Joanna Warren, MS, LMFT, QMHP
Joanna Warren, MS, LMFT, QMHP
Licensed Therapist
Burlington, NC
336-792-4916
516-0438(crisis only)
Strengthening Individual and Family Health
Fax: 336-513-0554
Website: http://www.JWarrentherapy.com
Some things you should know
About your therapist and Therapy:
Since therapy is conducted in a number of different ways, depending upon the therapist and his or her orientation, this description has been prepared to inform you about Joanna’s qualifications, the therapeutic process, and general knowledge about what to expect from therapy.
Vision Statement:
Joanna is an experienced, trained clinician who works hard as a professional by committing to consumers and initiating change in the lives’ of individuals and families by strengthening individual and family health.
Your Therapist’s Qualifications:
Joanna received her Master’s of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy from East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. In addition, she holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the same university. Joanna was a Child and Family Therapist at The Children’s Home in Winston Salem, NC for four years. She has ten years of experience working with children and families in a clinical setting including the medical school at East Carolina and Family Therapy Clinic at ECU. Joanna is a Clinical Member of American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and is a supervisor in training for AAMFT. She has been a licensed therapist in North Carolina since November 2001. Because of her mental health experience, she is also considered a Qualified Mental Health Professional. Joanna has been an active member of North Carolina Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (NCAMFT) and was serving as Chapter Director of Mid-Central Chapter of NCAMFT for 2005-2011.
The majority of Joanna’s experience is working with individuals, children, adolescents, and families. Her theoretical orientation includes family systems theory, which focuses on the relationships people have, both within and outside their families. Joanna tends to focus on family strengths, and within her work, she does not utilize blame, but rather helps people develop their strengths to overcome or manage their problems. In effort to maintain cultural competence, Joanna attends trainings/seminars and other forms of continuing education to increase knowledge/skills in this area. You may take complimentary brochures in the office in the lobby about different mental health issues, and concerns.
Joanna is not a physician, and cannot prescribe or provide medication. If medical treatment is indicated, she will recommend a physician or psychiatrist to you, depending upon the nature of your concerns.
The Therapeutic Process:
You have made the first step on your road to feeling better by contacting a therapist. Like every important decision you make in your life, you may want to talk to several therapists about their training, treatment approach, fees, and so on. “Shopping” for a therapist is often vital in getting the satisfaction you want from therapy.
If you decide to enter therapy with Joanna, she will initially spend time with you exploring the problems which brought you to therapy. Next, you will work with Joanna to set specific goals which you wish to work towards in therapy. Your progress in therapy will be periodically reviewed. The length of therapy will vary depending upon the type and amount of concerns you bring to therapy. At times, changes brought by your efforts in therapy may cause some discomfort or anxiety; your feelings should be discussed with Joanna. These feelings often accompany behavioral change, and are often a sign of progress. Joanna can discuss with you other forms of therapy that you may decide would be more appropriate, such a referral to group therapy, a psychiatrist, a specialist in the area, or other forms of therapy. Please be advised there are risks associated with therapy and with change, and that this process can be difficult and time consuming.
Confidentiality:
As a client, one of the most important rights is that of confidentially. Information obtained during therapy sessions will be held confidential, and will not be disclosed to anyone outside of therapy without your consent. If you are attending therapy as part of a couple or family, you may at times see Joanna without your partner or other family members present. Remember that one record is kept for family, sibling, or couple work. If you have other family members present from time to time for therapy, remember that Joanna cannot release records without signatures of all parties involved. In this instance, if information is divulged to Joanna which she thinks is important for you to share with your partner or other family members, or if you present a situation which is blatantly harmful, unfair, or unethical, she may: (1) ask you to divulge this information before therapy continues, (2) ask your permission to divulge the information before therapy continues, (3) discontinue therapy if options (1) and (2) are not met. There are also a few exceptions to confidentially as defined by law to which you should be aware. Joanna will be required to break confidentially if one or more of the following conditions exist:
1. If Joanna has reason to think that you (clients involved in therapy) may be harmful to yourself or others.
2. If Joanna suspects that child abuse or neglect has occurred.
3. If court orders the release of information regarding your treatment.
4. If you fail to make payments and receive 2 notices in the mail, it is possible Joanna will turn your information, see below under office procedures and fees.
Your Rights as a Client:
Consumer Rights as defined in NC laws and rules (APSM 95-2, G.S 122-C)
As a Client you have the right to:
1. Ask questions at any point in time regarding therapeutic or office procedures.
2. You have the right to be informed of rights at intake by this informed consent, and HIPPA laws.
3. You have the right to contact and consult with legal counsel, private practice physician, and professional of your choice.
4. You have the right to a consumer advocate.
5. To received necessary treatment.
6. Consumer should be informed of benefits, potential risks, and other forms of treatment.
7. Terminate therapy at any time; you may ask Joanna for a list of possible referral sources. Written discharge plan at time of discharge.
