Treatment Consent

Welcome to Renewal Christian Counseling Center and thank you for allowing us to assist you! Please read this document carefully, as it contains information about our professional services and business policies. Should you have any questions, please contact us via email at support@renewalcenter.org.

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Who Are We
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Renewal Christian Counseling Center brings the best of psychotherapy, psychiatric services, and faith-based Christian counseling, together. Renewal is a full-service, CARF accredited, Behavioral and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Outpatient Clinic dedicated to making therapy available and affordable for all, in-person and online. Our mission is to rebuild and bring newness to the individual and his or her relationships through Christ-centered clinical counseling.

Renewal Center is founded and led by Steve Fair, LMSW along with an Advisory Board made of professional, well-respected, community leaders along with our medical team of psychiatric doctors, child and adult psychiatrists, pediatricians, and nurse practitioners. Our licensed and insured therapists, counselors, and psychologists are all Masters and Doctoral-Level practitioners who provide the highest quality and care of all those we serve. To remain unbiased, and to ensure the highest ethical and moral standards, Renewal is accredited and audited by CARF International and follows the American Association of Christian Counselors code of ethics to meet industry and international standards of quality of care with you in mind. Today, with multiple locations, online therapy, and a dedicated team who share the same passion for helping others we're here for you.

Contacting Us
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We are generally open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. This varies from therapist-to-therapist (additional hours may be available upon request). When you call our office number or email support@renewalcenter.org, you will reach our office, non-clinical, support staff team. Due to your therapist's work schedule, they are often not immediately available by telephone when they are in session. You may ask our office support staff to route your call to your therapist's personal voicemail. Your therapist will return your call at their earliest convenience.

In the case of an emergency, if you are unable to reach your therapist and feel that your situation is life-threatening, you may contact your local 24-hour crisis line at (586) 307-9100 in Macomb County or (888) 225-4447 in St. Clair County or (989) 631-4450 for Midland County.

You may also call 911 for life-threatening emergencies or if you are having suicidal thoughts or making plans to harm yourself, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1(800) 273-TALK (8255) for free 24-hour hotline support.

What to Expect
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Your first session will be a time of assessment to specify any diagnoses you may have and to specify any treatment interventions that may be helpful to you. Renewal Center has found much success and has seen many come to a place of freedom from their symptoms through the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectic Behavioral Therapy skills, and other research-based interventions combined with your motivation to change.

Our treatment process will follow this progression:

  1. Initial Assessment: Your Therapist will ask many questions with the intent of getting to know you and your struggles, to diagnose your symptoms and build trust with you. It is normal to feel some discouragement if you define your first session as a therapy session where you will find relief of your symptoms and direction for your decisions. Please bear with us, as we do not want to try to "fix" anything that we together do not fully understand first!

  2. Treatment Planning: This process may start in the first session, but not later than the second. You and your therapist will define together the goals you are working on, the outcomes you desire before therapy concludes and you will be provided with a treatment plan outlining how your therapist will help you reach your goals. Your therapist will ask about your hopes, consider your beliefs, and your desired pace of healing. Your therapist will also be documenting the goals that you agree upon together for treatment and you will be given a copy of this plan unless you specify otherwise.

  3. Treatment:  Per insurance codes, most people meet with their therapist weekly, in-person and/or online, for 50-minute sessions. Some more often if in crisis and others much less often. This will be up to you unless your therapist specifies otherwise. You’ll be expected to be present for your session at your scheduled time. Your therapist and/or doctor will remain on schedule due to insurance billing codes. You may be charged extra for sessions longer than 60 minutes as these sessions are billed at a different code with your insurance carrier. 

    4. There are many models of therapy that are used at Renewal. Some methods are short-term "Solution Focused Treatment" which can be concluded in as few as 3 sessions. Other forms of treatment can be ongoing long-term for those whose issues are resistant to short-term interventions and for those who do not have a validating support network outside of Renewal Center. Individual sessions, family meetings, joint sessions with other supports present, and group sessions are all common and effective modes of treatment delivery that you and your therapist will decide upon.

  4. Discharge Planning:When the goals you have set begin to be met, you and your therapist will begin planning your transition to help maintain your progress after your therapy work has been completed at Renewal Center. This transition planning should include, without therapy intervention, you having some defined supports that know what interventions you and your therapist have decided upon, a doctor (and psychiatrist if you are on medications), and a crisis or relapse plan. When you are safe and your symptoms are manageable, counseling may decrease to a level where your counselor will help you monitor your progress may be monthly or even quarterly. You may always return to regular sessions if your symptoms return fully after discharge.

Important Notice
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In the best interest of our clients, our Medical Director will review your file, and your private health information may be reviewed by a quality assurance committee made up of a multidisciplinary team of professionals who work together for your quality of care.

You may also request a psychiatric review with our Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Gerome Hess, or you may be referred to one of them by your therapist if there are any medical or safety concerns. We'll defer to your doctor regarding any medical symptoms if you are not seen by a psychiatrist at Renewal Center. We'll ask that you provide us with your Primary Care Physician's name and address.

The continuation of treatment is at your therapist's discretion. Renewal Center is most willing to work with those who are ready and willing to change. If your therapist or doctor determines you are presenting symptoms that are associated as a high-risk for safety issues and may better meet the criteria for programs that are more intensive, you may be referred to other programs that best fit your mental health needs.

