Counseling including marriage or pre-marital counseling, religious, family, career, social adjustment, pastoral or financial counseling.
Counseling Services Your first appointment (or more, in some cases) will involve an assessment of your needs. By the end of the assessment your counselor will be able to offer you some first impressions of what your work may include and recommendations for getting help. One of the recommendations may be psychotherapy. If so, ABO may or may not be able to provide you with psychotherapy, depending on your overall needs. If psychotherapy or any other recommendations suggested by your counselor include things that ABO cannot provide, you will be given suggestions of where you might receive those services. Wherever you choose to obtain treatment, you should evaluate the information from your initial assessment along with your own opinions of what sort of treatment you are willing to do and whether you feel comfortable working with the treating clinician. Therapy involves a large commitment of time, energy, and often money, so you should be very careful about the counselor you select. If you have questions about the procedures used or conclusions made by your counselor at ABO, please discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, your counselor will be happy to help you set up a meeting with another mental health professional for a second opinion. Psychotherapy is not easily described in general statements. It varies depending on the particular problems you are experiencing, the therapeutic methods used by your counselor, and the personalities of the counselor and client. There are many different methods counselors may use to deal with the problems that you hope to address. Psychotherapy is not like a medical doctor visit. Instead, it calls for a very active effort on your part. In order for the therapy to be most successful, you will have to work on things that are discussed both during your sessions and on your own. Psychotherapy can have benefits and risks. Since therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, shame, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. The changes you make in therapy may also affect your relationships in unexpected ways. Psychotherapy has also been shown to have many benefits. Therapy often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, and significant reductions in feelings of distress. But there are no guarantees of what you will experience. The initial assessment will last from one to four sessions. During this time, you and your counselor can both decide if she/he is the best person to provide the services you need in order to meet your treatment goals. If you choose to begin psychotherapy, your counselor will usually schedule one meeting at a time you each agree on. Once an appointment is scheduled, you will be expected to attend unless you provide advance notice of cancellation. If you need to cancel an appointment, it is your responsibility to contact us to cancel. Fees will be collected when services are rendered.*In addition to therapy services fees may include assessment administration, scoring, and reporting; creating reports; creating copies of records on request; and consulting with other professionals at the client’s request. There will be an additional $25 fee assessed for any returned check. We understand that there are unforeseeable circumstances like sick children or bad weather. Your appointment is important though, and your therapist is happy to contact you for a phone session or a session via our HIPPA-compliant virtual therapy system so you don't need to leave your sick child or worry about traffic and weather. As long as you are in a confidential location, we can help you keep your regularly scheduled appointment. If you still must change or cancel your counseling appointment, please know: • Cancellations must be made during business hours. • Cancellations must be made within 48 hours of session time if using our online scheduling program. • We cannot accommodate cancellations made via email as we do not monitor email on a regular basis. • We may not accommodate cancellations made after hours or on holidays to our main number as we cannot check voice mail regularly. If you have an appointment on a Monday or the first day following a holiday, you must make your change or cancellation the last business day before your appointment. • Cancellations with less than 24 hours’ notice will result in a fee equal to the total amount of the missed session that will be collected at your next appointment, or, if payment information is on file, it will be debited from your credit card. • *After two no-shows/late cancellations, you will pre-pay a retainer before scheduling any future appointments. • Clients who have pre-paid agree to have the entire fee deducted from their pre-payment in cases of other no-shows and late changes/cancellations. • Court testimony costs begin at $250 per hour with a minimum charge of three hours. A retainer of $1000 is due one week prior to the court date. Travel is billed at .55/mile. Failure to provide the specific fees as described constitutes a release from the requested court appearance. • It is required that a minimum of 36 hours’ notice be given if the testimony is not required, otherwise the entire retainer may be forfeited. If proper notice is given, the retainer will be refunded. • Additional services related to court preparation including all correspondence with attorneys or other service providers via phone, email, or letter, documentation review and/or documentation preparation are also billed at $250 per hour, rounded to the nearest 15 minute increment. You (not your insurance company) are responsible for full payment of fees. It is very important that you find out exactly what mental health services your insurance policy covers. You must pay your xxxx first, then contact your insurance company regarding reimbursement. We answer our main office number 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Monday through Friday (except holidays). You may have your counselor’s cell phone number in order to coordinate administrative tasks (defined as appointment arrival, appointment time, and directions). Email, and text messaging are not secure mediums in terms of privacy and confidentiality so our policy regarding, electronic communication, and cell phone use includes the following: • We do not provide therapy/counseling via email or text messaging. • Text messaging and email will be used for administrative tasks only (as defined above). • Therapists may not acknowledge or return emails or text messages that are not administrative. This includes emergency texts and emails. • If your therapist leaves for an extended period of time you will be given the information for another licensed therapist with whom you may schedule if you need an appointment during your therapist’s absence. You may need to fill out other paperwork if therapist is in another practice.
