Terms & Conditions & Informed Consent
Lisa Cipparone is an Expressive Arts Student Therapists at the CREATE Institute (Toronto) studying Expressive Arts Therapy. Group Work and Group Therapy are part of her practicum requirements for graduation and for obtaining the Registered Psychotherapist designation with CRPO. Her practice is insured, and she operates under the clinical supervision of a Registered Psychotherapist.
Expressive Arts Therapy is a relational and client centred form of therapy that incorporates art making, movement, storytelling, and music into the therapeutic process. This supportive and experiential form or psychotherapy is cognitive and somatic in nature.
By engaging in online Expressive Arts Therapy Group Work or Group Therapy or Nervous System RESET, you acknowledge and agree to the following terms and conditions:
- THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
This is a therapeutic relationship between individuals, and both the client and the therapist have certain rights and responsibilities. As a client, you have the right to considerate, safe, and respectful care, without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, or source of payment. You also have the right to ask questions about any aspects of the process and the therapist(s) specific training and experience. You have the right to expect that we will not have social or sexual relationships with clients or with former clients.
2. BENEFITS & RISKS
Therapy has both benefits and risks. Risks may include experiencing uncomfortable feelings such as sadness, guilt, anxiety, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness, as the process may require discussing the unpleasant aspects of your life. Your active participation is crucial to the success of the therapy, and you may need to work on things we discuss outside of sessions.
- CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality is always respected. No information will be communicated, directly or indirectly, to a third party without your informed and written consent, unless required by law. Exceptions to confidentiality include when Supervision is required and the legal and/or ethical obligations to: Inform a potential victim of violence of a client’s intention to harm; inform an appropriate family member, health care professional, or police, if necessary, of a client’s intention to end his or her life; release a client’s file if there is a court order to do so; inform the Children’s Aid Society if there is suspicion of a child being at risk or in need of protection due to neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse; report a health professional who has sexually abused a client; share information with another practice associate or the College of Psychologists of Ontario for supervision or auditing purposes; in the case of couples/family counselling, when a session is held without all family/couple members present, information shared in that session may be shared when the family/couple sessions resume.
- CLINICAL SUPERVISION
Lisa Cipparone regularly consults on cases with her supervisor to ensure clients are receiving quality care for their concerns. During these group or dyadic supervision sessions, only information that is relevant to your treatment will be shared amongst members of the group or dyad.
- ELECTRONIC FILING
Student Therapists have a legal and professional duty to protect the privacy of information you have discussed in session by phone, email, text, or video conferencing, which complies with the requirements of the Personal Health Information Protection Act. Your clinical file may be kept both in electronic form and/or in hard copy. This file is required to be retained in a secure location for a minimum of 10 years after the last date of contact. Electronic communication is generally used for scheduling appointments and administrative tasks only. Due to the nature of digital technology, the complete security and privacy of e-communications cannot be guaranteed as information may be intercepted, lost, corrupted, or infected, or someone may access either computer. Texting is not available.
- DURATION OF SESSIONS
Group Work sessions will usually be 2 hours in duration and will run one to two times a month. Group Therapy sessions will be weekly and run 2 hours also. Nervous System RESET sessions vary in duration but usually run 30 – 60 minutes long. If you need to cancel your participation in a session, you must provide at least 24 hours notice. If you are late to a session, kindly message me to let me know. If you are more then 15-30 minutes late, you will not be admitted to the Group Therapy session. Sessions are held on Zoom, and the link to the sessions will be messaged to you before the session begins. Payment is required before sessions start.
- IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
If you need immediate support, please reach out to one of these organizations:
1) Call 911 and ask to speak to the mental health worker on call
2) Go to your Local Hospital Emergency Room, or
3) Call Crisis Services Canada at 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645.
Other Numbers:
Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-888-893-8333
Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (text: 45645)
Distress Centres of Greater Toronto: 1-416-408-4357
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands: 1-416-593-7655
LAMP Community Health Centre: 1-416-252-6471
TAIBU Community Health Centre: 1-416-644-3536
Youth Line for LGBTQ+ youth 26 and under: 1-800-268-9688
Gerstein Crisis Centre, Toronto: 1-416-929-5200