Clinic Policies
Fees
Clinical services at Let It Go Psychological Services are not covered by OHIP. Fees are charged on an hourly basis in accordance with guidelines set by the Ontario Psychological Association. Clients with extended health care benefits often receive partial or full reimbursement for services rendered by registered psychologists.
Cancelled Appointments
When clients make an appointment at Let It Go Psychological Services, their psychologists set aside specific time slots just for them. Please note that Let It Go Psychological Services reserves the right to charge full fees for sessions that are missed or cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.
Under certain extenuating circumstances, such as dangerous weather conditions or medical illness, fees for missed or cancelled sessions may be waived. However, these situations are handled by psychologists on a case-by-case basis.
Confidentiality
Let It Go Psychological Services seeks to maintain the highest standards of confidentiality and privacy with respect to client information. Your privacy is respected and protected under Ontario’s Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) and federally under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)*. This means that formal written or verbal consent must be obtained by clients (or their legal guardians) before any information can be disclosed to a third party. A third party is not a parent who has access to the child, given that access to a child also means also access to information regarding that the child**. Please note that a parent may not have full custody of the child and yet have access to the child.
In the Province of Ontario psychologists are required to break confidentiality under specific circumstances. These circumstances constitute the limits of confidentiality and are as follows:
1. In cases where clients are deemed to be at imminent risk for physically harming themselves or others, psychologists may take the necessary steps to protect clients and/or third parties even if doing so involves breaking confidentiality.
2. In cases of suspected child abuse, psychologists must immediately report their concerns to the Children's Aid Society (CAS) with or without client consent (under the Child and Family Services Act, 1990 (s. 72).
3. In cases of suspected elderly abuse or neglect of residents living in Long-Term Care Facilities or Retirement Homes, psychologists must immediately report their concerns to the Director of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and to the Registrar of the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority with or without client consent (under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 and the Retirement Homes Act, 2010).
4. In cases where a member of a regulated health care professional (e.g., psychologist, dentist, physician) has sexually abused, sexually assaulted or sexually harassed a client, psychologists must report that practitioner to her or his own regulatory body. However they are not required to identify their clients without the client’s consent (under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991).
5. Where a judge subpoenas a client's clinical records, psychologists may be required to turn them over as ordered.
6. If the College of Psychologists of Ontario conducts an audit of the practice files, for quality assurance purposes.
7. If an "Urgent Demand" is received from the police under the Missing Persons Act 2019, the practitioner is obligated to speak with, or provide copies of requested records, to the police.
We will share detailed information about your rights to confidentiality with you and answer any question you may have at your first visit to the clinic.
* For information on PHIPA, please visit https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/04p03, for information on PIPEDA, please visit https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-8.6/
** Under The Children’s Law Reform Act (1990) and The Divorce Act (1985), a parent who has access to a child has the right to obtain information about the child’s health, education, and welfare.