1. Sessions are confidential, and our clinicians do not give you consent to record any part of the session to include, but not limited to, audio or video recording, recording of any kind of our clinicians and yourself in session. We do not give consent to be audio or video recorded. If we are made aware that a recording was made, obtained, distributed through any means, you and/or the recording party will be immediately terminated, and legal action will be pursued. We are a teaching practice. There are times when clinicians may initiate a recording due to pre-licensure (intern) and provisional licensure guidelines. Clinicians will contact patients for consent to record prior to recording and obtain consent in writing. All recordings are used for training and supervision purposes only and will be immediately deleted after review unless you have given consent for your session to remain in use for future training purposes. At no time will your image or identifying information be made available with these recordings.
2. We are a 98% private pay, cash pay, or out-of-pocket pay entity. This is also known as being an out-of-network provider. We encourage all patients to submit their monthly superbill (statement for insurance reimbursement) to their insurance companies for any potential reimbursements of benefits. Superbills are provided upon request. Many patients receive anywhere from a 60%-80% reimbursement. (i.e., $150 session at a 70% reimbursement means a $105 return from your insurance company and you have only paid $45 in the end). There are currently 2 clinicians on staff that accept insurance, but this is not available to everyone. Those currently using insurance have been "grandfathered" in as patients who have continuously received services since 2019/2020 or pre-pandemic. For those unable to use insurance due to practice policies or not have “grandfathered status”, will be required to sign an “opt-out” form denoting that you are voluntarily declining the use of your insurance and are agreeing to receive private-pay services aka agreeing to receive services via an out-of-network provider.
3. All sessions are currently conducted via telehealth. In-person via Walk-N-Talk (teens and adults) or Unpack & Play (children and teens) are offered by the clinician on a case-by-case basis and are not offered unless the patient and clinician have met for at least 4 sessions. These additional forms of therapy are only available mid-April through the end of October each year.
4. All sessions are 45-50 minutes in length (i.e., 35-40 minutes of therapeutic work and 5-10 minutes of wrapping up to include closure, future scheduling, explanation of homework assignments, etc.). Note: based on the delicate and at times spontaneous nature of our work, clinicians may arrive to sessions up to 5 minutes after your scheduled time (this is common in both telehealth and office settings). Our commitment is to do our best to be present for the session within 3-5 minutes of its start time. Please note that our system is still tracking patient arrival for no show and late cancellation purposes despite any potential clinician delay. 60-minute sessions are available based on clinician availability, but carry a nominal fee increase for the added time of session. Select clinicians accept insurance on a case-by-case basis and patients using insurance may ask for a 60-min session based on clinician availability as well.
5. We charge fees for ALL services outside of a FREE 15-minute consultation prior to being scheduled for services. Charges for services include telehealth, phone, and in-person sessions, life coaching meetings, all paperwork/letters, late cancellations, and no shows. Most fees can be located on the FEES page. You are encouraged to call the office to discuss rates for services.
6. Anyone not paying full rate for services will see yearly increases in session rate fee until they are paying full rate for the services for which they normally receive. Yearly increases occur in January of each new year. Ask about our fee schedule.
7. Those who pay out-of-pocket are permitted to pay for sessions in advance. Those using insurance may not pay co-pays in advance. Please note for those who are receiving a reduced rate (sliding scale), your rate will go up in scheduled bi-annual (limited patients) or annual (most patients) increments over a period of 2-3 years until you are paying the full value rate of the session for which you are routinely scheduled.
8. Late cancellations occur when a patient does not cancel their session within 24 hours of their scheduled session and incurs a $75 late cancellation fee. Late cancellation is for any cancellation within 24 hours, up to the time your session starts. If your session is at 3pm and you cancel at 3pm (for any reason other than a practice-defined emergency) then you will be charged the late fee. For clarity: a late cancellation occurs when you have not cancelled your session within 24 hours up to the start time of your session.
9. If you no show, you will be charged the equivalent of your agreed upon session fee (i.e., you normally pay $150 for a session, then your no-show fee is also $150). A no show means you have not shown within 15 minutes of the start of your session (ex. Session at 3pm and you have not shown between 3:01 pm and 3:16 pm). Those using insurance, will ALWAYS be assessed the full value of session if you no show due not only to practice policies, but policies required by health insurance plans. Thus, for individual sessions, the no show fee would be $150, for couples/families of 2 the fee for a no show is $175, and for families of 3-4 the no show fee is $200. This is non-negotiable. For clarity: a no show occurs when you have not cancelled/shown for your session after the session has already begun (you have not shown or cancelled by first minute after your session started).
