I am looking forward to meeting you at my office, 2925 SE Taylor. (Taylor is 4 blocks north of Hawthorne and 2 blocks south of Belmont.) My office is in an older white and blue house between two apartment buildings. Use the wheel chair accessible ramp way on the west (or town side) of the house to get to my office. When you arrive, ring the doorbell. Enter the office, make yourself comfortable in the waiting room and make yourself a cup of tea or coffee if you would like. Feel free to look at the library of books in the waiting room until I am available.

     I am enclosing some information about my office and a form for you to fill out. If you are able to return this form before we meet, it will save us time, thus making your therapy session more efficient and cost effective for you. If there is no time to return it before you come for your first appointment, bring it with you. If you feel uncomfortable answering any of the questions, please leave them blank. If you mail your form, make a copy for yourself and bring it to the session, in case it has not yet reached me.

      Because the finances of counseling and insurance are very complex and can get mixed into a sense of whether a counselor cares about you, the client, I like to be clear about my policies so that there are no misunderstandings.

• If you plan to use insurance, it is your responsibility to call to make sure that I am able to bill your insurance company. Some insurance companies have panels of providers that their insurees must see if their therapy is to be covered. I am on some of these panels and not on others. When you call, ask if you need a certification number and write it down to bring with you. Also ask how many sessions you have available to you and what your co-pay will be.
• If you do not plan to use insurance or have a co-pay, I would like to receive payment at the end of each session.
• Your appointment time is reserved for you. If you reserve a time you will be expected to pay for it unless I can schedule someone else into that time after you cancel (and unless you are sick or have had a major crisis that prevented you from calling sooner). Insurance does not pay for missed sessions.
• My standard fee is between $ 100-125.00 an hour unless we negotiate a different fee. Generally, the first session is considered an evaluation of the problem and is charged at $125. Please call if you have questions.

     Now that I have finished the business part of this letter, let me say again that I look forward to meeting you and working with you.

Sincerely,

RuthAnn Parvin, J.D., Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist