Consent for Treatment and Limits of Liability
Limits of Services and Assumption of Risks:
Therapy sessions carry both benefits and risks. Therapy sessions can significantly reduce the amount of distress someone is feeling, improve relationships, and/or resolve other specific issues. However, these improvements and any “cures” cannot be guaranteed for any condition due to the many variables that affect these therapy sessions. Experiencing uncomfortable feelings, discussing unpleasant situations and/or aspects of your life may be risks of therapy sessions. Your clinician will respect your privacy and will discuss subjects based on your comfort level.
Limits of Confidentiality:
What you discuss during your therapy session is kept confidential. No contents of the therapy sessions, whether verbal or written may be shared with another party without your verbal/written consent or the verbal/written consent of your legal guardian.
The following is a list of exceptions:
- Duty to Warn and Protect
If you disclose a plan or threat to harm yourself, the therapist must attempt to notify your family and notify legal authorities. In addition, if you disclose a plan to threat or harm another person, the therapist is required to warn the possible victim and notify legal authorities.
- Abuse of Children and Vulnerable Adults
If you disclose, or it is suspected, that there is abuse or harmful neglect of children or vulnerable adults (i.e. the elderly, disabled/incompetent), the therapist must report this information to the appropriate state agency and/or legal authorities.
- Prenatal Exposure to Controlled Substances
Therapists must report any admitted prenatal exposure to controlled substances that could be harmful to the mother or the child.
- Insurance Providers
Insurance companies and other third-party payers are given information that they request regarding services to the clients.
Authorization for Electronic Communication (Email, Text.)
I request that Martino Psychotherapy & Associates, communicate with me regarding my treatment through electronic communications (e-mail or text message). I understand that this means my therapist will send my protected health information to me through electronic communication. This information includes: appointments, diagnosis, medications, progress and other individually identifiable information about my treatment to me via electronic communications. I understand there are risks inherent in the electronic transmission of information by e-mail, on the internet, via text message, or otherwise, and that such communications may be lost, delayed, intercepted, corrupted or otherwise altered, rendered incomplete or fail to be delivered. I further understand that any protected health information transmitted via electronic communications pursuant to this authorization will not be encrypted. As the electronic transmission of information cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free and its confidentiality may be vulnerable to access by third parties, The Office of Martino Psychotherapy shall not have any responsibility or liability with respect to any error, omission, claim or loss arising from or in connection with the electronic communication of information by her to me. After being provided notice of the risks inherent in use of electronic communications, I authorize Martino Psychotherapy to communicate electronically with me, which will include the transmission of my protected health information electronically. I authorize the transmission of my protected health information electronically as described above.