ReFOCUSment® Coaching Contract 

    Welcome to my ReFocusment practice.
    This document constitutes a contract between us.
    Read it carefully and raise any concerns before you sign it.

                                                    ReFOCUSment® and Psychotherapy
    In addition to being a professional coach, I am also licensed in Colorado as a psychologist with training and experience in diagnosing and treating emotional problems. While there are some similarities between coaching and psychotherapy, they are different activities and it is important that you understand the differences between them.

    Psychotherapy is a health care service and is often reimbursable through health insurance. This is not true for coaching. Both coaching and psychotherapy utilize knowledge of human behavior, motivation and behavioral change, and interactive counseling techniques. The major differences are in the goals, focus and level of professional responsibility.

    The purpose of ReFOCUSment (which is more similar to coaching than to traditional psychotherapy), is development and implementation of strategies to reach client-identified goals of enhanced performance and/or personal satisfaction. ReFOCUSment may address specific personal projects, life balance, job satisfaction or other conditions in the client’s life, business or profession. ReFOCUSment utilizes personal strategic planning, values clarification, brainstorming, motivational counseling and other counseling techniques.

    The primary focus of psychotherapy is identification, diagnosis and treatment of mental and nervous disorders. The goals of psychotherapy include alleviating symptoms, understanding the underlying dynamics which create symptoms, changing dysfunctional behaviors which are a result of these disorders and developing new strategies for successfully coping with the psychological challenges which we all face. Most research on psychotherapy outcomes indicates that the quality of the relationship is often most correlated with therapeutic process.

    Psychotherapy clients are often emotionally vulnerable.  The past life experiences of psychotherapy patients have often made trust difficult to achieve. These factors may give psychotherapists disproportionate responsibility to protect the safety of their clients.

    The relationship between the professional coach and the client is designed to avoid the power difference that can occur in the psychotherapy relationship. The client sets the agenda; the success of the process depends on the client’s willingness to take risks and try new approaches, to be open and clear in identifying goals and clarifying how the coaching process may help with achievement of these goals.

    Because of these differences, the roles of a ReFOCUSment professional and psychotherapist are often in potential conflict and I believe that under most circumstances it is ethically inappropriate for one to play both roles with a client, whether concurrently or sequentially. This means that, if either of us recognizes that you have a problem that would benefit from psychotherapeutic intervention, I will do my best to refer you to appropriate resources. In some cases, I may insist that you initiate therapy as an outcome of the process. Also, you need to understand that I am also not providing an on call /emergency service. Thus, if you have a significant mental health issue, you need to know that am not able to provide you with emergency intervention. It is also important to understand that ReFOCUSment is a professional relationship. While it may often feel like a close personal relationship, it is not one. The relationship cannot extend beyond professional boundaries both during and after our work together.

    Confidentiality
    As a licensed psychologist, I am ethically and legally bound to protect the confidentiality of our communications. As a professional coach, I have the same ethical boundaries, but coaching does not legally protect confidentiality. Nevertheless, I will only release information about our work to others with your written permission or in response to a court order. There are some situations in which I am legally obligated to breach confidentiality in order to protect you or others from harm. If I have information that indicates that a child is being abused, I must report it to the appropriate state agency. If a client is an imminent risk to him/ herself or makes threats of imminent violence against another, I am required to take protective action to prevent such harm.

    As you likely are aware, it is impossible to protect the confidentiality of information that is transmitted electronically.
    This is particularly true of email and information stored on computers that are connected to the internet, which do not utilize encryption and other forms of security protection.

    I have read the reFOCUSment contract. I understand and agree to all the terms described above. Additionally, I agree to proceed to work with Joyce Ackerman, Ed.D.,CPC for ReFOCUSment®.
    I understand and agree to all the terms described above.
    Additionally, I agree to proceed to work with Joyce Ackerman, Ed.D.,CPC for ReFOCUSment®.
    (Signed)
    Your Agreement/signature is indicated by completing and submitting the form below.
    Instructions:
    After you have read this page, signify your agreement to the Coaching Contract by filling out the information below and clicking the Submit button, which sends your agreement by email.
    I strongly suggest that you download the contract as well, for your own reference.
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