8. Specify and negotiate therapeutic goals and be an active participant in therapy.
9. Confidentiality, as described above.
10. To receive copy of HIPPA and privacy notice forms (by signing below, you agree that you received a copy and understand the policy)
11. Be apprised of fees and payment policies.
12. Ask about alternative procedures available for meeting your goals.
13. The right to be treated with dignity and respect.
14. To be free from abuse/neglect, and exploitation.
15. Consumers should be apprised in HIPPA about how to file grievances if needed.
· You may file a complaint about my privacy practice. If you think that Joanna has violated your privacy rights described in this notice, or you want to complain about her privacy practices, you may send a written complaint to the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services and the NCLMFT licensure Board. It would me important to first talk to Joanna about your issue, and file a written complaint to Joanna, and she will respond within 48 hours after she receives the complaint. The telephone number for the licensure board is 919-469-8081 and the address is PO Box 37669, Raleigh, NC 27627. If you send in a complaint, Joanna will not take any action against you or change treatment of you in any way. Please remember that it is very important to be honest with your therapist, and talk about any issues that you are having. If you are a PBH Medicaid client, you may make an anonymous call to their concern hotline at 1-888-213-9687.
Office Procedures and Fees:
Joanna’s office hours are normally 8:30 AM to 5:15 PM Monday through Thursday, and is by appointment only. If you are unable to attend an appointment, it is your responsibility to cancel your session at least twenty-four hours in advance of the session. Failure to do so will result in you being fully charged a fee for the session. Certain exceptions will be made in the event of emergencies. Please allow Joanna two business days to return routine phone calls unless crisis or emergency.
In the event of a crisis, you may try to reach Joanna at 516-0438. If she is not available, you may reach Julia Tabor, another clinician, by calling 336-684-9951. You can also call 911 or go to local emergency room. In the event of an emergency, you should immediately dial 911 or go to your local emergency room (suicidal thoughts, homicidal thoughts, etc).
Each session hour is forty-five to fifty minutes in length or 75 minutes depending on Joanna’s recommendations. Joanna’s fee is $90.00 per forty-five to fifty minute session and is 100.00 for 75 plus minutes. Joanna will be billing under your current Medicaid number/card, BCBS, Medcost, or Healthchoice number electronically. By signing this form, you agree for Joanna to bill electronically. If insurance is not being filed, she will expect full payment after services are rendered. Cash and personal checks are accepted methods of payment. By signing below, you agree to pay for any portion of professional fees not reimbursed by insurance. Please remember if you have a deductible, you must pay the full amount of the session and Joanna will file towards the deductible. After your deductible is met, you will be responsible for your co-payment. It is the client’s full responsibility to explore what insurance covers and does not cover, and will pay anything that their insurance company refuses to pay. Medicaid does not require deductible and therapy is fully covered. Effective October 1, 2011 consumers with Medicaid from Alamance and Caswell counties will fall under the PBH 1915 (b)(c) Medicaid waiver. CAP MR services will transition to the Innovations Waiver 1915 (c) and the MH/SA waiver will be referred to as the Cardinal Plan 1915 (b).This means that you will need to sign a release for Joanna to bill through PBH since they are the paying entity, and to get authorizations needed throughout the year. If you are a Medicaid client, it is important to understand that you will need to agree to release information in order to process claims, and since Alamance /Caswell clients are under the Medicaid waiver, that Joanna will be collaborating with PBH to do so.
After 2 notices of late payments Joanna has the right to turn over to credit agency. If we must employ collections services or legal fees due to the collections process, these fees are added to client’s balance. I understand that Joanna may utilize all legal means to collect any debts owed on past due accounts, including collections procedures which might disclose my name and other personal information, limited only to the purposes of the collections process. I realize no treatment information other than dates of service will be disclosed for collections purposes. Joanna practices in compliance with HIPAA privacy standards.
Joanna does not offer appointment reminders by phone, but will give you a card with time and date on back if you request. Keeping track of scheduled appointments is the clients’ responsibility, and Joanna cannot be held responsible for missed appointments due to clients’ poor planning or organization. Appointments are scheduled at a specific time, and Joanna request that clients arrive on time. In the occasional event that clients are late, Joanna will wait 15 minutes, but would expect a phone call to hold that time open. Joanna offers a forgiveness policy and will accept one missed appt, at that time, if there is a second missed appointment, your contract with Joanna will be terminated and you will be giving referrals.
When sending a fax or asking other professionals to send faxes, please advise them to make sure there is a cover letter attached to protect confidentiality. Joanna shares a fax machine with a therapist in the office, Julia Tabor.
Phone consultations are sometimes appropriate but will also be billed the same amount for a session fee. You will be required to bring payment at your next appointment time if you require a phone consultation. Phone consultations are not normally reimbursable by insurance, so please be prepared to pay this out of pocket fee. Phone consultations are $60.00 for 30 minutes, and $90.00 for 45-60 minutes. If clients need to speak briefly with their therapist over the telephone in between sessions, they may call the office phone. Please remember Joanna is with clients most of the time. You may leave a voice mail if she is unavailable and she will return your call as soon as possible. Calls under 15 minutes are not considered telephone consultations, and there is no charge for them
Joanna fully believes in collaborating together to develop a termination plan when discharge is appropriate. If Joanna has not heard from you in two weeks, and /or you are not returning phone calls, Joanna will assume that you are terminating our therapy agreement. There will be a note placed in the file stating that you were not part of the termination plan and one could not be developed. If later you feel you need treatment, you may contact Joanna for another intake appointment or referral depending on Joanna’s availability.