Practice Policies

THERAPIST - MORGAN BRIGGS PROFESSIONAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENT 

Morgan Briggs is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. Morgan Briggs does not provide 24-hour crisis counseling. Should you experience an emergency necessitating immediate mental health attention, immediately call 9-1-1 or go to an emergency room for assistance. You are in control of the counseling relationship and may choose at any time to end the therapeutic relationship. If at any time you are dissatisfied with Morgan Briggs’ services as a therapist, you have a right to let her know. If you do not feel that Morgan Briggs may resolve your complaint, you may file a formal complaint through contact with the Texas Board of Examiners of Licensed Professional Counselors at 1- 800- 942-5540. 

APPOINTMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS 

Please remember to cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance. You will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation/reschedule is less than 24 hours. The standard meeting time for psychotherapy is 50 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time of your sessions. Requests to change the 50-minute session need to be discussed with the therapist for time to be scheduled in advance. The rate for individual counseling sessions is $150.00 for a 50-minute session. All fees for counseling are due at the time services are rendered. A $10.00 service charge will be charged for any checks returned for any reason for special handling. Cancellations and re-scheduled sessions will be subject to a full charge if NOT RECEIVED AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time. Not showing up for a scheduled appointment will result in being charged $150.00 for the full missed session. If attending a group therapy session, the fee is $100 per 90-minute group session to be paid in full at the time of the session. If you have a phone conversation 15 minutes or longer with Morgan Briggs, it will be considered a counseling session with billing immediately beginning for one half hour and every quarter hour as necessary. Phone counseling sessions or office counseling sessions on weekends are billed at $300.00 per hour. 

As a licensed mental professional Counselor, Morgan Briggs' my primary role is to support your mental health and well-being through therapeutic services. She does not provide forensic or legal evaluations, custody recommendations, or expert testimony. She is not trained in forensic psychology or legal procedures, and her goal is to maintain the integrity of the therapeutic process and provide you with the best possible care within the scope of her practice. Morgan Briggs does not voluntarily participate in legal or court proceedings, including writing letters to the court, attending hearings, or providing records or testimony. This boundary helps preserve the confidentiality of our work and ensures that therapy remains a safe and supportive space. If Morgan Briggs is subpoenaed by a judge (only) and legally required to appear in court or release records, she will comply as mandated by law. In such a case, she may be required to share information about our work together, even if it is not in your best interest from a therapeutic perspective. Please know this is only done under legal obligation.

If Morgan Briggs is to testify in court the fee for this service is $300.00 per hour with a 4-hour minimum within 40-mile radius and an 8-hour minimum for travel beyond a 40-mile radius with travel time billed at the same rate and preparation time billed at the same rate. Mileage charges will be added at the standard IRS rate. Overnight lodging if necessary will be billed as well. All time for court preparation including conversations with attorneys, research and report preparation is billed at the same $300.00 per hour rate. If Morgan Briggs is to perform an intervention, the fee is $300.00 per hour with a 4-hour minimum within a 40- mile radius and an 8-hour minimum beyond a 40-mile radius with travel time billed at the same rate and preparation time billed at the same rate. Mileage charges will be added at the standard IRS rate. 1 of 3 Records and all of our communications become part of the clinical record. Records are the property of Morgan Briggs Counseling PLLC. All client records are disposed of seven (7) years after the client has stopped receiving services. If required, time spent by Morgan Briggs sending emails, text messages and phone conversations when exceeding 15 minutes will be considered a billable quarter hour with payment due during the next scheduled in office appointment. No video, audio or other recording is permitted during a counseling session without the express written permission of Morgan Briggs Counseling PLLC. This permission must be obtained prior to the beginning of the session. TELEPHONE ACCESSIBILITY If you need to contact me between sessions, please leave a message on my voicemail. I am often not immediately available; however, I will attempt to return your call within 24 hours. Please note that Face-to face sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, if you are out of town, sick, or need additional support, phone sessions are available. If a true emergency arises, please call 911 or any local emergency room. 

SOCIAL MEDIA AND TELECOMMUNICATION 

Due to the importance of your confidentiality and the importance of minimizing dual relationships, Morgan Briggs does not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). She believes that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when in a scheduled appointment.

 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION 

Morgan Briggs cannot ensure the confidentiality of any form of communication through electronic media, including text messages. If you prefer to communicate via email or text messaging for issues regarding scheduling or cancellations, she will do so. While she may try to return messages promptly, she cannot guarantee immediate response and request that you do not use these methods of communication to discuss therapeutic content and/or request assistance for emergencies. Services by electronic means, including but not limited to telephone communication, the Internet, and e-mail are considered telemedicine. Telemedicine is broadly defined as the use of information technology to deliver medical services and information from one location to another. 

 If you and your therapist choose to use information technology for some or all of your treatment, you need to understand that: 

 (1) You retain the option to withhold or withdraw consent at any time without affecting the right to future care or treatment or risking the loss or withdrawal of any program benefits to which you would otherwise be entitled. 

(2) All existing confidentiality protections are equally applicable. 

 (3) Your access to all medical information transmitted during a telemedicine consultation is guaranteed, and copies of this information are available for a reasonable fee. 

(4) Dissemination of any of your identifiable images or information from the telemedicine interaction to researchers or other entities shall not occur without your consent. 

 (5) There are potential risks, consequences, and benefits of telemedicine. Potential benefits include, but are not limited to improved communication capabilities, providing convenient access to up-to-date information, consultations, support, reduced costs, improved quality, change in the conditions of practice, improved access to therapy, better continuity of care, and reduction of lost work time and travel costs. 2 of 3 Effective therapy is often facilitated when the therapist gathers within a session or a series of sessions, a multitude of observations, information, and experiences about the client. Therapists may make clinical assessments, diagnoses, and interventions based not only on direct verbal or auditory communications, written reports, and third-person consultations, but also on direct visual and olfactory observations, information, and experiences. When using information technology in therapy services, potential risks include, but are not limited to the therapist’s inability to make visual and olfactory observations of clinically or therapeutically potentially relevant issues such as: your physical condition including deformities, apparent height and weight, body type, attractiveness relative to social and cultural norms or standards, gait and motor coordination, posture, work speed, any noteworthy mannerism or gestures, physical or medical conditions including bruises or injuries, basic grooming and hygiene including appropriateness of dress, eye contact (including any changes in the previously listed issues), sex, chronological and apparent age, ethnicity, facial and body language, and congruence of language and facial or bodily expression. Potential consequences thus include the therapist not being aware of what he or she would consider important information, that you may not recognize as significant to present verbally to the therapist. 

MINORS 

If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your therapy. Morgan Briggs will discuss with you and your parents’ what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are more appropriately kept confidential. 

TERMINATION 

 Ending relationships can be difficult. Therefore, it is important to have a termination process to achieve some closure. The appropriate length of the termination depends on the length and intensity of the treatment. Morgan Briggs may terminate treatment after appropriate discussion with you and a termination process if she determines that the psychotherapy is not being effectively used or if you are in default on payment. Morgan Briggs will not terminate the therapeutic relationship without first discussing and exploring the reasons and purpose of terminating. If therapy is terminated for any reason or you request another therapist, she will provide you with a list of qualified psychotherapists to treat you. You may also choose someone on your own or from another referral source. Should you fail to schedule an appointment for eight consecutive weeks, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, for legal and ethical reasons, she must consider the professional relationship discontinued.