10. By receiving services you acknowledge consent to charge and authorize River In Eden Counseling, LLC to charge any outstanding fees to the credit card on file and acknowledge that the practice may charge your credit card in increments of their choosing until it collects the full amount of your outstanding balance; on a schedule of the practice's choosing, absent of you requesting in writing, a payment arrangement with a set schedule of withdrawals.
11. If at any time your payment is not received for services being rendered due to insufficient funds, the card being “locked”, or for any other reason, you run the risk of a) having your session terminated immediately by the clinician due to practice policies or b) upon having payment fail for any reason at least twice in a 365 day period, of being required to pay for each session a minimum of 24 hours in advance for a period of no less than 6 months, after that time, you may return to paying at the start of each session when funds are expected to be available.
12. Our clinicians will not offer to testify/speak on your behalf/be a character witness or expert in any personal court proceedings of the patients we serve. If a request is made and it be our legal obligation and/or within the best interest of the patient due to belief of immediate harm and/or threat to life, on a case-by-case basis, the practice will either provide a legal representative to act on behalf of the clinician, the practice owner/Executive Director may represent in their stead, or the clinician will make themselves available after our $2500 retainer fee is paid in full. Prior to court, a minimum of $1,050 of retainer fee (this is a non-refundable portion) will go towards 2 hours of case review and preparation by the clinician and Executive Director and 1 hour of legal counsel for the clinician and Executive Director. Court fees are billed at $300 per 45 minutes in court, $350 per 60 minutes in court, prorated for additional minutes (1-44 minutes), and travel/maintenance/meal fees of $150 to $300 depending upon distance. Exact fees/quotes can be requested in writing by contacting Patient Services via email: Info@RiverInEden.com and providing your court order as an attachment. Preparation/legal fees are non-refundable regardless of circumstances ($1050 value). Any portion of the retainer not used (case dismissed and clinician did not travel (refund of $150-300 depending on quoted distance rate. Or court lasted 1 hour exactly and there is still a retainer credit (refund of all fees outside of prep/legal fees, travel/maintenance/meal fees, and the 1 hour in court) will be returned to the patient as a refund to their card within 7-10 business days after the court proceedings (time frame does not include cases that finalized on a Friday. Please add 3 additional days to refund timeframe if this occurs). Retainer Exhausted: If your initial retainer fee $2500 is exhausted prior to your case ending, please expect to replenish your retainer in $1000 increments until the case has ended. Invoice receipts will be provided. Fees for counsel acquired by the practice to represent practice in court on behalf of a patient outside of the initial 1-hr built in fee (obtaining legal counsel for practice outside of initial consult is not always common and any need to do so will be communicated with patient at least 2 weeks prior to court appearance): Fees will be billed directly to the patient from our legal counsel. Unpaid fees will result in clinician foregoing presence in court unless otherwise subpoenaed.
13. ACCESSING PATIENT PORTAL: You may access documents including paperwork and billing statements at any time by logging into your patient portal HERE.
14. IMPORTANT: Outside of a refund for a mistaken charge, fees are NOT reversed and are final. There are times when fees are either not charged OR charges are reversed outside of a mistake such as the clinician has decided to offer you a pro bono (free) session or has otherwise absorbed the cost of your fees as a courtesy to remove a hardship from you OR you had an emergency that precluded you from attending your session. At our practice, EMERGENCIES ARE DEFINED AS, the patient or an immediate member of the patient's household had to go to the hospital or is under the care of emergency services at the time of the missed session. Doctor appointments do not constitute an emergency; only emergency rooms and urgent care centers will be considered. Having to stay over at work is not an emergency and will result in a fee, however, those who work in law enforcement, or the emergency, trauma, or surgical units of hospitals or ambulatory centers will have no fees assessed IF their work responsibilities for that day precluded them from attending. A letter from your immediate supervisor may be required within 3 days of missing a scheduled session before a fee is discharged. Being under the weather (sick/cold/etc.) is not an acceptable emergency and sessions should be cancelled in advance or will incur a late cancellation fee.
