Artificial intelligence (AI) and Session Recording
Sessions are never recorded or shared with any third party. Big Mountain Mental Health, PLLC does not use AI with any client information in any way at any time.
Waitlist
If I am not currently accepting new clients you may be offered a spot on the waitlist. When an opening becomes available, I will reach out using your preferred method of contact. You will have one week to respond before being removed from the waitlist. If you are unable to start at that time, you are welcome to remain on the waitlist for a future opening.
Names remain on the waitlist for up to three months. After three months, I will send a brief email letting you know you’ve come off the list. You are always welcome to reach out again if you are still seeking therapy.
Cancellation and no-shows
At least 24 hours’ notice is required to cancel or reschedule a session. Notice may be given by phone, text, or email.
Cancellations made with less than 24 hours’ notice, and missed sessions without contact, are charged a $100 fee. Insurance does not cover missed sessions, so this is usually your responsibility. Some plans, including Healthy Montana Kids, don’t allow me to charge it, and in that case I won’t. Exceptions for unexpected emergencies are made at my discretion.
Confidentiality
Information shared in therapy is confidential. No information about a client or their treatment is released without written authorization, except in the limited circumstances required or permitted by law: suspected abuse or neglect of a child, elder, or person with a developmental disability; an actual threat of physical violence by specific means against a clearly identified or reasonably identifiable person, in which case I am required to notify the person threatened and law enforcement; an imminent risk of harm to oneself that cannot be managed within treatment; information about a minor who is the victim of a crime; a case in which a client raises their own mental health as an issue in a lawsuit; or a valid court order. Insurers also require certain information for billing and related administrative review.
I will generally make a good faith effort to discuss any disclosure of information for reporting purposes prior to or at the time of disclosure, i.e. letting a client know that I am ethically obligated to report suspected abuse or neglect to CPS and offering them an opportunity to participate in that process where possible.
A full Notice of Privacy Practices describes how health information may be used and disclosed and your rights under HIPAA and Montana law.
Working with minors
I work with adolescents ages 14 to 18. Under Montana law, minors age 16 and older may consent to outpatient mental health treatment on their own. For clients under 16, a parent or legal guardian must provide consent for treatment.
Parents and guardians of clients under 16 are generally considered part of the client relationship in Montana, and I will attempt to keep them informed of treatment progress in general terms. Specific information shared by the minor in session will be protected. When a client is 16 or 17 and has consented to their own treatment, that confidentiality is theirs, and I share information with a parent only with the client’s authorization or where the law requires it. The limits of confidentiality are discussed with both the minor and their parent or guardian at the outset of treatment.
In a crisis
If you are in crisis, please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room.
I am not an emergency or crisis service. If you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or are otherwise in crisis, please use the resources above rather than relying on contact through this practice.