Wanna unpack that? 

Disclosure Statement

Alyssa Faella-Aversa, MSW, LICSW

Unpack That Therapy PLLC

 

Please take the time to carefully read this disclosure statement. As my client, you have the right to know my qualifications, methods, and mutual expectations of our professional relationship. The information presented here is provided to help you decide if my services are suitable for your needs. Please discuss any questions or concerns you may have either now or during the course of your treatment.

 

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My Qualification and License

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I am a licensed independent clinical social worker in Washington State (license# LW.61166866). I received my Master in Social Work Degree in 2017 from the University of Washington. I specialized in Mental Health. My professional background involves an internship at the counseling program (CReW) at Catholic Community Services then working in two mental health programs at DESC for 8+ years. My experience as a community mental health practitioner equipped me to work with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds experiencing challenges including depression, anxiety, psychosis, addiction, codependency, trauma, relationship issues, and stresses caused by socioeconomic struggles and systemic oppression.

 

 

The Therapeutic Process

 

I believe that therapy is about finding your authentic self and learning to embrace suffering that is part of life. It is important for all of us to find enjoyment and contentment in our lives when days are good and when days are hard. I believe that therapy is a great tool to embrace the things we can change and accept the things we cannot. A counseling relationship between a Licensed Counselor and the client is a professional relationship in which the counselor assists the client in exploring and resolving difficult life issues. I believe that when individuals become more accepting of themselves, and more aware of their thoughts, emotions and actions, they are more capable of making decisions which lead to happiness and fulfillment in their lives. Self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-compassion are goals that sometimes take a long time to achieve. While some clients may need only a few counseling sessions to achieve their personal goals, others may require months or even years of counseling. Some clients’ goals shift, so sometimes we can work on one goal then an unexpected life event happens and different goals arise. My therapeutic modality is a blend of psychodynamic, mindfulness, and behavioral therapies.

 

Therapy has both benefits and risks. Sometimes it may feel uncomfortable confronting your own emotions, thoughts, or memories. During the course of therapy, you might notice changes in your symptoms, problems, and functioning. Since we will be exploring challenging territory in your life, you might experience greater difficulty at points throughout our work. Therapy typically produces benefits over time, but sometimes as you get to the root of sensitive issues, you may feel them even more acutely than in the past. As cliche as it sounds, sometimes clients can feel worse before they feel better. I cannot offer any promise or guarantee about the results you will experience, nor can I guarantee results during a specific timeframe. However, as you commit yourself to work through your vulnerable issues and build upon your strengths, it is likely that you will see improvements throughout our work and in the future.

 

I vow to listen to you, to collaborate with you, and to be by your side on this path to personal growth, balance, and healing. You have the right - and I will encourage you - to participate in your ongoing treatment plans. You are the one setting the goals. I am here to help you set them in a specific and feasible way so that you can accomplish them. You also have the right to refuse any recommended services or modality, though I again encourage you to discuss this with me. I am always open to feedback about strategies that do not work for you or you are not ready for. I also ask for clients to discuss with me anything that they feel is missing from our sessions that they need me to incorporate. I understand that some clients may struggle to offer constructive feedback to their therapist, but I see this as an opportunity for increased growth and trust within our therapeutic alliance. I see our relationship as collaborative and personally empowering for you, rather than hierarchical.

 

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Client’s Rights and Responsibilities

 

Clients have the right to choose a therapist who best suits their needs and purposes. You may ask questions about treatment at any time and may choose to terminate therapy at any time. Therapy may also be ended when I feel that your needs will be better met by another provider. If you feel like your needs will be better met by another provider, then please discuss that with me. In both cases, I will try my best to make appropriate referrals.

 

I usually work with all my clients on a weekly basis. We can discuss reducing it to every other week in the future, particularly if you experience a prolonged period of reduced symptoms. Please let me know if you are need to cancel a session due to a vacation or another planned event. If you cancel several sessions within a short period, which I perceive as a barrier to a positive therapeutic process, I will ask that you be removed from your recurring appointment slot and be placed on my on-call list. The on-call list creates sessions based on cancellations. I will reach out to you by phone as those times become available. If you do not show up to your appointment without notifying me, all your future appointments will be canceled until I hear from you.

 

If you have any concerns or complaints about my conduct as a mental health practitioner, you may contact the Department of Health.

Health Systems Quality Assurance Complaint Intake 360-236-4700 HSQAComplaintIntake@doh.wa.gov

P.O. Box 47857 Olympia, WA 98504-7857

 

 

Services

 

I offer therapy service for individuals. I do not offer therapy for couples nor families at this time. I am working to add these services in the future. I see clients 18 years old and above. I have many years’ experience working with young adults, senior citizens, and everyone in between. I do NOT offer case management services, which include but are not limited to providing paperwork for disability, unemployment, custody, adoption, foster care, car accidents and any type of legal issues. I do NOT offer therapy for individuals who are court mandated for treatment or seeking treatment in which disclosure of sessions will need to be provided to an outside entity.

 

Our work together is limited to the scheduled sessions we have together which are 53-55 minutes in length. If you would like to continue the session beyond this time, and I don’t have another client scheduled, you will be expected to pay my fee prorated for the extended time. It is important that you understand that although our sessions may be very intimate, we have a professional, rather than a personal, relationship. Our contact will be limited to only the paid sessions we have together; please do not invite me to social engagements, offer gifts, or expect me to relate to you in any way outside our therapy sessions. By holding these boundaries, I adhere to the ethics standard of my industry and I remain an unbiased third party in your life. You will be served best if our relationship stays strictly professional and if our sessions concentrate exclusively on your concerns.

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Emergency Services and Crisis Interventiomn

 

 

Telehealth Expectations

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During telehealth sessions, I ask that clients treat the session as though we are meeting in-person so that I can provide you with quality care. This means you must have a stable internet connection and for you to be in a quiet and private space. We can work with each other best when there is no background noise or distracting stimuli. I conduct all of my telehealth sessions in my home office to give clients a quiet, non-distracting, and private space to meet with me. Sometimes technology can work against us, so I will have a backup plan to contact you if our video call gets disconnected. I ask that you send me a message if you are having trouble connecting to the call or if you are having internet issues so I can continue waiting for you to join or contact you via an alternate method for our session.

 

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Financial Responsibilities

 

Please confirm your insurance coverage and patient responsibility before your first appointment with me. Your co-pay or patient responsibility (deductible) determined by your insurer is due at each visit before your session begins. My private pay rate is $140.00 per 55-minute session for individuals. If you are unable to pay the associated fees at the time of service for more than one visit, without developing a payment plan, your future appointments will be suspended until unpaid balances are resolved. Additional fees may apply to preparation of requested documents or copying and sending records. I will discuss any fees with you at the time of a request. Your appointment time is reserved specifically for you, and I will ask all my clients to respect this time. A minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required to reschedule or cancel without a fee. A $140.00 fee is assessed for cancellations on a shorter notice than 48 hours’ and no-shows, at my discretion. Unpack That Therapy PLLC is my own business, so my income is affected if I cannot fill empty blocks on my schedule. Insurance cannot be billed for missed sessions. Since this fee is assessed at my discretion, please direct all questions to me, not the administrative staff. If you had to cancel short notice or no-show due to an emergency, then please discuss that with me so I can discern if I am able to reduce the fee.

 

 

Confidentiality and Access to Records

 

With few exceptions, our meetings will remain completely confidential. Without your written consent, everything that is said during sessions is held in strictest confidentiality.

There are exceptions to this confidentiality, however; these include:

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1.   Any information or suspicion of child or elder abuse, neglect, sexual abuse or incest.

2.   Serious threat of danger to yourself, as in potential suicide.

3.   Serious threat of danger to another, or contemplation of a serious crime.

4.   Court-ordered request for your records.

5.   Requests by 3rd-party billings (insurance companies) to provide diagnosis, records, or statement of service.

6. Requests by psychiatric hospitals to provide diagnosis and records should you admit yourself for inpatient treatment or someone else admits you involuntarily 

 

I keep brief notes of your sessions to track your progress. You have the right to a copy of your medical records at any time. A response to your request will be made within 15 working days; this is in compliance with RCW 70.02.080.