How We Are Keeping Clients Safe
Updated: Jul 8, 2020
As our province begins to open, we recognize the importance of also opening, as an agency that provides therapy for trauma, mental health, addictions and relational issues. These underlying issues identified that we service have been, for many people exasperated and heightened as a result of COVID.
For this reason, we acknowledge that remaining closed from face to face services does not meet the current community needs.
For this reason, we have decided to open as soon as possible to ensure we can provide environmentally effective, timely, and responsive services to help those you are currently experiencing the heightened emotional and mental health effects of COVID.
We want to share with you how we are going to reopen and at the same time keep you safe.
Here are our steps for safely reopening.
Process steps for opening
No waiting room
15 minutes between client for sanitizing the office
Only the client receiving services will be permitted into the office
No personal items to be brought in
Process for face to face
Remain in car until prior client has left the office and the office has been sanitized
You will be text to come to the office once the office is prepared
Prior to entering the office you will be asked screening questions for COVID
Your temperature will be taken
A temperature reading above 39 degrees will not be permitted into the office and advised to see your physician
Your name will be recorded on a tracking sheet in the event of a contact tracing request from public health
Your consent will be required for the recording of your name for contact tracing, but no other information will be shared outside of your name with Public Health – this practice will remain in place while until the end of the pandemic
Once cleared, with a mask on and hands sanitized, you will go directly into the therapy room
All intake and consent forms will be electronic and are to be completed prior to the session. This avoids any transmissions through pens or papers being shared.
At the end of the session, you will directly exit the office
Sessions will be 50 minutes to ensure adequate time for a through sanitation of our office space
Virtual Therapy
Our agency is sensitive to the fact that not all clients are comfortable with face to face services during these times, and for some people, public places do not feel safe.
We provide an encrypted end to end secured platformed service that is approved and compliant with HIPAA and PHIPA in Canada. Also, you can be assured that no information shared through this encrypted site is stored or recorded. Please feel free to review our platform https://doxy.me/en/patients/
Telephone therapy
Our agency also provides telephone therapy where there might be access challenges to the internet, of poor quality internet reception or privacy concerns. Teletherapy is a viable alternative option which our agency provides
In summary, as our clients, we are doing our very best to keep you safe, which supports you feeling safe during pandemic time. We understand that these new realities of the pandemic have caused great emotional and mental health distress for many. Our commitment as an agency is to support you in being able to access therapy services with several options, in order to meet your comfort level in feeling safe.
We will:
ensure a safe sanitized office space for your therapy session
Follow Health Canada recommendation for screening and social distancing
Support masks or face shield
Use least-contact options to reduce transmission such as electronic forms (that meeting HIPPA and PHIPA standards) so that no paper or pens are exchanged
Provide alternative therapy option such as virtual and teletherapy to support your level of comfort
Should you require other accommodations to ensure feeling safe and comfortable to access our services, please reach out to us.
“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” Orison Swett Marden
Be well and looking forward to seeing you soon
Ian