Office Policies

1. Scheduling and Appointments

Appointments are scheduled directly with our intake coordinator by phone at (626) 354-6440, by email at office@pasadenaclinicalgroup.com, or through our secure patient portal when available. We offer in-person sessions at our Pasadena office and telehealth sessions throughout California. Our operating hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Same-week appointments are generally available, and we make every effort to accommodate your scheduling needs.

2. Cancellation and No-Show Policy

We require at minimum twenty-four (24) hours’ notice for cancellations or rescheduling of any appointment. This policy applies to all appointment types — individual therapy, group therapy, and intake evaluations — whether in-person or via telehealth. Cancellations received with less than twenty-four (24) hours’ notice, and missed appointments where the patient does not attend (no-shows), will be subject to a cancellation/no-show fee as detailed in your financial agreement.

We recognize that ADHD can make scheduling and time management challenging. If you have concerns about your ability to meet the cancellation policy, please discuss this proactively with your therapist so that reasonable accommodations can be explored. Repeated no-shows or late cancellations (typically defined as three or more within a six-month period) may result in the termination of services and referral to another provider.

3. Lateness Policy

If you arrive late to an in-person appointment or join a telehealth session after the scheduled start time, the session will still end at the originally scheduled time. The full session fee will be charged. If your therapist has not joined a telehealth session within ten (10) minutes of the scheduled start time, please contact the office at (626) 354-6440 to check for technical or scheduling issues. In group therapy, arriving more than fifteen (15) minutes late may result in your being unable to join that session, at the therapist’s discretion, to avoid disrupting the group’s progress.

4. Communication Outside of Sessions

For non-urgent matters, you may reach the Practice by phone or email. We endeavor to respond within twenty-four (24) business hours (i.e., within one business day, excluding weekends and holidays). For after-hours or weekend contacts, a response may not be available until the next business day. This practice phone line is not a crisis line. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 or call 911.

Therapists generally do not engage in substantive clinical communication (including therapeutic advice or treatment decisions) via email, text, or voicemail. These channels are reserved for scheduling, billing, and administrative purposes. Extended telephone calls outside of scheduled sessions that involve substantive clinical content may be billed on a pro rata basis at the therapist’s discretion, with advance notification.

5. Court Appearances and Subpoenas

Pasadena Clinical Group therapists do not serve as expert witnesses or custody evaluators as part of standard clinical services. If you request your therapist’s involvement in a legal proceeding — including but not limited to appearing in court, producing records, preparing reports, or providing testimony — separate fees will apply, payable in advance. Fees include the therapist’s standard hourly rate for all time spent on the matter (including travel, preparation, testimony, and waiting time), plus any associated administrative and legal costs incurred by the Practice. Subpoenas will be evaluated in consultation with the Practice’s legal counsel, and you will be notified as described in our Treatment Consent.

6. Termination of Services

As noted in the Treatment Consent, your participation in therapy is voluntary, and you may terminate services at any time. If you choose to end treatment, we recommend providing advance notice and participating in at least one termination session to ensure an orderly transition.

The Practice reserves the right to terminate the therapeutic relationship under the following circumstances: (a) the clinical needs of the patient exceed the scope of services we provide; (b) the patient fails to pay outstanding balances despite reasonable notice and opportunity to resolve the balance; (c) repeated cancellations, no-shows, or policy violations occur; (d) the therapeutic relationship has deteriorated such that continued treatment is no longer productive or appropriate; or (e) a conflict of interest or dual relationship arises that compromises the objectivity or effectiveness of care. In all termination cases, we will provide referral options and, where feasible, coordinate a transfer of care to another provider.

7. Social Media and Dual Relationship Policy

To preserve the integrity and effectiveness of the therapeutic relationship, Pasadena Clinical Group therapists do not accept “friend” or “follow” requests from current or former patients on any social networking platform (including but not limited to Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, and similar services). Therapists do not engage in personal social relationships with current or former patients. If you encounter your therapist in a public setting, the therapist will not acknowledge the therapeutic relationship so as to protect your confidentiality, unless you choose to initiate contact. These boundaries exist not as a rejection, but as a protection — for you, for the therapist, and for the work you are doing together.

8. Payment and Billing Policies

Payment for services is due at the time of service unless other arrangements have been made in advance. We accept cash, check, and all major credit and debit cards. For patients using health insurance, we verify benefits before your first appointment and communicate any estimated patient-responsibility amounts (copays, deductibles, coinsurance). You are ultimately responsible for any amounts not covered by your insurance plan. Unpaid balances that remain outstanding for more than sixty (60) days may be referred to a collections agency after reasonable attempts to resolve the balance directly with you. We will not send any clinical information to a collections agency; only billing-related demographic and financial information will be disclosed.