15. There are times when a previously scheduled session has not been removed from the clinician’s calendar. This may: a) send out automated reminders by error or b) create an UNPAID invoice at midnight that is automatically emailed to the patient in an attempt for the automated system to collect payment. If you know that you did not meet with the clinician and you receive an emailed invoice for an amount you know not to owe, UNLESS your invoice has a green “PAID” stamp at the top of the invoice in question, then we have not charged you and this can be furthered confirmed by looking at the bottom of the invoice in the section for “balance”, You have not been charged if there is still an amount (other than zero (0) such as $150 in the balance due section. If you know that you did not have a session and your invoice is marked as both PAID and has a ZERO balance, please contact our office immediately for a refund to the card on file (can take up to 7-10 business days for the bank to return your fees) or ask us to place the amount on your account as a credit.
16. All patients whether private pay or insurance MUST have their full address, birth date, and an active credit card on file in our company database(s) to maintain services.
17. ALL patients should be fully clothed for session. Whether you identify as a man, woman, or other affirming identification, please have your shirts and underwear on. Undergarments must be covered by shirt, pants, dress, skirt, or other traditionally acceptable attire. Please ensure your environment is free of distraction and those not scheduled to be in session with you; fur babies and infants/toddlers are okay as long as they do not become a major distraction for patient or clinician.
18. During session, there is to be absolutely NO (ZERO) alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, or other controlled substance drug use outside of what has been prescribed to you, in your name, by an actively licensed professional. These substances can dull the mind, cause delayed responses and reactions, or otherwise hinder the patient from processing and participating in a healthy and coherent manner during the session. If your clinician suspects you to be under the influence they may directly inquire and if confirmed, the clinician will advise you that the session must be terminated, you will still incur the fee for the session, and a new session will be rescheduled should the clinician have availability, otherwise your clinician will meet with you again during your next scheduled session. HOWEVER: we are human. Eating a light meal or snack during session is encouraged if needed. Bathroom breaks are also allowed, please let your clinician know that you need to take a quick break. Please turn your camera and volume off during your break until you return. Please do not take us to the bathroom with you. We do not consent! Cigarette usage is acceptable unless agreements and instruction from your clinician focuses on supporting your goals in the area of reduction or elimination of nicotine or other substances such as but not limited to black and milds, certain types of food, and etc.
19. If you are not at the address listed in your patient portal when you log in for session, please be prepared to immediately share your location/address with your clinician when they arrive for session. This is a required expectation of the state and counseling boards as a matter of safety. Your clinician should be able to readily dispatch emergency services to your location should an emergency occur during the course of your session.
20. All approved requests for documentation will be returned within 7 business days, noting that the practice's office is closed Friday-Sunday. A rush request may be sought for the quoted costs of the requested document(s) plus an additional $75 for documents of 3 pages or less and $150.00 for documents of 4 or more pages. If a rush fee is paid, documents will be provided within 24-hours, regardless of practice hours.
21. When contacting your clinician outside of your usual session time, please note that clinicians have a minimum of 24-hours to provide a response (should the initial correspondence be received during office hours (different from business hours) (Mon.-Thurs. 9:30am-5pm). Responses to contact made outside of normal business hours are returned within 48-hours of the first day the practice reopens.
22. FLOATER POLICY: If you cancel, late cancel, or no show two (2) times within three (3) months, you are subject to being floated. This means that you retain your therapist BUT you lose your recurring day/time for session, and you will have to reach out to the therapist to be scheduled when you are ready (based on clinician's availability). Once deemed a "floating patient", you must reach out to your clinician to schedule sessions AND show for those sessions a minimum of three times before the clinician will consider once again offering you a recurring day/time for all future sessions. If you return and are floated again, the clinician has the right to terminate you permanently as a patient and at that time, you will be barred from securing future services at the practice with any of our clinicians.
23. Please ensure that you RESIDE IN THE STATE OF NJ to receive services. Please note that your address on file should reflect residence in the state of NJ. You may not take your session from a state other than NJ. If you do not reside in NJ, you are welcome to travel into the state, provide a NJ-based address, and have your session. You must remain in NJ for the entirety of your session once started.
