Notice to Parents and Guardians: Initial Therapy Sessions and Ongoing Treatment
Thank you for choosing our services for your young person. Your active participation and genuine concern for their well-being are not only noticed but also immensely valued. It's truly uplifting to work alongside parents/caregivers who are so involved in their young person's therapeutic journey.
Here's how we can collaboratively ensure a supportive and constructive therapeutic process:
1. Parental Insight & Intake:
Your perspectives are invaluable. Please complete the intake forms in the secure client portal at least 24 hours prior to our first meeting, providing a comprehensive view of your child or teen's experiences and your interactions with them, to enrich understanding and guide the therapeutic journey.
2. First Session and Building Trust:
Initial sessions play a critical role in establishing a relationship of trust, curiosity, creativity, and safety with our young clients. During the first meeting, parents are invited to participate briefly for a warm introduction and smooth transition. Subsequently, the focus will be on spending one-on-one time with your child or teen to cultivate trust and mutual understanding.
3. Client Autonomy:
Respecting the autonomy of our younger clients, especially those aged 12 and above, is crucial. It’s essential for me to have their direct consent for services and to ensure they have confidential access to their client portal. Kindly share their email address and cell phone number with us.
4. Virtual Session:
All services will be virtual for the foreseeable future. While this may differ from traditional in-person sessions, there's a silver lining: being in a familiar environment allows us to explore and practice strategies that your young person can readily use at home outside of sessions. Their everyday comforts become valuable tools in our therapeutic journey, facilitating real-time learning and adaptation. Especially with neurodivergent youth, I prioritize creative approaches to ensure engaging virtual sessions. It is great if there is access to art supplies and some of their favorite things, fidgets, water, and an optional snack. The Telehealth link is always emailed to the client 15 minutes prior to the session.
5. Ensuring a Private, Comfortable, and Safe Space:
Confidentiality and a secure space are paramount in virtual sessions, similar to in-person ones. Your child or teen should be in a quiet, private room with the door closed and use headphones to maintain confidentiality and minimize distractions. Utilizing white noise near the door can also be beneficial, especially with thinner walls/doors.
6. Upholding Trust and Confidentiality:
Maintaining a sacred and secure space for your child or teen to freely express themselves is pivotal to effective therapy. This encompasses not only the sessions themselves but also all communications between the therapist and the young client. Therefore, sessions and communications — whether they be emails, messages, or any other form — should never be recorded, monitored, screens shotted, or intruded upon. This practice safeguards the integrity of our therapeutic relationship, upholds privacy and legal rights, and is crucial for building and sustaining trust, comfort, and efficacy throughout the therapeutic journey. Your adherence to these essential boundaries is greatly appreciated and fundamental to the progress we hope to achieve together.
7. Parental/ Caregiver Collateral Meetings:
In navigating through this therapeutic journey with your child or teen, I recognize and deeply value the critical role parents/caregivers play. To ensure we are all aligned and supportive of their path, I offer opportunities for parental collateral meetings or phone call sessions, always threading carefully to balance involvement with respect for your child/teen's autonomy and confidentiality. Your insights are crucial and can significantly enhance our collective efforts to support their journey towards wellbeing.
I offer check-ins where we can discuss general progress, any pertinent concerns, and relevant updates, tailored to the unique needs and clinical recommendations for your young person. In addition, I provide check-in symptom questionnaire forms as a structured means for you to share updates and express concerns about symptoms or behaviors observed at home.
It's paramount to note that while I'm dedicated to a collaborative approach, the confidentiality and trust between me and your child or teen are of utmost importance. General progress and any concerns, informed by clinical judgment and with the knowledge of the client, will be shared while scrupulously respecting confidentiality boundaries. In the event of substantial concerns, rest assured that I will communicate them promptly.