COUNSELING AGREEMENT

The Counseling Alliance

Counseling is, first and foremost, an alliance - a relationship between two people built on support, trust and genuine connection. It may encompass many activities and take many different shapes - in fact, each counseling relationship is unique to the individuals involved. 

Much of the good that counseling accomplishes is the natural growth and development that occurs within a spiritually aware, supportive relationship. I will hold space for your authentic expression, help you strengthen your relationship to yourself, and offer a caring - but unattached - outside perspective on your troubles.  I will help you see truths you would otherwise find difficult or impossible to see, and offer guidance on ways in which you can make positive changes to your life. 

Lab Rules

If you come to me for help with a specific set of problems, I will treat our sessions as a cooperative search for the truth. I do not and can not have the answers to your problems - only you have those, and my job is to work with you so that we can discover them together. As such, I hope you will approach our sessions in the spirit of a scientist or a mystic - together, we will pay extremely close, loving attention to what is, so that we may discover what is true.

Nullius In Verba

I ask that you trust nothing I tell you on authority, and see for yourself whether what I have to say is useful for you. If it is not, I will happily make a referral to another professional, or otherwise wish you well in your search. 

I Am Not A Therapist

While there are similarities between a therapeutic relationship and the kind of counseling I do, I can not legally or ethically treat psychological disorders. I will inform you if I believe that something is out of my scope or qualification.

Confidentiality and Privacy

I collect and use your personal data for counseling, communication, and business purposes such as payment processing. I will never spam you or sell your information to anyone, for any reason. I may store your data for up to two years after the end of our counseling relationship unless you instruct me to destroy it sooner.  

All of our sessions are fully confidential, with the sole exemption of criminal and civil cases, in which I can be compelled by a court to testify. Barring a court order, I will keep our conversations and your information completely private, and will not disclose to anyone that we have a counseling relationship. I store all information behind overlapping digital and physical security systems, with multiple dedicated layers of encryption. If you have any additional security precautions you would like me to take, let me know and I will do my best to accommodate them. 

I prefer to conduct all sessions in-person. If that is not possible, I am available for video or audio calls over Zoom. I prefer to conduct all messaging over Signal, an encrypted messaging platform. You can download it at www.signal.org. And I prefer to send all e-mails from Proton Mail, also an encrypted platform. I maintain a paper schedule and paper case notes that will never be posted online, and are kept under physical lock and key. 

Marketing and Communications

I will occasionally write e-mails notifying my clients of upcoming workshops and events that they are invited to attend. If you don’t wish to receive these, let me know and I’ll remove you from that list.

Ethics

I will always work for your best interests, and protect your dignity, privacy, rights and welfare. I will be truthful and fair with you, regardless of the circumstances of your identity, and I will maintain appropriate professional boundaries with you. I am happy to be your friend as well as your counselor, to interact with you online and in-person, if you consent to it, but I will not ever cross lines into a romantic or sexual relationship with you, nor will I go into business with you, or otherwise enter into any kind of relationship that would compromise my ability to counsel you effectively. 

In most cases, clients are free to attend my retreats, schedule wilderness weekends for intensive counseling, and donate to my spiritual center. Rarely, depending on the nature of the work we have done together, it may be unethical for me to accept a donation, or unwise to flex the boundaries of the relationship container that allows us to do safe, trusting, deep inner work. If this pertains to you, I will bring it up with you in session.

Media and Publishing Policy

I often write and speak publicly about philosophy, psychology and spirituality, in a variety of different media. If I ever decide to publish about topics that have been precipitated by our conversations, and believe there could be a potential confidentiality issue, I will submit the content to you within a reasonable timeframe, prior to publishing, for your review and approval. If I can not secure your approval within a reasonable time, I will make my best judgment about whether and how to publish the content, with your privacy taking precedence as the most important consideration.

Accountability and Timeliness

I ask that you be on time to our sessions, and hold our sessions to fifty minutes. If I give you homework or assignments, you are not accountable to me to finish those assignments, but you are accountable to yourself. Some of the work of counseling is done in session, but much of it is done in weekly practice, in the context of your own life, and that work is irreplaceable. If you don’t do the work, you simply won’t get the full benefits of this alliance.

Assignments are not intended to be extremely stressful, or to overwhelm you. If assignments are not working for you, or you can’t complete them, contact me and we will work it out together.

Payment Policy

Standard Rate

My rate is $165 for a 50-minute session. 

Benefactor Rate

If you are willing and able, you can fund scholarships for low-income counseling clients by electing to pay the benefactor rate of $225/session. 

Low-Income Program

If you are in need of support, but can not afford it, you may apply for the low-income program. For low-income clients, I will provide up to 8 sessions at a sliding scale rate of $30 to $149 per hour, per year. In some circumstances, I may be able to negotiate a sustainable sliding scale rate for longer than eight sessions, but this depends on particular conditions, including how many benefactors I currently have, and the need of the client, among others. 

The base rate of the low-income program is $30 and for all intents and purposes, anything greater that a low-income client elects to pay is a tip. 

Late Payments  

All invoices are due upon receipt. If payment is late, I will send you a notice within one week. If an invoice is unpaid for eight days, I will assess a late fee of $50. If an invoice remains unpaid after eight days, I will attempt to contact you about payment via phone or video call. If I am unable to reach you directly within two weeks, I will send the invoice to a collection agency.

Cancellations

Please cancel appointments with as much advance notice as you can. If you do not cancel an appointment within 24 hours, I will charge the full hourly fee, as I will not have enough lead time to otherwise fill that time slot. If you cancel three or more appointments in a six-month period, I reserve the right to end our counseling relationship.