Welcome to Carolina Dancer Wellness Mental Health Services! I am so honored and excited that you chose us to support your well-being. I believe our work will be most helpful when you are clear about what to expect and how we operate. This document is intended to provide answers to questions clients often ask about the process. If you have other questions or concerns, please ask and I will try my best to give you all the information you need.
APPROACH & WHAT TO EXPECT
I specialize in working with dancers and other athletes ages from 13+ who find themselves stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, undergoing various life transitions, are seeking to improve their mental performance, or for preventative care. I am adept at working with a wide array of clients and clinical issues. My approach to mental health counseling consists of integrative and evidence-based interventions. Theories I draw upon include existential psychotherapy, third-wave behavioral therapies such as CBT, DBT, and ACT, relational-cultural, experiential, somatic, mindfulness training and neuroscience and trauma-informed practices.
The first full appointment serves as an intake session. I will want to hear about the difficulties that led to you making an appointment, goals for therapy, and general information about yourself and your current life situation. By the end of this first appointment, I will give you some initial recommendations on what we think will help. If you do not agree with my treatment recommendations or do not think our personality styles will be a good match, let me know and I will do my best to suggest a different therapist who may be a better fit.
If you and I decide to work together in therapy, we will collaborate on a treatment plan that incorporates effective strategies to help with whatever difficulties you are hoping to reduce in therapy. Sometimes more than one approach is helpful. Therapy sessions last 45-60 minutes unless otherwise arranged. Oftentimes, sessions are set for once each week, but this varies based on what seems most appropriate for your particular situation.
CONFIDENTIALITY
In general, law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a mental health clinician, and I can only release information to others with your written permission. In most situations, I will request a Release of Information before communicating with others. However, there are a number of exceptions, which are indicated below.
There are three circumstances in which I cannot guarantee confidentiality, legally and ethically: 1) When I believe you intend to harm yourself or another person, 2) When I believe a child or dependent adult is being abused or neglected, and 3) If I received a court order from a judge to release information. Otherwise, I will not share any information about your treatment, diagnosis, history, or even that you are a client, without your full knowledge and written consent.
HARM TO SELF OR OTHERS
Emily Collie and Carolina Dancer Wellness takes threats of harm to self or others very seriously. It is not uncommon for self/other harm to come up in therapy and I am highly trained in crisis assessment and safety planning. I am legally and ethically obligated to take protective actions to ensure the safety of clients and/or others. Protective actions can vary based on the situation and severity of risk, but examples may include: creating a safety plan, arranging for a more comprehensive psychological or crisis assessment, notifying police, contacting family members/emergency contacts, and/or facilitating hospitalization.
USE OF DIAGNOSIS
There are times when it may become necessary to document a mental health diagnosis for insurance claims, treatment planning, and proper referral purposes. In these cases, it is possible that this diagnosis may become part of your medical record and could be accessible to insurers in the future. In the case of working with insurance claims, usually insurance companies require a diagnosis code and it will be documented in your medical record. Once this information is shared with insurance companies, the degree of confidentiality and how this information is used remains unclear. You reserve the right to deny the use of a diagnosis at any point during the treatment process.
TREATMENT OF MINORS
It is important that the minors I work with feel comfortable talking with me about what is on their mind. Confidentiality is an important and necessary part of any effective counseling relationship and the therapeutic relationship is equally important for a minor. For most, knowing that information discussed in session will be kept private helps them to feel more comfortable and establish trust.
There may be times when the minor wants/needs to explore issues that they don’t want their parents/guardians to know. Except for situations such as those mentioned in the confidentiality section, I will not disclose the content of sessions to parents/guardians. This may include activities and behavior that parents/guardians would not approve of or would be upset by—but that do not put the minor at risk of serious and immediate harm. However, if risk-taking behavior becomes serious, I will need to use my professional judgement to decide whether you are in serious and immediate danger of self/other harm. If I feel the minor is in such danger, I will communicate this information to parents/guardians in an effort to get additional support/services in place to help.
