(916) 415-8619

Grapevine Emotional Wellness
Policies & Procedures

I do my best to make it as easy as possible to work with me. To that end, I am as transparent with my clients as I possibly can be. Here are my policies & procedures for you to read through in case that makes you more comfortable working with a coach, and with me in particular.

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Before we begin our coaching relationship, I want to welcome you to my coaching practice and provide a foundation for our work together.  Whether you are new to coaching or have worked with coaches in the past, I want to be very transparent regarding my area of expertise, how I operate, and what our relationship will look like.

As a coach, I function as a guide, mentor and teacher.  In our coaching relationship, I believe you bring with you all the information about you and your trauma experience as well as the information necessary for you to heal and move forward into a life you love, even if you don’t believe it, or have the ability to find that information on your own.  I bring with me a voice of experience and aspire to function as a fellow traveler and at times a puzzle master on this journey to healing.  I commit to supporting, validating and encouraging you through this journey.  I will help you find the information you need and will encourage you to put that information to use rather than telling you what you should do in your unique journey.

Disclosures:

Ensuring your safety is my first priority.  We will begin our relationship by assessing your safety, and I will safeguard your safety to the best of my abilities during our relationship.

Coaching may result in change in your relationships as well as healthy changes in the types of relationships you form.

I follow all HIPAA compliance protocols for software used in my practice, including Zoom.

I will not record our sessions.

I do keep notes on our sessions and these notes are kept in a HIPAA compliant platform that is not accessible by anyone but myself.  Anything you share with me including anything from your physician or mental health professional will be kept strictly confidential.  The only time any information will be disclosed to a 3rd party is if I feel you are in danger of harming yourself or another person or if I receive a legal subpoena to release your records.

As a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach™, I act as a Mandatory Reporter as outlined by The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching.  If I become aware that a protected person (minor, disabled person, or elderly person) is currently being abused, I am mandated to report the abuse to the appropriate governing agency.

Intake & Safety Procedures – Our first session is 90 minutes rather than the normal 60.  This allows us time to go over your trauma history, family makeup, and support system as well as complete a Safety Risk Assessment.

If your initial or any subsequent Safety Risk Assessment dictates, or if triggered by other actions or circumstances I witness, I will implement Escalated Care Protocol including, but not limited to: Implementing a Client Safety Plan, a Crisis Management Plan, finding additional resources, or finding a therapist, coach or program with necessary qualifications for your care.

Escalated Care Protocol – As a coach, there are certain limitations on things I can work on with you; there may be circumstances or situations that I do not have the expertise to help you with.  If you experience a risk to your safety such as active suicidal ideation, significant self-harm or if you are in the midst of an active addiction, the Association mandates that I assist you in finding someone who has the expertise to help you with that particular issue.  This does not mean we have to end our coaching relationship; we may continue working together in the areas that fall within my scope of practice, but we must bring in another professional who has the expertise in your current safety issues.  This is part of my Escalated Care Protocol, and I can provide additional details if requested.

Expectations:

You can expect me:

  • To be on time for our sessions and during our sessions to be 100% focused on our time together.
  • To be trauma-informed and up to date on the latest research about trauma.
  • To be your peer and guide through our time together. I know trauma but you know yourself.
    • You will lead your own recovery with my guidance. I will bring tools and strategies to our work so that you feel confident knowing you are on the right path.

Policies and Procedures:

Crisis Response – If you experience a crisis situation leading to suicidal ideation, significant self-harm or other unsafe circumstances, you may reach out to me directly via text, call or email: 916.415.8619, Connect@GVTraumaRecovery.com.  I am available for response Monday through Friday 9am MT – 5pm MT.  If you experience a crisis outside of those hours, you have a few options:

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800.273.8255
  • RAINN Crisis Line: Phone 800.656.4673 or Online Chat
  • Crisis Text Line: 741741

Appointment Reschedule & Cancellation – You will receive a calendar invite and reminders via email for every appointment we schedule.  Each calendar invite and reminder will include a reschedule link. Appointments must be cancelled or rescheduled 48 hours prior to that session’s start time.  If you reschedule within 48 hours, or do not show for your appointment, I must charge for that appointment time as I have set that time aside for you.  If you show up late for your appointment, you will be charged for the full appointment, but it will end at the scheduled end time.  Repeatedly changing or canceling appointments or showing up late may result in the need to terminate our coaching relationship.

Device usage – Please plan on focusing on our sessions 100%.  All devices other than the one you are using for our session should be muted, turned off, or left in another room.  I encourage you to use a device other than your primary cell phone for our sessions so you do not receive incoming phone calls during our sessions.

Communication outside of sessions – You may email me outside of sessions as often as necessary within reason.  I may not be able to respond to every email, but I will read them before our next session.  If email communication becomes excessive, we may discuss increasing your session frequency.

Bringing a third person into sessions – I am happy to meet with you and close loved ones when necessary.  Please do not bring a third person to our sessions without first discussion it with me so we can plan ahead of time for privacy and goals for the session.

Alcohol and drug use – I am unable to coach anyone who is actively impaired.  Please do not show up to your appointments if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  If you show up to an appointment while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, I will be forced to terminate that appointment.  If you are struggling with substance abuse, I encourage you to let me know so we can work on getting you the help you need.

Policy violation protocol – I only include policies that are very important to a coaching relationship.  Therefore, the policies listed above are imperative to our productive relationship and repeated violations may result in the need to terminate our coaching relationship.

Certification & Grievance:

I am required to let you know that I am a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach™ credentialed by The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching. As part of my certification, I am bound to uphold the Association’s Code of Ethics.

If at any time you feel I have failed to abide by the Association’s Code of Ethics or wronged you in another way you are welcome to contact Sarah Parish, TICC, CTRC-A (SarahParishCoaching@gmail.com) who is the Chairperson of the Association’s Professional Standard’s Committee. She can send you a grievance form to complete and submit, as well as let you know the process that will take place after she receives your grievance. All reports and grievance actions are held confidential by the Professional Standard’s Committee.