluation with that therapist if you provide written permission for me to do so.
Scheduling
We’ll schedule your next appointment at the start of each session. If you feel very distressed it might be helpful to meet more frequently, even for several days in a row, until the crisis is over. When you begin to feel better, it may be appropriate to taper sessions and meet less frequently. If you would prefer a standing appointment each week at the same time, I'd be happy to set this up for you.
Length and frequency of sessions
Most therapists schedule 50-minute sessions once a week. However there is no research that supports this being the most effective schedule for change. If you'd like to schedule extended sessions this may greatly speed up your recovery. Double or triple sessions or meeting for some hours a day for 3 or 4 days in a row can be extremely effective. My experience indicates intensive treatment often works far more quickly, costs less in the long run, and has long-lasting effects. If you'd like to set up an intensive treatment program please let me know.
Duration of therapy
This varies greatly from person to person. Some clients with mild problems have been helped in just a few sessions. Others with more severe difficulties may require months of hard, persistent work before they feel better. It's difficult to predict this ahead of time
Fees/Billing
My fee is $250 per 50 minutes of therapy. Clients pay at the time of booking an appointment. I accept cash, checks and credit cards.
Insurance
It is a good idea to call and ask your insurance company questions like: "How much will you pay for each therapy session with Daniel Mintie?” “How many sessions will you cover?" The information you receive may be different from what you expected. I will happily provide you a receipt for payments I’ve received that you may submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.
Canceling sessions
I require 48 hours notification to cancel or reschedule a session. If you provide this advance notification, I will not charge you for the session. If you do not provide me with a 48 hour notification, you will be charged for the missed session.
Emergency phone calls
You may need to call me if an emergency develops between sessions. If a phone consultation is needed, I will charge for the time we spend together at my usual rate, based on the length of the call. Often I can schedule additional time with you at my office within a day or two of your call. Outside of emergencies I am unable to respond to phone calls or emails between sessions. As you can imagine I too need time to unwind. This allows me to be at my best when I see you. If you are thinking you’ll want contact with me between sessions we should discuss this at the initial evaluation. If you believe you are having a life-threatening emergency and are unable to contact me, go to the nearest emergency room or call 911.
Client confidentiality
I will not provide information about your treatment to others – including family members - without your written permission. Even then my discussion with any third party will be limited to the specific topics you have given me written permission to discuss. For this reason, if you would like me to speak with a relative, it is often preferable that we all meet together during a regular appointment.
There are rare cases in which I am required by law to violate client confidentiality. These include threats of suicide, violence or homicide, and incidents of child or senior abuse that I may become aware of in our work together.
Suicidal feelings
Many depressed patients have suicidal thoughts. I will monitor for such thoughts before and after every therapy session. If they are present, we will discuss them in detail and provide you tools to cope with them. As a condition of becoming my patient you will make an iron-clad commitment to choose life and renounce acting on any suicidal thoughts in this lifetime.
Violent feelings
Feelings of anger, including violent fantasies, are also common. We can explore these feelings during our therapy sessions and I can teach you tools to deal with such thinking. If at any time you tell me you intend to harm someone I am required by law to contact the police and to warn the potential victim.
Child or adult abuse
If I discover you are abusing a child, senior citizen, or any other person, I am required by law to report this to the police.
Meeting outside of sessions
I do not meet with clients outside of session times for any reason.
Business dealings
I do not get involved in business dealings with clients. Our work together will focus on the problems and symptoms you are seeking help with, nothing further.
Benzodiazepine use
Benzodiazepines are frequently prescribed for anxiety. Because they interfere with brain functions required for cognitive-behavioral therapy I require prospective patients on these medications to commit to working with their prescribes on a plan to taper and discontinue benzodiazepine use.
3rd party evaluations and legal issues
I do not do provide evaluations to 3rd parties for any reason. If you are involved in any legal action, such as a divorce proceeding or a lawsuit, I will not testify in your behalf or provide copies of my records or reports of our work together. Such reporting would likely create a conflict of interest and prevent us from most effectively working together.
Early termination
If you become discouraged between sessions or feel the urge to drop out of therapy for any reason, I ask that you come in for one additional session to discuss these feelings. This often leads to a therapeutic breakthrough. If you are not comfortable with this arrangement and want the right to drop out between sessions, please let me know at our initial meeting.
Gifts
I do not accept gifts from clients or family members of clients as this constitutes an ethics violation.
Books or articles you’ve seen
Sometimes clients give me copies of books or other materials they've seen and ask me to review them between sessions. I do not read these kinds of materials between therapy sessions. If you feel they are relevant to my understanding of your problems or our work together, I'd be happy to look at them with you during one of our sessions. In most cases, your verbal summary will be sufficient.
Home Practice
I will ask you to practice between sessions and to complete written assignments. Our research shows completing these assignments is the active ingredient in your recovery. Generally 20 to 30 minutes per day will be sufficient. We will review your home practice together during sessions. If you are not willing to do such practice please let me know at our initial meeting.
Relapse prevention
Therapy has two goals. Feeling better and getting better. Feeling better means that you overcome your symptoms and solve the problems that brought you to therapy. If you're suffering from depression or panic attacks feeling better means your depression and panic attacks will disappear. Feeling better is tremendously important!
Getting better involves learning tools to deal with emotional or relationship problems that will emerge in the future. This is vitally important because no one can be happy forever. We all hit bumps in the road from time to time. If you know how to deal with painful mood swings or conflicts with other people these bumps will register as opportunities, not problems.
Before we terminate treatment we’ll spend one final session on relapse prevention techniques and a review of our work together. If you ever need a tune-up in the future you'll be welcome to return so we can nip any problem in the bud.
HIPAA
Please review my Privacy Practices.