The Intake Form is used for office and Telehealth services. You print it, write your answers and bring it to your first appointment. For Telehealth, scan it and you will use the secure portal to send it to me. Intake is important, because you’ll let me know how to message you, your trusted contact person, and personal information to help me know things that matter for therapy.

Informed Consent is required by California. The reasons are legal and ethical. It makes sure that you understand basic things about talk-therapy, the costs, your rights and our shared responsibilities. It is a long form, so it is alright to complete it together during the first session. That way, any questions can be answered as we go. My form provides contact information for emergency services (which I do not provide) in the county where my office is located. For Telehealth, one of the first things to do is to make sure that we both know this information for the county where you live.

Telehealth Consent tells you the service we will use. That way you can learn more about it as you wish. The fee is adjusted for Telehealth, whether you pay me or the service provider. California regulates Telehealth to make sure your privacy is protected and your information is secure. Be sure to ask me about anything that you want to understand better.

The Progress Note is also used as Treatment Plan and Conclusion Summary. We need to be aware of the same group of issues in every session, even though we don't talk about each one every time. The treatment plan tells the direction where we are going. At the conclusion of our work together, we'll write a summary of where we started and where we arrived.

Patient Health Questionnaires are screening tools. Despite the high prevalence of mental health and substance use problems, too many Americans go without treatment — in part because their disorders go undiagnosed. A screening is a first step to getting a complete assessment at a primary care and other healthcare setting. This form lists screening tools of common interest for adults. We can talk about and use any of these at any time. Your physician or psychiatrist has additional ones that they may use.

Personal Health Information (PHI) is anything communicated in a psychotherapy session; and it is confidential. Your PHI cannot be shared or disclosed without your written permission unless it is mandated or permitted by law and regulation. Consent is not required an insurance claim. I use the Consent form when you want to document therapy for a claim that you file, when someone joins therapy who did not sign the Informed Consent at the start or if you want to bring a guest to session. A guest rarely attends a session, because I cannot guarantee that a guest will maintain strict confidentiality.

An Authorization to Release or Exchange Information is required for disclosures of Personal Health Information (PHI) that are not otherwise allowed by regulation and law. PHI is disclosed when it goes outside of therapy. For example, you might want another provider to get information about our work together. You can revoke an authorization at any time.

Coaching is an Alliance (not a legal business partnership) between Coach and Client. Coaching is a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires the Client to maximize personal and professional potential. It is designed to facilitate the development of personal and/or professional abilities using an adult learning cycle of Planning, Doing and Assessing (PDA). Coach uses advanced educational methods developed from decades of professional experience and a doctorate in education.