Administrative matters: Please call our office (607-319-5778) to reschedule appointments or for other administrative matters. Note that this is a land line, so if you try to send a text to this number, it won't go anywhere and we won't receive the text. When we’re in the office, George will answer the phone unless he’s on another call or away from his desk, in which case you can leave a voice mail. Please don’t email me (Beth) in order to cancel appointments, because I don’t have time to check email every day and I may miss your note. For scheduling or rescheduling appointments, it works best to speak with one of us directly on the phone, although you may email George about other administrative matters.
Clinical issues: If you need to contact me between sessions about a clinical matter, please phone me at the office, and if I’m not available to take your call, leave a message with George or on voice mail. I generally do not take phone calls when I’m with a client, but I’ll return your message as soon as I can. Generally, I return messages within the next day except weekends and holidays. Clinical phone consultations of five minutes or less are normally free. However, if we spend more than ten minutes in a week on the phone, or if I spend more than ten minutes listening to messages from you, or reading and responding to emails or coordination of care, I will bill you on a prorated basis for that time. Unfortunately, insurance won’t pay for those services. If you feel the need for many phone calls and cannot wait for your next appointment, we may need to schedule more sessions to address your needs.
After hours and emergency calls: We check messages frequently when out of the office, such as during evenings and weekends, so you can always call the office number. In your message, please let me know if you’re hoping for a quick return call, or if my return call can wait. I’ll return your call as soon as I can, but that may be several hours later or the next morning, so if your situation is an acute emergency and you need to talk to someone right away, call the Crisisline of the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service of Ithaca at 607-272-1616, or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. Another option is to dial 988 (this number can also be used for texting), which is the new number for the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Finally, you can chat online with a trained counselor at the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by going to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/.
If I Need to Contact Someone about You: If there is an emergency during our work together, or I become concerned about your personal safety, I am required by law and by the rules of my profession to contact someone close to you—perhaps a relative, spouse, or close friend. I am also required to contact this person if I become concerned about your harming someone else. In such cases, I will contact the person you wrote down as your emergency contact on the Client Information and Contact Form. If, in my reasonable professional judgment, I believe that you are likely to engage in conduct that will result in serious harm to yourself or others, I am required to report this to the local Director of Community Services, unless in my reasonable professional judgment a report would endanger me or would increase the danger to the potential victim or victims.
When I’m not available: If I am planning on being out of town, I’ll generally be able to check my messages remotely. If I’m going to a remote location where I cannot check messages or make phone calls, I’ll let you know that so you can instead call one of the emergency numbers I've noted above.
Clinical issues: If you need to contact me between sessions about a clinical matter, please phone me at the office, and if I’m not available to take your call, leave a message with George or on voice mail. I generally do not take phone calls when I’m with a client, but I’ll return your message as soon as I can. Generally, I return messages within the next day except weekends and holidays. Clinical phone consultations of five minutes or less are normally free. However, if we spend more than ten minutes in a week on the phone, or if I spend more than ten minutes listening to messages from you, or reading and responding to emails or coordination of care, I will bill you on a prorated basis for that time. Unfortunately, insurance won’t pay for those services. If you feel the need for many phone calls and cannot wait for your next appointment, we may need to schedule more sessions to address your needs.
After hours and emergency calls: We check messages frequently when out of the office, such as during evenings and weekends, so you can always call the office number. In your message, please let me know if you’re hoping for a quick return call, or if my return call can wait. I’ll return your call as soon as I can, but that may be several hours later or the next morning, so if your situation is an acute emergency and you need to talk to someone right away, call the Crisisline of the Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service of Ithaca at 607-272-1616, or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. Another option is to dial 988 (this number can also be used for texting), which is the new number for the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Finally, you can chat online with a trained counselor at the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by going to https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/.
If I Need to Contact Someone about You: If there is an emergency during our work together, or I become concerned about your personal safety, I am required by law and by the rules of my profession to contact someone close to you—perhaps a relative, spouse, or close friend. I am also required to contact this person if I become concerned about your harming someone else. In such cases, I will contact the person you wrote down as your emergency contact on the Client Information and Contact Form. If, in my reasonable professional judgment, I believe that you are likely to engage in conduct that will result in serious harm to yourself or others, I am required to report this to the local Director of Community Services, unless in my reasonable professional judgment a report would endanger me or would increase the danger to the potential victim or victims.
When I’m not available: If I am planning on being out of town, I’ll generally be able to check my messages remotely. If I’m going to a remote location where I cannot check messages or make phone calls, I’ll let you know that so you can instead call one of the emergency numbers I've noted above.