24. OPEN PATH PATIENTS: a) You must maintain your membership with OPC to receive our reduced rate services. Individual sessions are $70 and couples/families of 2 sessions are $90. b) Initial sessions for individuals are $85 and for couples/families of 2 the initial session fee is $105. c) Initial sessions are 1 hour in length and all follow-up sessions are approximately 50 minutes in length. If you would like an hour or longer session, you are required by OPC and this practice to pay out-of-pocket again at $21 per each additional 15 minutes (up to 30 minutes for individual sessions only) or another $27 per each additional 15 minutes (up to 30 minutes for couples/families of 2). Those seeing an intern will pay $30 for both the initial session and all recurring sessions.
25. OPEN PATH PATIENTS CONTINUED: d) No one may be seen that does not have an active paid membership with OPC (i.e., you are being seen for individual and want to have a couple's session. This cannot occur unless your partner also has a paid membership with OPC and has selected the same clinician as their clinician and it has been confirmed and accepted by the clinician. e) While you receive reduced rates when you show for session; OPC allows this practice to make you liable for the terms of all other fees we assess such as fees for late cancellation ($75) and for no shows ($150 for individuals and $175 for couples/families of 2, or $200 for a family of 3-4) Nevertheless, we do not wish to cause an undue financial burden and will instead offer a flat rate of $70 (individual counseling) for sessions, late cancellations, and no shows. This is non-negotiable. f) a $1.50 credit card processing fee is added to each transaction. Those seeing an intern will pay $30 for a no show fee and $20 for a late cancellation fee.
26. IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL TERMS FOR OPC: to maintain the ability to continuously serve the community via reduced rate services, ALL OPC patients will have NO LIMIT to the number of sessions they receive weekly or monthly at our practice HOWEVER, OPC patients will only benefit from our services for a period of 12 months from the first date of service. Thereafter, they may select a new clinician from those provided by OPC OR at the end of 12 months, they may stay on at our practice by paying our private pay rate of $100 for the next 6 months, then $125 for another 6 months, and then $150 moving forward (for individual). Please ask about continuing rates for couples and families of 2-4.
27. MENTAL HEALTH LIBERATION FOUNDATION patients: The foundation sends us payments for your session. You are subject to paying your own late cancellation fees ($75) and no-show fees ($150). You will receive services based on the contracted number of sessions that you may receive as set by the foundation. Once those paid services are depleted, you may stay on as a patient by paying an out-of-pocket rate of $100 for the first 6 months, then $125 for another 6 months, and then $150 moving forward (for individual). Please ask about continuing rates for couples and families of 2-4. Please note, you may also reapply for the foundation during the enrollment window and continuously go between the foundation paying and you paying out of pocket, however your out-of-pocket rate will not go back down each time and will remain where it was at the rate intervals last in effect.
28. GIVE BACK PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS or OTHER NAMED COMMUNITY COUNSELING PROGRAM: a) If the practice offers a reduced rate or free services through its annual and bi-annual programs, you will receive services for free or at the reduced rate for the named number of sessions (normally 4-week or 6-week intervals, or for up to 3 months dependent on the program), once you have completed your program, regardless of other concurrent or new affordable community plans being offered by the practice, you will not be eligible to claim benefits for the new program. Nevertheless, we want everyone to have access to quality counseling and will instead offer you a reduced rate to continue services with your current clinician (based on clinician availability). (i.e., You have received free services for 4 weeks. You may continue counseling for another 4 weeks at the rate of $50 per session or you have paid a reduced rate (for instance $50 per session) for 6 weeks and want to continue, you may be able to continue to services for a nominal fee increase (for instance $75 per session for 6 more week and then the rate will increase again should you decide to continue. Our goal is to make mental health counseling accessible to everyone, but to also motivate our patients to do their best to work up to paying full rate to ensure not only the prosperity of the business, but fair compensation for our hardworking, highly educated, and skilled clinicians. b) Those participating in any reduced rate programs are subject to a $25 late cancellation fee and a $40 no show fee; this is regardless of whether or not they receive free services or not.
We know that digesting all the information in the paperwork we send along with remembering all the information shared during intake can be daunting. You have access to all paperwork filled out in your personalized client portal which was created when you submitted your paperwork. To access your portal, simply click on the pink button on our menu labeled "Access Client Portal". We have also provided the most pertinent information here, including questions you may not have thought to ask!
