Psychologists Psychologists hired by the Employer, with no prior years of experience as a school psychologist, teacher, or prior years of military service shall be placed on Step 1 of the salary schedule effective July 1, 1990. Credit for combined years of prior experience as a school psychologist, teacher, and active military service experience shall be allowed at a rate of one (1) year for each twelve (12) months of continuous service up to a maximum of eight (8) years, as per credit requirements in Salary guidelines. Retroactive to the 2000 – 2001 school year, for new school psychologists, credit for combined years of prior experience as a school psychologist, teacher, and active military service experience shall be allowed at a rate of one (1) year for each twelve
PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES Psychotherapy is not easily described in general statements. It varies depending on the personalities of the psychologist and patient, and the particular problems you hope to address. There are many different methods I may use to deal with those problems. 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 we talk about both during our sessions and at home. Psychotherapy can have benefits and risks. Because therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. When treating insomnia specifically, therapy might cause you to experience increased sleepiness and fatigue, especially in the early phases of treatment. On the other hand, psychotherapy has also been shown to have benefits for people who go through it. Therapy often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, significant reductions in feelings of distress, improved sleep, and less fatigue. But there are no guarantees as to what you will experience. Our first session will involve an evaluation of your needs. By the end of the evaluation, I will be able to offer you some first impressions of what our work will include and a treatment plan to follow, if you decide to continue with me for therapy. You should evaluate this information along with your own opinions about whether you feel comfortable working with me. At the end of the evaluation, I will notify you if I believe that I am not the right therapist for you and if so, I will give you referrals to other practitioners who I believe are better suited to help you. Therapy involves a large commitment of time, money, and energy, so you should be very careful about the therapist you select. If you have questions about my procedures, we should discuss them whenever they arise. If your doubts persist, I will be happy to help you set up a meeting with another mental health professional for a second opinion. Please note that the psychological services I provide are not for emergency situations. For emergencies, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. My fee is $395 for an initial evaluation lasting 90 minutes, and $250 for each subsequent psychotherapy session (either in-person or over the telephone) lasting 45 minutes. I charge this same $250 per 45-minutes rate for other professional services you may need, though I will prorate the cost if I work for periods of less than 45 minutes in increments of 15 minutes, rounded to the nearest 15-minute increment (e.g., 22 minutes of service will be charged for 15 minutes whereas 23 minutes of service will be charged for 30 minutes). Other professional services include telephone conversations or email responses lasting longer than 15 minutes, and the time spent performing any other service you may request of me. If you become involved in legal proceedings that require my participation, you will be expected to pay for any professional time I spend on your legal matter, even if the request comes from another party, at the same $250 per 45-minutes rate. I do not charge for time spent writing reports and progress notes as per the standard routine of my care of you. I also do not charge for any time I may spend collaborating with your other providers. From time to time, I may institute fee increases and these will be discussed and agreed upon ahead of time with a new Treatment Contract. If it has been more than one year since our last appointment, then you will re-initiate services at my current standard fee which may be higher than the fee you were previously paying. In addition, if it has been more than one year since our last appointment, you will be scheduled for another initial evaluation (90 minutes) and charged accordingly, with subsequent 45-minute psychotherapy sessions thereafter. You are responsible for paying your full session fee. I am not in-network with any insurance companies. If you decide to submit claims to your insurance company for reimbursement for any out-of-network benefits you might have, you may do so. However, be aware that the services provided will still be charged to you, not your insurance company, and you are responsible for the full payment. I have no role in deciding what your insurance covers. You are responsible for checking your insurance coverage, deductibles, payment rates, pre-authorization procedures, etc. Missed appointments, late cancellations (i.e., cancellations within 24 hours of service), and telephone session are not typically covered by insurance companies and therefore you will likely be responsible for the full session fee in these instances. If your insurance company doesn’t reimburse you, I am not responsible for refunding you any payment you expected to be reimbursed or otherwise. I will provide you a superbill after each session with the following information that you will need to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement for any out-of-network benefits you might have:
Mental Health The parties recognize the importance of supporting and promoting a psychologically healthy workplace and as such will adhere to all applicable statutes, policy, guidelines and regulations pertaining to the promotion of mental health.
