Practice Policies

NOTICE OF PRACTICE POLICIES – 2025

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS Please remember to cancel or reschedule at least 48 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the full fee if cancellation is less than 48 hours. Individuals that receive services using a co-pay or prorated rate may be responsible for the full fee of the session as insurance benefits do not cover late cancellations.

The standard meeting time for Individual Psychotherapy is 50 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 50 minute session needs to be discussed with the health care provider in order for time to be scheduled in advance.

Cancellations and re-scheduled session will be subject to a full charge rate of $300 if not received 48 hours in advance. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time. Late arrivals will not be seen if client arrives after 15 minutes from the scheduled appointment time and will be charged the full session fee.

*Please note that my practice is part time and I may not be available within your time frame for rescheduling appointments or phone consultations

TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on my voicemail. Text messages can be sent regarding scheduling only, please be mindful that text messaging private or confidential information may not always be secure. I am often not immediately available as my private practice is open in a part time capacity; however, I will attempt to return your call within two business days.
Please note that Face-to-face telehealth sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, in the event that you are out of town, sick or need additional support, of the wifi connection is exceptionally poor, phone sessions can available. If a true emergency situation arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room. You also authorize me to contact your personal “in case of emergency” on file, should there be an immediate or life threatening emergency that I am made aware of.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc). I 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. I will also not respond to communication sent through social media. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.

PATIENT LITIGATION Dr. Garza will not voluntarily participate in any litigation or custody dispute in communicating with patients’ attorneys and will generally not write or sign letters, reports, declarations, or affidavits to be used in any patient’s legal matter. Your therapist will generally not provide records or testimony unless compelled to do so. Should your psychologist be subpoenaed, or ordered by a court of law, to appear as a witness in an action involving you, you agree to reimburse for any time spent for preparation, travel (and parking), or other time in which I have made your therapist available for such an appearance at the usual and customary hourly rate for such services of $800 per hour with a minimum of 4 hours to be paid in advance.

PSYCHOLOGIST-PATIENT PRIVILEGE The information disclosed by Patient, as well as any records created, is subject to the doctor-patient privilege. The doctor-patient privilege results from the special relationship between Clinician and Patient in the eyes of the law. It is akin to the attorney-patient privilege. Typically, the Patient is the holder of the Psychologist-Patient privilege. If the clinician received a subpoena for records, deposition testimony, or testimony in a court of law, Dr. Garza will assert the doctor-patient privilege on Patient’s behalf until instructed, in writing, to do otherwise by Patient or Patient’s representative. Patient should be aware that he/she/they might be waiving the psychotherapist-Patient privilege if he/she/they makes his/her/their mental or emotional state an issue in a legal proceeding. Patient should address any concerns he/she/their might have regarding the psychotherapist-Patient privilege with his/her/their attorney.

Please note that we do not share information with anyone. Your health care is between you and your provider. Our records are not available to government agencies, registries, or wellness grifters parading as HHS secretaries.

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION Dr. Garza 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, we can do so. While I may try to return messages in a timely manner, I cannot guarantee immediate response and request 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, and e-mail is considered telemedicine by the States of California, New York, and Nevada. 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:

    • 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.
    • All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable.
    • Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee.
    • Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent.
    • 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 treatment, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs. Effective treatment is often facilitated when the healthcare provider gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. The provider may make assessments, diagnosis, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third person consultations, but also from direct visual and olfactory observations, information, and experiences.
      • When using information technology in services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the provider’s inability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues such as: your physical condition including deformities, 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 provider not being aware of what he/she/they would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally to the provider.

MINORS If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your treatment. I will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential.

TERMINATION Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process in order to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. I may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if I determine that the treatment is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. I will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If treatment is terminated for any reason or you request another provider, I will provide you with a list of qualified mental health professionals to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source. Should you fail to schedule an appointment for three consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, I must consider the professional relationship discontinued.

*OF NOTE: IF A SESSION IS MISSED OR NO SHOWED WITH NO NOTICE, AND I DO NOT HEAR FROM THE PATIENT WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF LAST SESSION, I WILL ASSUME THAT THE PATIENT IS NO LONGER INTERESTED IN TREATMENT. AS SUCH, THE FILE WILL BE CLOSED. Should the patient be interested in services, they are to reach out to reinstate service.