Venue for therapy: Sessions take place at Newlands Therapy Centre (25a Cedar Road, Newlands, Cape Town) or online. By prior arrangement, I make hospital, clinic or school visits (if these are allowed by the institution). In such cases, I charge for travel time at the same rate that I charge for sesssion. This may result in a shorter session to allow for travel time during the usual session, or a higher rate for the session.
Online sessions: If you elect to have therapy over the internet, you are accepting the security limitations of the communication system used. I use programmes designed for healthcare professionals with high levels of security, but I cannot be held responsible for any security breaches of the medium.
If we are meeting online, please take care to choose a venue that is private and where you are not going to be interrupted. Lack of privacy and interruptions significantly reduce the effectiveness of therapy. This is particularly important for group therapy, where your choice of venue may impact on the confidentiality of others in the group.
Session times: Individual sessions are 50 min, while, couple, parenting and family therapy sessions are between 50 and 60 minutes. Group therapy is between 75 and 90 min. Your session begins at the stated appointment time. This is your time, and you will not normally be kept waiting.
If you are seeing me in person, you will use the code sent to you in your appointment confirmation email to open the white sliding gate to my property. I will open my office door at the time of your appointment. All my appointments start on the half hour. Please ensure you arrive close to your appointment time. There is only an outside waiting area at my office, and you will not be able to be seen earlier than the appointed time. If the office door is closed, I might be consulting with another client, in person or online, or preparing for your appointment. Even if you arrive late, your appointment will end at the end of the agreed time so that I can prepare to start the next client’s appointment on time.
Frequency of sessions: Sessions are usually weekly. If you prefer to come less often (e.g. once every two weeks), please discuss this with me. This is a particularly helpful option once you have made significant therapeutic progress and want to develop increasing self-reliance without losing the gains made.
Session confirmation: You will receive a confirmation of your appointment the day before your appointment. This reminder will include the date and time of the appointment. It will also include the access code which you need to open the gate at my office. This code changes regularly, so it’s important to take note of this code. The reminder also includes the link to use if you prefer an online session.
Confirmation emails are sent out after the 48-hour window for cancellation. Once you have received the confirmation email, you are expected to attend the session and will be charged regardless of whether you attend.
Missed sessions: Your therapy process is significantly impacted by inconsistent attendance. For this reason, I strongly discourage changing your appointment time or skipping a scheduled appointment, unless for an unavoidable clash or an emergency. If you miss a session without cancelling 48 hours in advance will be charged at the full rate, unless you miss the session because of an unavoidable emergency. Missed sessions are unlikely to be covered by your medical aid.
Missing your regular appointment is disruptive to the therapeutic process, so if you realise that you cannot make a session when you receive the confirmation email, please consider alternatives. It may be possible to shift the clashing event or attend your session online. On rare occasions, it might be possible to find an alternate time on the day of your booking, so please attempt that, rather than being charged for a missed an appointment.
If you are unable to attend therapy because of an emergency, please still inform me as soon as possible.
Booking follow-up sessions: Ideally you are seen in a regular time slot on a regular basis. Follow up sessions at the same time the following week, are thus usually agreed at the end of the session. If you cannot attend your therapy in your next regular time slot, please alert me before you leave your session so that we can consider if you will be seen in the subsequent slot, or whether you need an alternative option.
Cancelling a booked session: If you realise that you cannot attend a session that has been booked for you, please cancel the booked session online at least 2 days before your booked session.
Please note that I am in consultation for most of the day and cannot attend to email or phone messages even where I may have seen a message.
I may be able to accommodate you at another time in the week, so please check for alternative times if you want to make up the session. The availability of alternative sessions depends on a cancellation by another client, so cannot be guaranteed. If no alternate slot can be found, you will be seen in your next regular appointment time.
Booking additional sessions: If you need an additional session, please book online. Please note that the availability of these sessions depends on a cancellation by another client, so cannot be guaranteed.
If you need an emergency session, please email me stating clearly that this is a request for an emergency session. I will communicate the earliest available option for an appointment. Please note that emergency sessions are charged at a higher rate than scheduled sessions.
Annual leave: I take annual leave four times a year. I take one week after the first and third quarter, two weeks in the middle of the year and four weeks over December/January.
My leave dates for this year are also available at the end of the confirmation emails. If you need additional support when I am on leave, please discuss this with me so that we can arrange alternative support during this time.
CONTACT US
Newlands Therapy Centre
info@newlandstherapycentre.co.za
082 872 0192
Jean Luyt Clinical Psychologist
jean.luyt@newlandstherapycentre.co.za
https://www.facebook.com/jeanluytclinicalpsychologist