Attendance and Cancellation Policies
As therapists, human connection and empathy are the core of the work we do and we understand cancellation fees can bring up difficult emotions. We do not like having to charge these fees.
In order to keep our business sustainable, we need to keep our schedules full and collect payment for our work. Our sessions operate similarly to the seats on an airplane. They are limited, in demand, and once that plane has taken off, that seat can’t be resold. Therefore we have to uphold our cancellation policy, as we want to provide high-quality services and pay our team reasonable wages.
Please understand when you are unable to provide more than 24 hours’ notice for missing an appointment, being charged for the appointment is not intended to be punitive and should not be interpreted to convey any emotions on our end. It is purely a necessity to keep our small business viable. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our office at office@acttherapyservices.com.
A cancelled appointment hurts three people:
1. Your child
2. Your therapist
3. Another client who could have potentially used your time slot. Therapy sessions are scheduled in advance and are a time reserved exclusively for our clients.
When a session is canceled without adequate notice, we are unable to fill this time slot by offering it to another current client or a client on the waitlist. In addition, we are unable to bill your insurance company for sessions that are not kept. Without a cancellation fee policy in place, your therapist will lose money or the opportunity to schedule another client if you late cancel or do not show up.
Non-emergency cancellations require 24 hours’ notice. Non-emergencies include vacations, pre-planned medical appointments, family events, parties, sports events, school field trips, lack of babysitter, or anything that is not designated as “emergency” (see below).
The session must be cancelled no later than 24 hours before the appointment for non-emergencies.
The client must attend at least 80% of scheduled sessions over a 3 month time period. If there are more than two cancellations in a 3 month period, the client WILL lose his or her weekly slot in the clinician’s schedule.
If the session is not cancelled with 24 hours’ notice for non-emergencies, a $50 charge will be applied to your account.
If you “no show” an appointment (do not show up without letting us know), a $75 charge will be applied to your account.
Emergencies require notification by 6 hours prior to session. Emergency cancellations are accepted only for illness (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, COVID-19 positive test results for any member of household and or client, and rash; Common colds can be discussed on a case by case basis), illness of a direct caregiver, or death in the family. These sessions must be cancelled by 7:00 AM on the day of the appointment. If you or your child are ill (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash) when the clinician arrives or you arrive to the clinic, the session will be ended, and you will be charged for the session.
If there are more than two sick cancellations per month, the client will be asked to give up his or her weekly slot in the clinician’s schedule.
If you choose to leave during your child’s session and are not back by the stop time (I.E. session is 30 minutes and starts at 1:00 and not back by 1:30), you will be charged $1 per minute you are late (3 minutes = $3, 10 minutes = $10). We do not have staff available after your scheduled session to watch your child and keep them safe.
Payment Policy:
Payment for assessment and treatment sessions are due at the time of service. Payment is accepted in the form of check (pre-paid to office) or credit card on file. For a complete outline or private payment fees, please contact us at office@actttherapyservices.com.
Credit Card Policy:
All clients will complete a credit card permission form. A credit card will be kept on file for all clients for charging of individual sessions, deductible payments, co-pays and co-insurance. A credit card will also be utilized in case of no shows and to be charged weekly (with parents' permission). If credit card is declined, sessions will be held until sessions are paid in full.