APPOINTMENTS
Sessions range from 45-60 minutes in duration. We will schedule our sessions by mutual agreement. I strongly encourage clients to meet weekly in the beginning of treatment to establish the therapeutic relationship and goals. However, you and I will discuss a treatment plan that best meets your needs.
If you are unable to keep an appointment, please call the office or email me directly to cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours in advance. If you do not come to your appointment or if an appointment is cancelled or rescheduled without 24 hours advance notice, you will be responsible for paying the full session fee.
Missed appointments or rescheduled appointments may result in a cancellation of services. In these instances, a referral to appropriate services will be made.
AVAILABILITY BETWEEN SESSIONS
If you need to get in touch between sessions, I encourage you to email our administrative email: info@carolinadancerwellness.org or call/text at (919) 415-1318. In your message, please include your full name and contact information, even if you think I already have it. We check voicemail and email periodically and will do our best to return your call within 24 hours, except on holidays and weekends.
EMERGENCIES & MENTAL HEALTH CRISES
If you believe you experience a mental health crisis or psychiatric emergency, go to your nearest emergency room (ER), or call 911. Do not email or call Emily Collie or Carolina Dancer Wellness if you are experiencing an emergency. Carolina Dancer Wellness is invested in your care and well-being, but is not a crisis facility and does not have providers who are on-call 24/7.Therefore, we may not get the information quickly enough to be a resource in these circumstances.
TERMINATION OF SERVICES
Deciding when to end therapy is meant to be a mutual decision and, together, we will discuss how to know when therapy is nearing completion. That said, you are under no obligation to continue services and have the right to terminate services at any time. However, I strongly urge that you discuss ending treatment with me so you can address any concerns and develop a plan for terminating treatment collaboratively. Either the client or the therapist may end therapy at any time. If your therapist feels you are no longer benefiting from therapy, or your therapist feels there is a conflict in ethics they may discuss termination. If you desire additional counseling your therapist will provide you with a referral competent to address your issues.Other factors that may result in termination of therapy include, but are not limited to, violence or threats toward myself or others at Carolina Dancer Wellness, or refusal to pay for services after a reasonable time and attempts to resolve the issue.
FEES & BILLING PRACTICES
We understand that therapy is a financial commitment. It is also an investment in your future leading to growth and healing that can change your life. Many of my clients benefit from an individualized approach to treatment. I partner with each of my clients to establish concrete and measurable goals at the beginning of treatment that target the unique issues they are dealing with. By staying focused on my client’s unique goals, it is my hope that they see results as quickly as possible.
Counseling Services
Out-of-Pocket Rates
Individual Sessions
Initial Comprehensive Assessment: $90
45 minute session: $70
60 minute session: $80
Reduced Fees and Financial Assistance
Reduced fee services may be available on a limited, case-by-case basis. Please email info@carolinadancerwellness.org for more information.
Insurance
We are in-network with BlueCross BlueShield, United Healthcare, and Cigna for mental health services. You can submit your insurance information with the new client paperwork and we will be happy to verify your coverage and benefits. If you use insurance, the rates are set by your insurance provider and we cannot guarantee your insurance will cover treatment.
For clients with financial needs, we do offer financial assistance. Contact our office to request an application.
COUNSELOR LICENSURE
Emily Collie, NC Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate, #20524
I obtained a Master of Arts in Counseling and Rehabilitation, specializing in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. I am a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate for the state of North Carolina and National Certified Counselor. I also hold current professional membership with the American Counseling Association.
I will be receiving supervision from Tammy Holcomb, LCMHCS (#S10785) who can be contacted at tammyholcomb@stargazercounseling.com.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURES
I abide by the ACA Code of Ethics. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the counseling process, please inform me so that we can determine if services and our work together can be improved. In these cases, we will make every effort to resolve the issue with you. If you think you have been treated unfairly or unethically and your issue cannot be resolved informally, contact:North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors
P.O. Box 77819
Greensboro, NC 27417
Phone: 844-622-3572 or 336-217-6007
Fax: 336-217-9450
E-mail: Complaints@ncblcmhc.org
https://www.ncblcmhc.org/Complaints/