Mental Health Services This agreement covers medically necessary services for the treatment of mental health disorders in a general or specialty hospital or outpatient facilities that are: • reviewed and approved by us; and • licensed under the laws of the State of Rhode Island or by the state in which the facility is located as a general or specialty hospital or outpatient facility. We review network and non-network programs, hospitals and inpatient facilities, and the specific services provided to decide whether a preauthorization, hospital or inpatient facility, or specific services rendered meets our program requirements, content and criteria. If our program content and criteria are not met, the services are not covered under this agreement. Our program content and criteria are defined below.
Critical Illness Three (3) days per year, with pay, shall be granted in the case of a critical illness or accident to a member of the employee's immediate family as defined in Section 9.4.2. A statement by the physician verifying the need for the employee to be present with the immediate family member shall be attached to the absence form.
Behavioral Health Services Behavioral health services include the evaluation, management, and treatment for a mental health or substance use disorder condition. For the purpose of this plan, substance use disorder does not include addiction to or abuse of tobacco and/or caffeine. Mental health or substance use disorders are those that are listed in the most updated volume of either: • the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association; or • the International Classification of Disease Manual (ICD) published by the World Health Organization. This plan provides parity in benefits for behavioral healthcare services. Please see Section 10 for additional information regarding behavioral healthcare parity. This plan covers behavioral health services if you are inpatient at a general or specialty hospital. See Inpatient Services in Section 3 for additional information. This plan covers services at behavioral health residential treatment facilities, which provide: • clinical treatment; • medication evaluation management; and • 24-hour on site availability of health professional staff, as required by licensing regulations. This plan covers intermediate care services, which are facility-based programs that are: • more intensive than traditional outpatient services; • less intensive than 24-hour inpatient hospital or residential treatment facility services; and • used as a step down from a higher level of care; or • used a step-up from standard care level of care. Intermediate care services include the following: • Partial Hospital Program (PHP) – PHPs are structured and medically supervised day, evening, or nighttime treatment programs providing individualized treatment plans. A PHP typically runs for five hours a day, five days per week. • Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) – An IOP provides substantial clinical support for patients who are either in transition from a higher level of care or at risk for admission to a higher level of care. An IOP typically runs for three hours per day, three days per week.
Root Cause Analysis Upon Vendor's failure to provide the Services in accordance with the applicable Service Levels (for any reason other than a Force Majeure Event) Vendor will promptly (a) perform a root-cause analysis to identify the cause of such failure, (b) provide Prudential with a report detailing the cause of, and procedure for correcting, such failure, (c) obtain Prudential's written approval of the proposed procedure for correcting such failure, (d) correct such failure in accordance with the approved procedure, (e) provide weekly (or more frequent, if appropriate) reports on the status of the correction efforts, and (f) provide Prudential with assurances satisfactory to Prudential that such failure has been corrected and will not recur.
Clinical Management for Behavioral Health Services (CMBHS) System
1. request access to CMBHS via the CMBHS Helpline at (000) 000-0000.
2. use the CMBHS time frames specified by System Agency.
3. use System Agency-specified functionality of the CMBHS in its entirety.
4. submit all bills and reports to System Agency through the CMBHS, unless otherwise instructed.
HEALTH PROGRAM 3701 Health examinations required by the Employer shall be provided by the Employer and shall be at the expense of the Employer. 3702 Time off without loss of regular pay shall be allowed at a time determined by the Employer for such medical examinations and laboratory tests, provided that these are performed on the Employer’s premises, or at a facility designated by the Employer. 3703 With the approval of the Employer, a nurse may choose to be examined by a physician of her/his own choice, at her/his own expense, as long as the Employer receives a statement as to the fitness of the nurse from the physician. 3704 Time off for medical and dental examinations and/or treatments may be granted and such time off, including necessary travel time, shall be chargeable against accumulated income protection benefits.
Medical Verification The Town may require medical verification of an employee’s absence if the Town perceives the employee is abusing sick leave or has used an excessive amount of sick leave. The Town may require medical verification of an employee’s absence to verify that the employee is able to return to work with or without restrictions.