You should also be aware that your contract with your health insurance company requires that we provide it with information relevant to the services that we provide to you. We are required to provide a clinical diagnosis for entry into our Clinical Counseling Program for payment by your insurance company. Please understand, these symptoms will be given a diagnostic code by your therapist and/or your doctor. This information is then sent to the insurance carrier for billing. Medical necessity must be established in order for your insurance company to be billed. Clients that do not present with a diagnosable set of symptoms will be served through our "Coaching and Mentoring" program and will need to pay cash for these services.

Prohibited: Abusive actions or words may also lead to your dismissal from the program. Anyone carrying illegal drugs and prescription meds, as well as weapons, may be asked to leave the premises and even prosecuted. Smoking is prohibited in all areas of this agency. You may contact Michelle Briggs at 586-783-2950 if you wish to regain your rights and privileges that have been restricted.

Children: Seclusion and restraint are prohibited as an intervention for you or your children, except in case of self-defense by our workers, and to support you in handling your child if he/she is escalated to the point of compromising safety.

In the case of an emergency: Maps of our building with emergency routes are located at every room entrance in each of our locations, illuminated exit signs are above exit doors, fire extinguishers are located conveniently and safely throughout the building, and first-aid kits are available at our front desk at your request.

Financial Responsibility

Payment for Services

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You will be expected to pay for each session at the time it is held, unless we agree otherwise or you have insurance coverage that requires another arrangement (ie. balance to be billed to you upon receipt of the insurance processing). You are responsible for payment for all services you receive, whether or not your insurance reimburses for a portion of the charges.

  1. Responsible Party Advisory: You, the Responsible Party, are liable for all fees not collected from your health insurance provider. If you have requested that your medical insurance be billed for mental health services at Renewal, we will need to exchange information with your insurance company, such as your diagnosis and frequency of treatment. By signing the Service Agreement , you are releasing Renewal Center and its insurance billing staff to communicate with your insurance provider and bill them for services.

    2. * Responsible Party: Individual Responsible for Financial Liability Incurred for Services

  2. Therapy Rates: Our standard rates are applied according to your insurance co-pays, deductibles, or on a Sliding Fee Schedule that is available upon request. Rates for additional services are also outlined in the Sliding Fee Schedule.

    3. We want counseling to be affordable to all. In order to assist those who do not have insurance coverage, we have established an affordable self-pay sliding fee scale that is applied based upon family income levels. You may take advantage of this fee reduction if your family income is below $120,000 per year. You'll just need to provide Renewal Center with your most recent 1040 tax report or other proof of income to demonstrate your income level.

  3. Appointment Cancellation: A $45 fee will be charged for any appointments that are canceled less than 24 hours prior to the scheduled session or are missed without any notification. The Responsible Party will be required to pay the fee before rescheduling or attending any scheduled future appointments.

    4. * An appeal form is available if you would like to dispute your charge or case closure. Appeals can be submitted up to 60 days after the date of the missed appointment. Our agency depends financially upon people keeping the appointments they schedule; therefore, our policy is to close your case if you accumulate two "no-shows" within six months.

  4. Billing: The Responsible Party listed above is liable for payment of services on the day of your session. All unpaid balances will be handled per Renewal's established billing policy and will be turned over to a Designated Credit Bureau if monies are not collected from the Responsible Party within 120 days.

    5. * Our Administrative Support Staff is prohibited from scheduling client sessions for those with an outstanding balance.

  5. Bounced Check: A $25 fee will be charged for each bounced check.

Recipient Rights and Responsibilities

Your Rights

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    1. You, the recipient, have the right to receive respectful treatment in a physically and emotionally safe treatment environment without the fear of humiliation, retaliation, or abuse.

    2. You have the right to privacy and the law binds our therapist and doctors to confidentiality with certain exceptions (i.e., child abuse/neglect, a client has the intent to harm self or others).

    3. You have the right to know the financial cost of treatment in advance of receiving services.

    4. You have the right to decide not to enter therapy with any Renewal Center therapist. If you wish, we will provide you with the names of other good therapists that we can refer you to, both internally and outside our agency.

    5. You have the right to ask any questions at any time about what we do during therapy and to receive answers that satisfy you. If you wish, we will explain further any of our treatment modalities to you. You also have the right to refuse any such intervention.

    6. You have the right to end therapy at any time. However, you are expected to pay for any treatment you have already received.

    7. If your therapist wishes to record your session, he/she will request your permission in writing. You have the right to refuse any such request.

    8. You have the right to review your diagnosis and treatment plan at any time, with a few exceptions.

* Please refer to the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.

  1. You have the right to education regarding mental health Advance Directives. You have the right to make an Advanced Directive which gives you control of decision making if you were ever in a time of a Mental Health Emergency. The Advanced Directive form can be obtained at our front desk. You have the right to be helped by your therapist in defining this plan together. Download your copy of the Advanced Directive.

  2. You have the right to share your concerns, dissatisfaction with services, and/or if you have had their rights to treatment temporarily revoked or restricted may fill out an appeal form to receive further services at Renewal Center with our Recipient Rights Officer and have your grievance(s) heard by calling our office and asking for Michelle Briggs, (586)-783-2950. You may be asked to submit your concerns in writing so that either the director or a committee can investigate your complaint fully after which they will contact you regarding their findings within 14 days. You may also give input and suggestions via our website or suggestion boxes which are by our front desks.