9. Records Requests, Copies, and Administrative Fees

Patients have the right to inspect and obtain copies of their medical records consistent with HIPAA (45 CFR § 164.524) and California Health & Safety Code § 123100 et seq. Records requests must be submitted in writing and are processed within the time periods required by California law (typically within fifteen (15) days of receipt). The Practice may charge a reasonable fee that does not exceed the amount permitted by law (currently $0.25 per page for paper copies, plus actual cost for electronic media, postage, and certified copies). Forms, letters, treatment summaries, narrative reports, FMLA paperwork, ESA letters, accommodation letters, school letters, court letters, disability documentation, and other administrative documents prepared at the patient’s request are billed at the clinician’s standard hourly rate, are payable in advance, and are subject to clinical appropriateness; the Practice is not obligated to prepare any document a clinician believes is unsupported by the clinical record or outside the clinician’s scope of practice.

10. Information Only — No Self-Diagnosis

Educational materials, intake screeners, blog posts, handouts, downloadable resources, video clips, podcasts, social-media content, and any printed or digital materials distributed by the Practice are provided strictly for general informational and educational purposes. They are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment of ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep disorders, or any other condition. Diagnoses and treatment decisions are made only by a licensed clinician through individualized clinical assessment within an established treatment relationship.

11. Conduct, Safety, and Premises Liability

To preserve a safe, respectful, and therapeutic environment for patients, staff, and visitors, the Practice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, weapons, intoxication that disrupts care, recording without consent, theft, and willful destruction of property. The Practice reserves the right to refuse entry to, terminate the session of, summon law enforcement against, and pursue all available civil or criminal remedies against any person who engages in such conduct. Patients are responsible for their own personal property; the Practice and its landlord are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items. Patients enter and use the office premises at their own risk and assume the inherent risks of ordinary movement on the premises (such as slip-and-fall, elevator wait times, parking-garage navigation, and similar risks), to the maximum extent permitted by law.

12. Hold Harmless — Released Parties

To the fullest extent permitted by law (and without releasing any non-waivable Claim, including any Claim that may not lawfully be released under California Civil Code § 1668), patients and visitors agree to hold harmless Pasadena Clinical Group and each of its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, owners, members, managers, partners, officers, directors, shareholders, supervising clinicians, employees, independent contractors, 1099 clinicians, supervisees, interns, post-doctoral fellows, externs, trainees, students, volunteers, peer-support workers, administrative staff, vendors, agents, attorneys, accountants, insurers, indemnitors, landlords, building owners, successors, and assigns (each a “Released Party”) from any Claim arising out of or relating to: (a) any decision the patient makes based on educational materials or website content; (b) third-party violations of group-therapy confidentiality obligations; (c) lawful disclosures made under mandatory-reporting, Tarasoff, or court-ordered processes; (d) failures of electronic-communication channels that the patient or visitor elected to use after being informed of their risks; or (e) Force Majeure events. Each Released Party is an intended third-party beneficiary of this hold-harmless and is entitled to enforce it directly. Nothing in this Section waives any patient’s right to file a complaint with any licensing board, the California Department of Public Health, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or any other governmental authority.

13. Mandatory Pre-Suit Notice, Mediation, and Binding Individual Arbitration

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Office Policies, billing, scheduling, communication, or the administrative aspects of care shall be resolved, to the maximum extent permitted by California and federal law, by: first, written notice and sixty (60) days of good-faith negotiation; second, non-binding mediation administered by JAMS (or, by mutual agreement, by the AAA) in Los Angeles County, California; and third, if not resolved, final and binding individual arbitration administered by JAMS pursuant to the JAMS Comprehensive (or Streamlined) Arbitration Rules & Procedures and the JAMS Consumer Minimum Standards (or, by mutual agreement, by the AAA), in Los Angeles County, California, before a single neutral arbitrator, governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., and the California Arbitration Act, Code of Civil Procedure § 1280 et seq. The parties expressly waive any right to a jury trial; expressly waive any right to participate in any class, collective, mass, consolidated, representative, or private-attorney-general action (other than as expressly preserved by non-waivable statute); and agree to a one-year shortened limitations period. NOTICE (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 1295(a)): “By signing this contract you are agreeing to have any issue of medical malpractice decided by neutral arbitration and you are giving up your right to a jury or court trial.” A patient may rescind this Section (and only this Section) by written notice within thirty (30) days of first agreeing to it. The detailed dispute-resolution terms (including fee allocations, equitable-relief carve-outs, and severance of unenforceable class waivers) are set forth in our Terms & Conditions, incorporated by reference.

14. Contact Information

For questions about these office policies:

• Pasadena Clinical Group
• 301 N. Lake Ave, STE 600, Pasadena, CA 91101
• office@pasadenaclinicalgroup.com
• (626) 354-6440