About Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a way to help people experiencing significant emotional distress that is coming in the way of them being physically well, enjoying personal relationships or working productively. Psychotherapy begins with the therapist understanding the background of the person seeking help and the concerns that led them to seek help. Following this, the client and psychotherapist agree on the treatment goals, procedures, and a regular schedule for the time, place and duration of their treatment sessions.

About Psychotherapy Services Risks and benefits

Psychotherapy can have benefits and risks involved. Generally, it is a safe treatment and does not involve the use of any equipment or devices that may cause any physical or mental harm. However, during therapy, you may remember some unpleasant memories, feel unfamiliar sensations, or experience overwhelming emotions like sadness, anxiety, frustration, anger and loneliness. On the other hand, psychotherapy has also been shown to have benefits for people who go through it. Therapy often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, and significant reductions in feelings of distress.

The scientific knowledge about how therapy works is still evolving and over the years we have come to know a lot about the benefits and risks involved. Despite that, there is always a possibility that you will experience new things during the therapy that in no way we can anticipate beforehand. Additionally, it is important to understand that the outcome of therapy depends on various factors, such as the right fit between you and your therapist, the severity of adverse life experiences, and your motivation to work towards treatment goals set during the therapy. However, your therapist will have an ethical responsibility to help you handle the risks safely and experience some benefits from the treatment.

Responsibilities of the client

Your commitment to therapy is crucial for success in therapy. The client must make every effort to prioritize therapy to achieve maximum effects/benefits of psychotherapeutic treatments. It is important that you actively participate, express yourself freely and be honest with your therapist. Your most important responsibility is to work toward the goals you and your therapist have agreed upon.

To accomplish these goals, most often the tasks or homework assigned by your therapist in the sessions are an integral part of the treatment through which desired changes in your condition(s) can be achieved. You must take personal responsibility to complete these assigned tasks or homework, as prescribed. It is also your responsibility to tell your therapist when you are uncomfortable with any parts of the treatment. If you have any questions, please ask and the therapist will do their best to answer your questions in full.

Confidentiality

The psychotherapy sessions are strictly confidential. The in-person psychotherapy sessions will take place at the psychotherapist's outpatient clinic and online sessions will be done via tele-communication technologies. Your psychotherapist will not share the proceedings of this consultation with any other individual or agency. However, only with your consent, the sessions could be written in the form of handwritten notes or audio notes. The audio will be immediately discarded after session notes are created from it. The notes can also be used to have their work supervised or for training of professionals or sharing with the client. Apart from this, the details of the consultation would be shared with other health care providers to make referrals and with a court of law, if mandated.

You can be assured that the proceedings of these consultations are not to be shared or disseminated by us or to any third person or through social media unless the client gives prior written consent to do so.

Limits to confidentiality

While all measures are taken to preserve the confidentiality of the client, however, there are few exceptions to the rule of confidentiality of the client. The therapist would be legally and ethically bound to break the confidentiality clause under the circumstances of risk of serious harm to the client or others, such as:

1. Active suicidal intent or attempts.

2. Abuse in any form to a child or an adult.

3. Homicidal risk.

4. Risk of transmission of HIV/AIDS.

5. Any other instance where the therapist, based on their clinical discretion, believes it is their duty to disclose.

On encountering such sensitive information(s), your therapist is obligated to warn the person in danger and to contact any person in a position to prevent harm to you or another person, including law enforcement and medical personnel.

These conditions are applicable as long as you are in psychotherapy treatment with your therapist.

By signing the consent form, you acknowledge that you have the right to refuse or revoke your consent at any point of time in the therapy process.

Telephone Accessibility

If you need to contact a therapist between sessions, please leave a message using mytherapist portal. The therapist is often not immediately available; however, they attempt to reach back within 24 hours. Please note that Face-to-face sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 112 or reach out to local emergency services.

Electronic Communication

We cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, the practice manager will do so. We request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.

Tele-psychotherapy

Tele-psychotherapy refers to the provision of psychotherapy services using tele-communication technologies including email, text messaging, video conferencing, online chat, messaging, or internet phone.

Tele-psychotherapy would typically involve all aspects of psychotherapy, except that it would be offered using telecommunication technologies.

If you and your therapist chose to use information technology for some or all of your treatment, you need to understand that:

(1) You retain the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled.

(2) All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable.

(3) Your access to all information transmitted during a teletherapy consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available.

(4) There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of teletherapy.

Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, improved quality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to therapy, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs.

Effective therapy is often facilitated when the therapist gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client.

Therapists may make clinical assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third person consultations, but also from direct visual and olfactory observations, information, and experiences.

When using information technology in therapy services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the therapist's inability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues such as:

- Your physical condition including deformities, apparent height and weight, body type, attractiveness relative to social and cultural norms or standards, gait and motor coordination, posture, work speed, any noteworthy mannerism or gestures.

- Physical or medical conditions including bruises or injuries, basic grooming and hygiene including appropriateness of dress, eye contact (including any changes in the previously listed issues), sex, chronological and apparent age, ethnicity, facial and body language, and congruence of language and facial or bodily expression.

Potential consequences thus include the therapist not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally to the therapist.

Rights to privacy and record keeping

Notes of the psychotherapy consultation will be maintained by your therapist and stored in a safe location. Under the Mental Health Care Act of 2017, you have the right to access a copy of your psychotherapy notes at any time. The session notes can be made available to you, or shared with any other health care provider in the standard session record format, at only your written request.

Social Media

Accepting requests from clients on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or others for personal and professional purposes amounts to breach of privacy and confidentiality rules on the therapist's part. Your therapist cannot connect with you on social media since he/she is ethically obligated to protect your privacy.

For Minors

If you are a minor, you need to understand the following about the things psychotherapy entails:

(1) When a person is feeling upset, or having some difficulties and wants to find ways that can help them feel better, think differently and do well, one way to help themselves is called ‘Psychotherapy’. You will have a separate ‘mind-doctor’ or ‘feelings-doctor’ called a ‘psychotherapist’.

(2) Your psychotherapist will first try to understand your difficulties as well as possible. Then, in discussion with you and your parents, make an agreement about what difficulties to work on. The agreement will also decide on when, for how long and how often you will need to fix a time to discuss. Your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. We will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.

(3) For different reasons, you and your psychotherapist could talk to each other at the clinic or using a phone/a computer. Your parent/guardian will be asked for their permission for this. When and how long you would talk would be discussed in advance with you and your parents, each time. In some sessions, the therapist may talk to your parent/s or both you and your parent/s together in order to help you.

(4) Nobody - neither you, your parents or your doctor/psychotherapist - will take photographs or record anything while you and your psychotherapist are talking. No information about these talks will be shared with anyone else. Sometimes, your psychotherapist may share information about your discussions with their supervisor/teacher.

(5) Sometimes, if you are too upset, talking either in-person at a clinic or over phone/computer would not be possible or helpful enough. In such situations, you may need to go to a hospital for urgent help and your parents will be guided about the closest suitable places where they can take you to.

Termination

Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. Therapists may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if they determine that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. The therapists will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, the therapist will provide you with a list of qualified providers to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source.

Consent to engage in psychotherapy

You have read the consent statements carefully, clarified the information whenever needed and understood it. You consent to engage in psychotherapy after careful consideration and understanding of the risks and benefits involved. You understand your rights to privacy and the limits to confidentiality.

You understand your responsibilities as a client during the therapy and your therapist's responsibility towards you. You know that you are free to refuse requests by your therapist or terminate therapy at any time and do not require your therapist's permission to do so. Therefore, you agree to undertake psychotherapy with a therapist at Metamind Healthcare.