Counseling Policies and Procedures

Hi! If you've found yourself on this page, please note that my website site is currently under construction. While I'm under construction, there may be links that do not yet work and policies and procedures that are incomplete. If you'd like to know when the site is fully up and running, feel free to let me know using this notification form.

I will start taking appointments in January of 2023.

Let's be honest. Everyone's least favorite part of the counseling process is reading policies and procedures and filling out intake documents. There's a lot of information in my policies and on this website, and I realize it's time-consuming to get through it all. Here are several good reasons for taking that time:

  • You want to feel comfortable with the service you sign up for.

  • You want to feel secure about your privacy.

  • You want to know something about the person you are trusting with your therapy.

  • You want to understand what to expect and what's expected of you.

  • You want to know what tools will be used for your virtual counseling services.

  • You want a counseling service that demonstrates a high standard of care.


If you like what you've read and you want to dig in, please follow the steps on my getting started page. Once I receive your initial contact form, I'll email you all of my policies and procedures to review so you have an opportunity to ask any questions you may have before started therapy with me.

Before you sign an informed consent agreement, it's important to understand what you're agreeing to. Please leave yourself a few days to digest all the information in the policies and on my website. If you have questions after reading the material and you're still feeling iffy, please submit your questions on this form.

Notice of Privacy Practices

Please take the time to read my notice of privacy practices. It explains your rights and my obligations under HIPAA law.

Technology and Security Policies and Procedures

My technology and security policies and procedures outline my HIPAA compliancy practices, the technology I use, and the security measures I have in place to protect your privacy.

Payment Policies and Procedures

This practice is self-pay, also known as private pay or direct pay.

  • I do not accept insurance.

  • I do not provide superbills for you to file a claim with your insurance.

  • I do not participate in contacting or billing your insurance.

  • On your informed consent agreement with me, you will be asked to opt out of insurance and acknowledge that you agree to the payment policies of my practice.


I would love to work with you, but if you have insurance and plan to file an out-of-network claim, I am not the clinician for you. You need a therapist who provides superbills, whether they are in-network or out-of-network. My business model does not accommodate the restrictions and administrative demands required when dealing with insurance. At your request, I will be happy to provide you with a receipt for any services you receive from me, but please be aware that a receipt will not be accepted by your insurance company as a means of obtaining reimbursement.

You are under no obligation to accept my policies; you have the option to work with a clinician who accepts your insurance or who provides superbills for out-of-network claims. Please see these resources to help you locate a provider who can serve your needs.

I do not offer sliding scale fees at this time. Detailed information on my payment policies and procedures, including fee structure, can be found in the description of my therapy service packages.

Payment for your initial session will be made via PayPal. Thereafter, payment will be made in accordance with the payment policies and procedures outlined in my therapy service packages.

Please see my therapy service packages page for details on your right to a good faith estimate of healthcare costs.

Court Appearances & Legal Issues Policies and Procedures

My practice is fully online. This includes consultations with legal professionals involved in your care and any court appearances related to your care. You will receive my complete policies and procedures for court appearances and legal issues via email after I receive your completed initial contact form.

Attorneys

Attorneys and attorney's representatives, please request a copy of my policies, procedures, and fees for court appearances and related documentation, consultation, or coordination services prior to requesting records or sending subpoenas.

Intellectual Property/Copyright Policy

Website Copyright Policy

Please note that all materials on the Michelle Robin Gould website are the copyrighted intellectual property of Michelle Robin Gould and the Michelle Robin Gould Corporation unless otherwise licensed. This includes website copy, images, therapeutic materials, instructional materials, and design documents. These materials may not be shared, distributed, altered, or used for any other purpose on penalty of legal or financial repercussions. These materials are proprietary and are subject to U.S. law and international treaties regarding copyrights. Free to see does not mean free to download, free to use, or free to copy.

Counseling Materials Copyright Policy

Counseling materials are intended for the personal use of clients of Michelle Robin Gould, LMHC, NCC, BC-TMH and/or the Michelle Robin Gould Corporation. Payment for counseling service packages does not entitle or grant clients licensing rights to intellectual property. Counseling and learning materials may not be further retained or disseminated without express written permission.

Please note that access to learning materials and individualized therapy and training websites is intended for clients only. Please do not share site login access with others. These materials and sites are proprietary intellectual property and are subject to U.S. and International Copyright Law.

As part of my counseling service packages, clients will receive supplemental resource handouts and workbooks. Where indicated, counseling clients may download copies for personal use only. Downloading, distributing, and altering these materials in any way other than personal use is a copyright violation that can result in litigation and fines. These are copyrighted materials for personal use only and cannot be shared, distributed, altered, or used for any other purpose on penalty of legal or financial repercussions.

Therapy-related materials may include protected health information, including client names, birth dates, dates of service, chart numbers, and more. Please keep in mind that if you download materials that contain personal information, you take responsibility for the safety and security of that information on your devices and in fixed media. For your protection, I recommend that you complete workbooks and therapeutic exercises within the HIPAA-compliant platform I provide to protect your safety and security, and do not share access to that platform with anyone. Should you choose to download therapy documents and materials, please keep them in cloud storage that is password-protected and requires two-factor authentication for access.

Materials created by other entities and supplied to counseling clients by Michelle Robin Gould, LMHC, NCC, BC-TMH or Michelle Robin Gould Corporation in the course of therapy have been purchased by or licensed to Michelle Robin Gould for use with clients. Clients may use these materials for personal use only and may not share, distribute, alter, or use these materials for any other purpose on penalty of legal or financial repercussions.

Practitioner Materials Copyright Policy

Payment for practitioner materials grants the purchasing practitioner permission to use materials with and for clients within their own therapy practice. These materials may not be shared, distributed, altered, or used for any other purpose on penalty of legal or financial repercussions. “Materials” includes text, images, audio, and video. Purchase does not entitle or grant practitioners licensing rights to intellectual property. Counseling and learning materials may not be further retained or disseminated without express written permission. Purchased materials cannot be shared with other practitioners or mental health professionals. Please refer interested professionals to my website to purchase materials for use with their clients.

Additional Policies

When I receive your completed initial contact form, I will send you my policies and procedures via email for you to read prior to signing your informed consent agreement. These policy documents have colored text and colored backgrounds. If you are colorblind and need an accessible version of my policies, please let me know and I will send you that instead. These policies are copyrighted and are included in all client service packages.

These additional policies include:

  • Confidentiality Policy

  • Contact Policies and Procedures

  • Payment Policies and Procedures

  • Appointment Policies and Procedures

  • Cancellation Policies and Procedures

  • Identity Verification Policy

  • Emergency Management Plan Policies and Procedures

  • Conduct Policies and Procedures

  • Termination Policies and Procedures

  • Travel Policies and Procedures

  • Ethics Policies and Procedures

  • Professional Boundaries Policies and Procedures

  • Referral Policies and Procedures

  • Social Media Policies and Procedures

  • Technical Support Policies and Procedures

  • Court Appearances and Legal Issues Policies and Procedures

  • Records Request Policies and Procedures

  • Records Storage Policies and Procedures

  • Emotional Support Animal (ESA) Letter Request Policies and Procedures

  • Document Downloads Policies and Procedures

  • Grievance Policies and Procedures


My policies are available for purchase by other clinicians in my practitioner materials.