INFORMED CONSENT FOR PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC SERVICES

​

Welcome to Psych Central. This document contains important information about our professional services and business policies. Please read it carefully and note any questions you might have so that it can be discussed with your therapist. When you sign this document, it will represent an agreement between you, your therapist and Christel Roets Psychologist and Partners Inc. T/A Psych Central.

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES

​

Psychotherapy is not easily described in general statements. It varies depending on the personalities of the psychologist and client, and the particular problems you bring forward. There are many different methods that can be used to deal with the problems that you hope to address. Psychotherapy calls for a very active effort and commitment on your part. Since therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. On the other hand, psychotherapy has also been shown to have benefits as it often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, and significant reductions in feelings of distress. But there are no guarantees of what you will experience. There is no fixed recipe or structure to be followed in therapy and thus it is a very individualized process that will change as your needs does.

Your first few sessions will involve an evaluation of your needs. By the end of the evaluation, your treating psychologist will discuss therapy goals and a treatment plan to follow, should you decide to continue with therapy. You should evaluate this information along with your own opinions of whether you feel comfortable working with the specific psychologist. If you have questions about their procedures, you should discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, we will be happy to help you set up a meeting with another mental health care professional for a second opinion.

Online therapy – Online therapy is conducted by means of a portal and specific apparatus which enables a secure online connection between you and the treating psychologist. Software generally used is ‘Zoom’. An online session will be conducted in the same fashion as a regular face-to-face session with the exception that it is ‘virtual’ and that you and the psychologist will not be in the same vicinity. Online therapy will be treated with the same amount of confidentiality and the therapist will only be able to conduct the session at the Psych Central Office premise, and in a closed off room.

Requirements – You would need to acquire the following for your own account, in order to successfully use our online therapy service:

​

1. The ‘Zoom’ application (FREE downloadable)

2. A ‘Zoom’ account (FREE account)

3. A stable internet connection.

4. Data-, or any other costs incurred by you is for your own account.

   • Should your data run out during the session or your connection become to unstable to continue, you will not have the right to request a refund or request additional time.

5. A private- and comfortable space of your choice.

6. Ensure that your area have ample light and are free from excessive noise.

 

MEETINGS

​

Psychotherapy usually starts with a thorough intake and evaluation process which will last approximately 2-3 sessions. During this period, both the therapist and you can both decide if the other is the best person to provide the services needed in order to meet the treatment goals. If psychotherapy is begun, regular sessions of 50 minutes will be scheduled. In your treatment plan it will discuss how regular you need to be seen and what you would be able to commit to. Once an appointment hour is scheduled, you will be expected to pay for it unless you provide 24 hours advance notice of cancellation. Failure to cancel a scheduled session will result in a 100% fee for that scheduled session (R850.00) which will be payable before the next session is scheduled.

 

PROFESSIONAL FEES

​

Individual therapy sessions are charged at R850.00 (50 minute session) for cash payments. This can also be claimed from your medical aid directly, however that is done at the specific medical aid rate which is usually slightly more than our cash rate. In addition to weekly appointments, Psych Central charge R850.00 per hour for other professional services you may need, though the hourly cost will be broken down for periods of less than one hour. Other services include report writing, telephone conversations lasting longer than 15 minutes, attendance at meetings with other professionals you have authorized, preparation of records or treatment summaries, and the time spent performing any other service you may request of your treating clinician. If you become involved in legal proceedings that require your treating psychologists’ participation, you will be expected to pay for their professional time if they are subpoenaed to testify.

 

BILLING AND PAYMENTS

​

For first sessions only, you will be expected to pay for the session when the booking is made, either by online portal when booking online, or via EFT when booking telephonically. If permitted by your specific medical aid, you can claim back these payments from your medical aid provider by forwarding the electronic receipt emailed to you, from Psych Central, to your medical . The rate that you can claim back, if any, will depend on your medical aid provider which operates separate from Psych Central, and Psych Central will not be held liable for any non-payments. When you elect to pay via EFT, the payment will only be recognised, and the booking finalised once the proof of payment has been emailed to admin@psychcentral.co.za. Use your name and surname as the reference when making the booking.

For follow-up sessions, you may elect that Psych Central claim directly from your medical aid, which will be charged at the specific medical aid rate, and NOT the standard cash rate of R850. Should your medical aid NOT pay for the session due to whatever reason, you will automatically become liable to pay for the session at the standard rate of R850 via EFT. An invoice will be emailed to you with the banking details and payment instructions.

Cancellations – Cancellations for online therapy will be subject to the same regulations as stated in this document, with the exception that you will be held liable for any transaction fees that accompany an online payment either through our online portal or via EFT, regardless of the time that the session has been cancelled, as Psych Central will incur such costs which is not refundable. If the session has been cancelled within the permitted time frame, the R850 paid, less any incurring transaction fees will be refunded to the account used when making the booking.

