What we do: Your behavioral health team will work with you to jointly create a confidential, individualized treatment plan that promotes mental and emotional wellness through education, prevention, evidence-based intervention, and recovery support. Our program is open to insured City of Chattanooga employees, spouses, and dependents.
Who we are: Your behavioral health team includes board-certified psychiatric-mental health and family nurse practitioners, a diverse group of therapists, a social worker, and a supervising psychiatrist and physician.
How to contact us: Call us at 423-481-9760, or send us a message through your patient portal. We will get back to you within one business day. Services are provided by appointment only.
Practice Policies
Confidentiality. Confidentiality is a basis for all behavioral health treatment and is protected by law. Aside from emergency situations and disclosures permitted by law, protected health information can only be released with your written consent. See the Notice of Privacy Practices for more detail. Several important exceptions to confidentiality do exist that require disclosure by law:
(1) danger to self – if there is a threat to harm yourself, we are required to seek emergency care for you, which may include contacting others who can help provide protection;
(2) danger to others – if there is a threat of serious bodily harm to others, we are required to take protective action, which may include notifying the potential victim, notifying the police, or seeking appropriate emergency care for you;
(3) grave disability or impairment – if due to mental illness and you are unable to meet your basic needs, such as clothing, food/water, medical care, and shelter, we may have to disclose information to access services to provide for your basic needs;
(4) suspicion or child, elder, or dependent abuse – if there is an indication of abuse of a child, elderly person, or a disabled person, even if it is about a party other than yourself, we must file a report with the appropriate state agency;
(5) certain judicial proceedings – if you are involved in judicial proceedings, you have the right to prevent us from providing any information about your treatment. However, in some circumstances in which your emotional condition is an important element, a judge may require testimony through a court order.
We also reserve the right to consult with your Onsite medical team with WellAdvantage and other mental health professionals when appropriate. In these circumstances, only relevant clinical information will be discussed. We may also occasionally precept behavioral health students, but only with your prior consent. Both consultants and students are legally bound to keep your protected health information confidential. Group outcome measurements may be used for quality assurance, research or marketing purposes and will never include any identifiable information.
Communication. The Behavioral Health team is available via email, telephone, and your patient portal. Secure communication outside of these methods cannot be guaranteed. Please be aware that work email accounts are considered the property of the employer and privacy may be compromised if used to communicate with us. We respectfully ask that you not contact staff via social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
Late cancellation, late arrival and missed appointments. We ask that you give 24-hour notice for cancellations. Please be mindful that missed appointments deny others the opportunity for treatment. Appointment reminders are sent via the patient portal however, you are ultimately responsible for keeping your appointments.
Discharge Policy. At the discretion of the Behavioral Health team, a client may be discharged from practice for any of the following reasons:
(1) No show, late arrival, or late cancellations for 3 or more appointments.
(2) Client failure to follow recommended treatment plan or medical instructions, including the misuse and/or diversion of controlled substances.
(3) Client or client’s family is abusive to provider and/or staff.
Pharmacy. The Behavioral Health team may have access to your prescription history from your pharmacy. You must disclose all current medications from all treating providers plus any OTC and/or herbal medications. The Tennessee Controlled Substance Monitoring Database will be checked prior to prescribing certain medications, and/or periodically, to assess for misuse and/or possible diversion of medications, and for use of multiple prescribers and/or pharmacies. You may be asked periodically for a random urine drug screen if taking certain medications.
Legal. We do not testify in court unless required by a court order.
Telehealth. Our services are conducted using HIPAA-compliant electronic platforms and are protected by the same state and federal confidentiality laws as in-office services. The following guidelines will help you and your provider make the most of your session:
You will need to create a safe and confidential space for your visit, which should be free of other people, with an inability for others to see or hear your interaction with the provider.
No one is permitted to record a telehealth visit without consent from the other party.
There are many benefits of engaging in telehealth, including:
· You will experience easier access to care and continuity of care.
· Telehealth offers the convenience of meeting from your desired location.
There are also potential risks to engaging in telehealth, including:
· You may experience interruptions, background noise, or technical difficulties.
· Although we use secure software, we cannot guarantee unauthorized access to your device(s).
· Your clinician will not be in the same location as you in the event of a crisis. For this reason, we will have the following safety plan in place prior to beginning telehealth: