7) In emergencies, in the event of disruption of service, or for routine or administrative reasons, it may be necessary to communicate by other means:
a) In emergency situations: If it is an imminent situation that requires face-to-face contact call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If it can be managed over the phone, you can call your therapist but if your therapist does not respond immediately or within a short period of time, you should contact local emergency services (for example, call 911 or go to your local hospital’s emergency room, or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline number -1-800-273-8255.) Also, other local hotline crisis phone numbers may be available to call, and you can check on the internet to find those. Netcare Access in the Columbus area has a 24-hour mental health hotline service and it may be reached at (614) 276-2273 (CARE).
b) Should service be disrupted: Try to regain contact using the same medium. If that does not work, attempt to make contact using text or e-mail. Your therapist will also make every effort to regain contact. If service is disrupted during a therapy session before the pre-agreed time frame has ended, you will have the opportunity to use the remaining time as soon as contact is made. If contact is not re-established within one hour, you will have the choice to end the session and be charged a prorated amount or allowed to schedule an additional session to use the remaining time.
c) For other communications: Your therapist and you may agree to communicate via a phone call, videoconferencing, e-mail, text, fax, or mailed letters.
(8) The potential benefits of online counseling include flexibility in scheduling and allowing you to engage in counseling outside of the office, which eliminates issues like transportation and other psycho-social barriers that might make it difficult for you to handle in a traditional office setting. The provision of online counseling may include risks related to the technology used, the distance between you and your therapist, and issues related to timeliness. For example, the potential risk of confidentiality may pertain to your accessing the internet from public locations. You
should consider the visibility of your screen and being overheard when in public settings. It is recommended that you be in a private setting when engaging in online counseling. You should also always use strong passwords to protect any information shared with your therapist. Never use a work computer for therapy as your employer may have access to the information shared in electronic communications. Be cautious when using a shared network with others.