NOTE: No refunds will be made to a different bank account as used when the booking was made. Any funds owing by Psych Central will be refunded to the account used when the booking was made in order to prevent any financial fraud.

 

MEDICAL AID CLAIMS

​

In order for us to set realistic treatment goals and priorities, it is important to evaluate what resources you have available to pay for your treatment. If you have medical aid, it will usually provide some coverage for mental health treatment. Psych Central will fill out forms and provide you with whatever assistance we can in helping you receive the benefits to which you are entitled; however, you (not your medical aid) are responsible for full payment of my fees. It is very important that you find out exactly what mental health benefits your policy covers.

Claims to your medical aid for psychotherapy can be done by Psych Central however, you should be aware that the medical aid requires you to allow us to provide them with a clinical diagnosis. Sometimes your treating psychologist must provide additional clinical information such as treatment plans or summaries, or copies of the entire record (in rare cases). This information will become part of the medical aid’s files and will probably be stored in a computer. We will provide you with a copy of any report that is submitted, if you request it.

Once we have all of the information about your medical aid, you and your treating psychologist will discuss what you can expect to accomplish with the benefits that are available and what will happen if they run out before you feel ready to end your sessions. It is important to remember that you always have the right to pay for services yourself (which is at the standard rate of R850, and claim it back from your medical aid at a later stage/ not.

Note: You need to also be aware that if you are on a medical aid you have the option to apply for your Prescribed Minimum Benefit (PMB), should your diagnosis be one that is covered as a chronic benefit. What this entails is that each year you have the benefit of being admitted to a psychiatric clinic for a maximum of 21 days. Should you wish to, you can apply to have these sessions converted to 15 out-of-hospital sessions to consult with your treating psychologist. This means you then forfeit your benefit of being admitted to a psychiatric clinic. This benefit is renewed on a yearly basis. It is then treated as a chronic condition and needs to be disclosed should you join a new medical aid or have life cover policies.

 

COMMUNICATION

​

All communication with your treating psychologist will happen via the Psych Central administration team. Your treating psychologist will then be informed and get in touch with you if it is regarding an emergency or personal issue. All appointments needs to be communicated via admin@psychcentral.co.za or 066 259 1627, Monday to Saturday 07:00 – 17:00. If you are unable to reach us and feel that you can’t wait for your treating psychologist to return your call, contact your family physician or the nearest emergency room and ask for the mental health care professional [psychiatrist] on call. If your treating psychologist will be unavailable for an extended time, you will be informed and provided with the necessary information of an alternative professional.

 

PROFESSIONAL RECORDS

​

The laws and standards of the psychology profession require that all treating clinicians keep treatment records. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records, or your treating psychologist can prepare a summary for you instead. Because these are professional records, they can be misinterpreted and/or upsetting to untrained readers. If you wish to see your records, we recommend that you review them in the presence of your treating psychologist so that you can discuss the contents. Clients will be charged an appropriate fee for any professional time spent in responding to information requests. Your records need to be stored at Psych Central and authorized staff will have access to your file for identifying particulars in order to submit medical aid claims or compile invoices. In the event that your clinician no longer works at Psych Central your file will remain there as Psych Central will ultimately be held responsible as the service provider.

 

CONFIDENTIALITY

​

In general, the privacy of all communications between a client and a psychologist is protected by law, and information about your work may only be released to others with your written permission.  But there are a few exceptions:

• To protect yourself from potential harm: If the client threatens or is assessed to be at a risk to harm himself/herself, the treating psychologist may be obligated to seek hospitalization for him/her or to contact family members or others who can help provide protection.

• To protect others from potential harm: If it is believed that a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another, protective actions are legally required. These actions may include notifying the potential victim, contacting the police, or seeking hospitalization for the client.

• Legal Proceedings: Should you be involved in any legal proceedings the treating psychologist or Psych Central may be subpoenaed to court to provide evidence or their expert opinion should the court find it relevant to the case you are involved in.

• Child/ elderly/ disabled person’s abuse: Should it come to the treating psychologist’s attention that a child, disabled- or elderly person whom you are involved with is being abused physically, emotionally, verbally or sexually the are obliged to report it to the authorities.

The treating psychologists of Psych Central Inc. are all advised to engage in regular and continuous clinical supervision with another psychologist. This is to ensure that they are helping you in the best possible way. During a consultation, they will make every effort to avoid revealing the identity of their client. The consultant is also legally bound to keep the information confidential. If you don’t object, they will not tell you about these consultations unless they feel that it is important to your work together.