As of July 1st, 2020, you may request that we meet in-person to resume services in light of the COVID-19 public health crisis. The information on this page is designed to inform you of steps In Bloom Counseling PLLC has taken to minimize risk at this time.

Decision to Meet Face-to-Face

You and I will determine if you or your child are appropriate candidates to meet in person for some or all of your future sessions. If there is a resurgence of the pandemic or if other health concerns arise, however, I may require that we meet via telehealth. If you have concerns about meeting through telehealth, we will talk about it first and try to address any issues. You understand that, if I believe it is necessary, I may determine that you and I or your child and I return to telehealth for everyone’s well-being.

If you decide at any time that you would feel safer staying with, or returning to, telehealth services, In Bloom Counseling will respect that decision, as long as it is feasible and clinically appropriate. Reimbursement for telehealth services, however, is also determined by the insurance companies and applicable law, so that is an issue we may also need to discuss.

Risks of Opting for In-Person Services

You understand that by coming to the office, you are assuming the risk of your or your child’s exposure to the coronavirus (or other public health risk). This risk may increase if you travel by public transportation, cab, or ridesharing service.

Your Responsibility to Minimize Your Exposure

To obtain services in person, you must agree to take certain precautions which will help keep everyone (you, me, and our families, and other clients) safer from exposure, sickness and possible death. If you or your child do not adhere to these safeguards, it may result in our starting / returning to a telehealth arrangement. You and your child’s requested responsibilities include:

-Only keeping your appointment if your household is symptom-free.
-Taking your own temperature before coming to the building, and staying home it it is elevated above 100 degrees Fahrenheit or if you have other symptoms of the coronavirus. We can discuss the appropriateness of either cancelling your appointment or moving the appointment to telehealth.
-Waiting in your car or hallway until the start of your appointment time and texting me to ensure the session room is sterilized and ready before entering the waiting the room.
-Washing your hands or sterilizing with hand sanitizer upon entering the building.
-Wearing a mask in all areas of the office.
-Keeping a distance of six feet and understanding that there will be no physical contact (e.g. no shaking hands) with me.
-Attempting to keep from touching your face, and washing your hands if you do.
-Taking precautions between appointments to minimize exposure to COVID.
-Alerting me if you have contact with someone who has recently tested positive for the infection, or if you have a job, commute, or other responsibilities which put you in close contact with others (beyond your family).

My Commitment to Minimize Exposure

In Bloom Counseling PLLC has taken steps to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus within the office. These steps include:

-Reducing session duration to provide ample time to disinfect all surfaces touched in between clients.
-Providing hand sanitizer on-site for individuals to clean their hands before and after session.
-Wearing masks during session to minimize likelihood of transmission.
-Arranging seating to provide 6-ft social distancing whenever possible.
-Staggering client session start times to minimize the overlap of clients in the waiting room.

If You or I Are Sick

Please know I am committed to keeping you, me, [In Bloom Counseling, PLLC] and all of our families safe from the spread of this virus. If you show up for an appointment and I believe that you have a fever or other symptoms, or believe you have been exposed, I will have to require you to leave the office immediately. We can follow up with services by telehealth as appropriate.

If I [or In Bloom Counseling, PLLC] test positive for the coronavirus, I will notify you so that you can take appropriate precautions.

Your Confidentiality in the Case of Infection

If you or your child have tested positive for the coronavirus, I may be required to notify local health authorities that you have been in the office. If I have to report this, I will only provide the minimum information necessary for their data collection and will not go into any details about the reason(s) for our visits.  You, as the client or as the parent/legal guardian, will be requested to sign an additional informed consent for services upon the start or resuming of in-person sessions.

The language and detail of the above information was gathered in compliance with recommendations from the CDC, the State of Illinois, the American Psychological Association, and Trust Risk Management Services. Please contact In Bloom Counseling if you have any questions.