Counselors A. Newly ordered file cabinets for Counselors will have locks. No Counselors shall be held accountable, unless through their own negligence, for the loss of school records unless there is a secure place for storage. B. Counselors, although generally working the same overall hours as teachers, shall be allowed to use flexible hours if it improves their service to pupils. C. The duty of maintaining school attendance records and of coordinating school transportation services shall not be assigned to Counselors. D. Counselors shall not be required, except in an emergency, to handle homeroom assignments, schedule or score large-scale tests, prepare school master schedules, complete entries and withdrawals and schedule conferences between classroom teachers and parents. E. Every effort will be made, in accordance with the BCPSS Master Plan adopted and updated by the Board, to provide school counselors with access to computers, telephones, private consultation space and clerical services. F. The Board will make every effort to reduce the case-load of Counselors. In furtherance of this objective, a committee shall be established consisting of three (3) members selected by the Union and three (3) members selected by the Board to review the current status of the effort. G. The Board and the Union will form a committee with three (3) members appointed by each to review the utilization and effectiveness of school counseling services and make recommendations to improve services to students. One additional task of the committee shall be to develop a counselor evaluation instrument. H. Substitutes shall be hired for counselors out for long-term illness. I. Counselors shall have access to clerical services. J. Formal observation of counselors shall only be done by the Office of guidance Services personnel, holding National Counselor Certification (NCC) credential and/or a Maryland Professional Counselor’s License.
Educational Benefits The Employer agrees to provide educational benefits to employees that are in permanent status as of the first day of the quarter they are registering in accordance with the Employer’s space-available tuition waiver policy and employee 50% operating fee tuition waiver policy, to include:
Employee Orientation Each and every person working for a contractor, including sub- contractors, will be given an orientation to familiarize them with the site safety program. Unless otherwise specified, each sub-contractor is responsible for the orientation of their workers.
New Employee Orientation The Union will provide each agency personnel director with the names and addresses of up to two (2) authorized Union representatives per agency to receive notice of each formal orientation meeting held by the Department. The notice will be sent as soon as such meetings are scheduled (but not less than ten (10) days in advance) and will include date, time and location. Due to operational exigencies, agencies may schedule an orientation which will provide the Union with less than the requisite ten (10) days' notice; however the Union shall be notified as soon as possible after the scheduling of the orientation and the Union representative shall be released from duty. Agencies shall routinely schedule orientations in a manner that will allow for the ten (10) day advance notice to the Union. During the formal orientation, the Union will be permitted to give a twenty (20) minute presentation which may include an enrollment in supplemental Union benefits. The parties shall encourage employee attendance, although attendance shall not be mandatory if an employee objects to attending the presentation. In the event a formal orientation meeting is not held, or the Union is unable to attend the formal orientation because the designated Union representatives cannot be released under Article 4, the Employer shall allow the Union representative and the employee(s) to meet during duty hours at a mutually agreed upon time and location for twenty (20) minutes Employee participation in these meetings shall be encouraged although an employee shall not be required to attend such a meeting.
Outplacement If so requested by the Executive, outplacement services shall be provided by a professional outplacement provider selected by Executive; provided, however, that such outplacement services shall be provided the Executive at an aggregate total cost to the Company of not more than ten (10) percent of such Executive's annual base salary.
Tobacco Use Counseling and Intervention This plan covers smoking cessation programs when prescribed by a physician in accordance with R.I. General Law §27-20-53 and ACA guidelines. Smoking cessation programs include, but are not limited to, the following: • Smoking cessation counseling must be provided by a physician or upon his or her • Over-the-counter and FDA approved nicotine replacement therapy and/or smoking cessation prescription drugs, prescribed by a physician, and purchased at a pharmacy. See the Summary of Pharmacy Benefits for details on coverage. This plan covers adult and pediatric preventive vaccinations and immunizations in accordance with current guidelines. Our allowance includes the administration and the vaccine. If a covered immunization is provided as part of an office visit, the office visit copayment and deductible (if any) will apply. Travel immunizations are covered to the extent that such immunizations are recommended for adults and children by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The recommendations are subject to change by the CDC. This plan covers preventive screenings based on the ACA guidelines noted above. Preventive screenings include but are not limited to: • mammograms; • pap smears; • prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests; • flexible sigmoidoscopy; • double contrast barium enema; • fecal occult blood tests, screening for gestational diabetes, and human papillomavirus; and • genetic counseling for breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA). This plan covers colonoscopies in accordance with R.I. General Laws § 27-18-58. Covered healthcare services include an initial colonoscopy or other medical tests or procedures for colorectal cancer screening and a follow-up colonoscopy if the results of the initial test are abnormal. This plan covers the following contraceptive services: • FDA approved contraceptive drugs and devices requiring a prescription; • barrier method (cervical cap, diaphragm, or implantable) fitted and supplied during an office visit; and • surgical and sterilization services for women with reproductive capacity, including but not limited to tubal ligation. This plan covers lactation (breastfeeding) support and counseling during the pregnancy or postpartum period when provided by a licensed lactation counselor. This plan covers manual, electric, or battery operated breast pumps for a female member in conjunction with each birth event.
Coaching Informal discussion or instruction between employee and their immediate supervisor. Supervisor may follow up in writing which may include a simple action plan. This is not a form of corrective action.
Pre-Retirement Counseling Leave Each employee within four (4) years of chosen retirement age or date shall be granted, on a one-time basis, up to three and one-half (3-1/2) days leave with pay to pursue bona fide pre-retirement programs. Employees shall request the use of leave provided in this Section at least five (5) days prior to the intended day of use.