MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of People to People is to provide services that empower individuals and families to enhance their quality of life.
We offer professional mental health services to adults, children, couples, and families.
Our Counseling Approach
OUR COUNSELING APPROACH
Our team of professionals believe in a collaborative approach to treatment. We ask you to define why you are here and what you hope to achieve through counseling. After an assessment, we will suggest a plan for your approval. Throughout our work together we will evaluate your progress periodically and jointly make modifications to the plan.
You and your counselor will determine together the number and frequency of sessions to address your initial concerns. Our experience has demonstrated that meeting weekly at the beginning of counseling is the most effective approach. Some clients need only a few sessions to make the changes they desire while others may require ongoing therapy over several months or even years.
THE COUNSELING EXPERIENCE
While counseling has been shown to have many benefits, sometimes uncomfortable feelings (e.g. sadness, guilt, anxiety, anger, frustration, loneliness and helplessness) may surface during the course of treatment. Your counselor is trained to help you work through this discomfort, improve your relationships, and resolve problems. While it is not possible to guarantee specific results regarding your counseling goals, we will work with you to achieve the best possible outcome.
ASSESSMENT
The assessment is completed during the first appointment. After completing the assessment the therapist will talk with you about your options to meet with another counselor in the agency with the appropriate training and skills to help you reach your goal(s). Additional services also may be recommended for your spouse or other family members. You and the counselor will explore jointly the various combinations of services our team of professionals can provide.
THE COUNSELING RELATIONSHIP
People to People attempts to assist clients to resolve their own problems. Our licensed counselors will fully explain to you the process of any treatment you will receive and will establish with you the goals you want to address in your treatment. As a client, you are in complete control. If for any reason you are uncomfortable with the counselor with whom you are working, please discuss the situation with your counselor or the Front Office Staff so that the problem may be resolved or another counselor can be made available to you. If we are unable to assist you with the needs you wish to address, we will help you in finding those services with another agency. We also have the option of ending our counseling association if we determine it is necessary. Our ultimate goal is that you will feel better able to face life’s challenges in the future without need of professional support or intervention.
SOCIAL MEDIA
People to People staff do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site. We believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. We do have a public Facebook page and we are also on Instagram.
CONFIDENTIALITY
We are ethically and legally bound to maintain the confidentiality of our counseling relationships and the content of our counseling sessions. We will not release any information to another person without your specific written authorization, unless you tell us that you are going to harm yourself or someone else. If the counselee is a child and they report they are being hurt by someone we are mandated to report this. If one of the above situations happens we will do our best to make you aware of our need to report this information to the appropriate authorities, prior to doing so.
A PLANNED ENDING
While you have the right to end your counseling at any time, we believe it is in your best interest for you and your counselor to decide together how your treatment will end and plan the timing to avoid an abrupt ending. An effective approach is to schedule sessions further apart to evaluate how well you maintain the gains achieved. Some clients like to schedule a three-month “check-up” session at termination. If counseling is successful, you will be better able to face life’s challenges.
Scheduling Policies
APPOINTMENTS
Therapy sessions last 50 minutes to one hour in length and are scheduled at a mutually agreed upon time and at intervals that best suit the needs of the work being done. Predicting the length of counseling is difficult until background information has been gained and explored. You will be asked how often you feel you need to meet with your therapist, and this will be considered when developing your treatment plan. We respectfully ask you to be prompt and to keep your scheduled appointments. We require at least 24 hours notice of cancellation.
CANCELLATIONS/NO SHOWS
We want you to be successful in reaching your therapeutic goals, and keeping appointments is an essential part of that success. Repeatedly missing appointments without sufficient notice interferes with your progress and takes therapy time away from others who would attend. Clients who do not give at least a 24-hour notice before cancelling an appointment or who “no-show” for scheduled appointments are subject to a fee of $30.00 per missed appointment. Insurance does not cover missed appointments and late cancellations. Therefore this fee will be billed directly to you and will be due prior to the next scheduled appointment. In the event you are/were unable to make an appointment because of a true emergency, please speak with your provider.
Please understand that this late cancellation/no-show fee is made because when you make an appointment, you are reserving a particular block of time with your provider. This time is reserved for you and no one else. When you fail to appear for a scheduled appointment, or you do not give us sufficient notice to schedule someone else in your place, valuable treatment time goes to waste.
Appointment reminders are done via phone calls 24-hours prior to your scheduled appointment; however, these are simply a courtesy and not a requirement. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to remember the date and time of your appointment, even if you do not receive a reminder.
Financial Policies
THIRD PARTY PAYMENT
If your insurance plan requires pre-certification for mental health services, you must obtain an initial referral from your insurance company, prior to the first appointment, to avoid additional fees. Our administrative office will assist in verifying insurance coverage and submitting claims on your behalf. We cannot guarantee that the information given by your insurance provider is accurate. You are responsible for paying any claims that are rejected due to your failure to provide correct information to us in a timely manner. People to People cannot take any financial responsibility or assume any loss due to your unfamiliarity with your insurance coverage and/or policy.
PAYMENT POLICY & FEE SCHEDULE
You will be expected to pay for each session at the time you check in for your appointment. We accept most private health insurance plans, Medicare and Medicaid plans, as well as cash, personal checks, and credit card. A $2.50 service fee will be applied each time your credit card is charged. It is our policy, at the start of each insurance plan’s fiscal year, to collect the full amount billable for your visit at the time of your visit until your deductible has been met.
However, no one will be denied access to services due to their inability to pay. For those with no mental health insurance coverage, a discounted/sliding fee schedule is available based on family size and income. Clients must complete paperwork and submit supporting documentation in order to qualify for the fee schedule program. Review of submitted paperwork will not be completed until the necessary support documentation is received. Discounted/sliding fee approval and rates will be determined by the clinical director.
People to People is very willing to work with clients to meet their financial obligations related to their counseling services. However, without a plan in place, outstanding payments that exceed ninety (90) days past due will be sent to collections. Pertinent information will be provided to the collection agency to recover payments due. You may pay by cash, check, or credit card. Checks are to be made out to People to People. You will be held responsible for any and all fees not paid for by your insurance and indicated as patient responsibility.
NO SURPRISES ACT
The No Surprises Act (NSA) prohibits surprise billing for many out-of-network healthcare services, including most emergency situations. However, there will still be situations where clients will not be protected.
When Are Clients Protected
Protections for clients include these types of services:
1. Out-of-network emergency care at an emergency facility
2. Out-of-network care at an in-network facility
What the No Surprises Act Means for Clients
The No Surprises Act provides protections for clients who receive health care benefits from their employers or who are enrolled in individual health plans. For services that fall into these protected categories, providers will not be allowed to bill you for amounts higher than what you would pay from an in-network provider. Any out-of-network care costs in these types of situations will be applied to your in-network deductible and your out-of-pocket max.
What the No Surprises Act Does Not Cover
In general, if a client chooses to receive care out-of-network, The No Surprises Act will not apply.
So, if you choose to see a counselor who is not in-network, The No Surprises Act and its protections will not apply, and you may face much higher costs than your health plan’s in-network rate.