Guidelines For Therapy

Elizabeth Hess Stamper, LMHC

2085 Hwy A1A, Unit 3601, Indian Harbour Beach, FL 32937

Confidentiality

The content of our sessions is confidential. However, I may discuss cases with colleagues, without providing any identifying information. In addition, if you participate in a group with me and a co-therapist, I may inform her of anything necessary for us to work most effectively. You are free to discuss our individual sessions with anyone as you please. Other issues pertaining to confidentiality are covered in the accompanying Notice of Privacy Practices. Note: if you pay me via Venmo, their default is to share your info publicly.

Length of sessions

Expect sessions to last 75-90 minutes.

Contact outside of sessions

I am willing to spend time on the phone or by email for emergencies, or when a little extra support would help you through a crisis. If more than 5 or 10 minutes is needed, we can arrange to have a full session on the phone.

The story

We all have a need to tell our story and to feel validated. For some clients, that is the primary purpose of therapy, and there are many therapists who are quite good at listening with empathy. My skills are more oriented towards changing the story rather than validating it. Of course, I need to know what is happening in your life, but I may stop you if I believe the telling of the story is taking too much time away from doing the actual work that will change your life.

Referrals

If you see value in our work and believe that I may be of assistance to someone that you know, please feel free to pass on my contact information.

Ending therapy

The manner in which we end our sessions is significant, both to the value you take with you, and to your skills at ending future relationships. When you are ready to stop working with me, try to allow several sessions for us to arrive at completion, depending on the amount of time we have worked together. If you cancel a session and then fail to reschedule, I will contact you to discuss whether you are indeed choosing to terminate, or if you are running away from a conflict with yourself or with me.

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