Legacy Counseling Practice Policies

I consult with families in all 50 states, however direct therapy services are available only to Virginia residents. Contact me for a complimentary consultation and discuss how I can best support your child. After the consultation, I will schedule an intake appointment with the parents to complete a thorough assessment, gather information, and establish treatment goals/plans for your child.

Follow up appointments will be scheduled with the child; parents are involved in sessions as needed and will receive consultation at each session to confidently build on successes. Sessions can be held in person, teletherapy or video conferencing. Sessions are offered via a HIPPA-compliant privacy-secured video telemedicine platform if virtual. Online therapy is a platform for an utmost convenient, efficient, and effective approach from the comfort of your home. All that is needed is an internet connection and a device with a camera and microphone. Sessions are 50 minutes, and I offer appointments Monday-Thursday 9:00AM-6:00PM. I have much flexibility, and I am happy to work with you around your schedule to meet your needs when possible. It is recommended that appointments occur weekly initially, to establish rapport and build a strong therapeutic alliance with your child, though the frequency and duration can vary based on your treatment plan. In order for treatment to be successful you and your child will need to apply and practice the learned strategies in between sessions.

If you need to cancel an appointment, contact me on my confidential voicemail at 804-504-1197 as soon as possible, do not email cancelations, as a cancelled or missed appointment less than 24 hours in advance will be charged the full amount. Keeping your scheduled sessions is very important for your child to make progress. In the case of parents who are separated or divorced, my policy is to have the consent (and preferrably the cooperation) of both parents or a legal document that specifies health decisions regarding your child; this is for legal and ethical purposes before providing child therapy services.

I provide both in-person and virtual therapy, and it will be your choice on how to receive services, as long as it is feasible and clinically appropriate. You understand that you are assuming the possible risk of exposure to coronavirus or other public health risk by coming to the office. You are responsible for taking precautions to keep yourself and everyone else healthy. You will only attend appointments in person if you and/or your child are fever and symptom-free. You and your child will be required to wash hands or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer immediately upon entering the office at every appointment. If you arrive and I believe that you and/or your child have a fever or any other illness symptoms, I will require you to leave the office immediately. We can continue services with virtual therapy until any danger of infection has passed. These requirements are implemented because I primarily work with autoimmune vulnerable children and needing to maintain a germ free office for their health safety and my own.

Child therapy is a process through which a child can express thoughts and feelings, work through issues and develop skills. Therapy varies for every child as the process is based on their individual needs, areas of concern, communication styles, motivations, age, and developmental stage. Children communicate through their behaviors, and it may be easier to express themselves through play, games, puppets, art, music, books, sandbox, and other therapeutic activities that I have readily available in my office.

Parent consultation is an opportunity for you to talk in-depth about your child and your family with a caring, knowledgeable professional. Subjects discussed may include your perception of your child's needs, feelings and behaviors, the feelings and needs of other family members, the effectiveness of your parenting methods and styles, parenting in your family of origin and how it may have influenced your style and methods, similarities and differences in parenting style and methods of each parental adult, the ability of parents to work together in parenting, how the child responds to each parent, and any major life events or stressors that may be affecting you and your child. We will discuss how specific problems are manifesting (what are the emotions/ behaviors you are seeing), how the problem developed, and what you have already attempted. Working together, we will develop skills and strategies for you to implement, so that your family can live together in peace and happiness.

Confidentiality is dictated by both legal and ethical concerns. I will not disclose any identifying information about you or your child to others unless I have your signed consent or in cases where I am legally required to do so. Legally, protected health information may be disclosed under the following circumstances: court order or other legally mandated requirements for disclosure of information; to obtain needed services for you or your child, such as in the case of an emergency need for hospitalization; clear risk of harm to self or others, or suspected child abuse. The document Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) will be provided at intake and further describes your rights under the law.  

“Kids do well if they can.”

-Dr. Ross Greene