BSP has clinicians in varying stages of professional development. We have Intern therapists, Limited Permit therapists, and fully licensed therapists. Interns are in their final phase of graduate work in completing their Master’s Degree. Limited Permit clinicians have graduated and are pursuing final requirements for NY State licensure and are working as Mental Health Counselors as defined by NY State under a Limited Permit License issued by NY State. All clinicians are supervised by a NY State Licensed clinician. You have the right to inquire as to the degrees and credentials your therapist holds.

Withdrawal from treatment is your prerogative. Due to the nature of therapy, relationships are established over time. It is often beneficial if we have a final meeting to provide closure. If you choose to leave our services and request it, we will be happy to provide names of other clinicians that you might prefer.

We are required to maintain complete treatment records. Patients are entitled to receive a copy of these records unless we believe the information would be emotionally damaging. Patients are not entitled to Psychotherapy Notes. Patients will be charged an appropriate fee for preparation. If you use third-party reimbursement, we are required to provide the insurer with clinical information at their request.

Your therapist is not a physician and cannot prescribe medication or give recommendations about physical problems. Nevertheless, depending on the nature of the presenting problems, your therapist might require you to consult with a physician before proceeding with therapy. Your therapist cannot guarantee that each person’s goals in therapy will be met completely. Seeking to resolve issues between family members and other persons can lead to discomfort, as well as relationship changes that may not be originally intended.

Please arrive 5 minutes prior to your visit to allow ample time to prepare for your session treatment. Arriving late will simply limit the time for your session, reducing its effectiveness. Your session will end on time so that the next appointment is not delayed.

If arrival is delayed, we will make every effort to accommodate your full appointment, but this is not always possible. Service time may be abbreviated to avoid delays for other appointments, and are charged at full value.

Appointments that cannot be kept must give at least a 24-hour notice by calling or texting 315. 516.8466 – NOT email. An email will not be considered if less than 24-hours notice is given. If you fail to attend the session, you will be charged for a full session.

Sessions are 45 to 53 minutes in length.

Visits are billed as follows:

• Licensed Clinician ~ $155 to $250
• Limited Permit Clinician ~ $125 to $145
• Interns ~ $85 to $100

Please note that an administrative fee of $25 is added to the first session’s charge.

As Insurance companies will not reimburse for Interns and Limited Permit therapists in private practice, we have a sliding fee scale for these clients.

In addition to scheduled appointments, there may be times that we charge for other professional services you may need. Other services may include report writing, telephone conversations lasting longer than 15 minutes, consulting with other professionals with your permission, preparation of records or treatment summaries, and the time spent performing any other service you may request of us.

If you need to contact your therapist between sessions, please leave a message on the main voicemail – 315.516.8466 and message them through your client portal. They may not be immediately available; however, will attempt to return your call within 24 hours. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room.

Some insurance policies will reimburse therapy services if the client has “out-of-network” mental health benefits. The exact amount of reimbursement, if any, depends on individual policies and it is your responsibility to learn your policy. To our knowledge, Limited Permit and intern therapists are not reimbursable under  insurance plans. Please check with yours to know for sure. Payment is expected at the time of service and BSP is not responsible for insurance company decisions.

BSP accepts cash, HSA, checks, and credit cards as payment.

If you are self-pay or are seeking reimbursement from you out-of-network benefits through your insurance company, you will be supplied with a paid statement (Superbill) via and protected email link on a monthly basis. If you require a printed copy, please let us know. Statements will include all information necessary for your insurance company to determine possible reimbursement.

The responsibility to submit to your insurance company lies with you, the client. As a courtesy, you may request for Breathing Space Psychotherapy to submit on your behalf. 

If an account is 3 sessions past due, no further appointments will be made until the balance is brought up-to-date. Processing past due accounts is expensive. A $25 re-billing fee will be added monthly to all accounts with overdue balances (unpaid charges older than 60 days) unless other arrangements have been made. All overdue accounts (unpaid after 90 days) risk being submitted to a collection agency. If such action is necessary, all legal and collection costs will be included in the claim. In most collection situations, the only information released regarding treatment is the client’s name, nature of the services provided, and the amount due.

We are constantly expanding our offerings to bring you the latest and greatest service. Although we make every effort to keep our website and menu updated, please note that prices and services are subject to change at any time.

We do increase our fees, at a minimum, on an annual basis.

Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, we do not accept a friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). We believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.

All electronic counseling whether phone or video counseling will be conducted in compliance with New York State law. You understand that these services are being conducted while you are in New York State. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office. Video counseling is often covered by insurance, telephone therapy may not be.

With the exception of our HIPAA compliant telehealth video platform and our electronic health records messaging service in your patient portal, 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, please speak with your therapist, as each will have their own personal way of handling this. While we may try to return messages in a timely manner, we cannot guarantee immediate response. It is important that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies.

Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, facsimile machines, and e-mail is considered telemedicine by the State of California. Under the California Telemedicine Act of 1996, telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. 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 medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee.
4. Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent.
5. There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine. Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, 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, diagnoses, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third-person consultations, but also on 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 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.

If you become involved in legal proceedings that require the participation of any BSP therapist, you will be expected to pay for all professional time, including preparation and transportation costs, even if called to testify by another party. Because of the complexity of legal involvement, legal fees are $500 per hour plus .56 per mile for travel.

An 8-hour retainer is required 30 days prior to any scheduled court appearance: $4,000.

If the court proceeding is canceled or rescheduled within 7 days of the original date, 50 percent of the retainer will be retained by BSP and will not be transferable to another date.

Additional Time
Any time beyond the initial 8 hours will be billed at the clinician’s standard court appearance rate. This includes:

• Time spent in court beyond the retained hours

• Travel time to and from the court location

• Required waiting periods or delays

• Preparation time, including record review and coordination with legal counsel

• Written reports, affidavits, or other documentation requested by the court or attorneys

Invoices for additional time will be provided and are due upon receipt.

As a consideration to other clients, please turn off cell phones while in our offices.

We suggest that you leave your valuable items at home when coming to BSP. BSP will not be responsible for the loss or damage of your personal items.

Smoking is not allowed inside our offices or anywhere on the property.