Fees and Policy – Abe Kass Counselling Service

Fees, Privacy and Office Policy

Fees

Payments

My fee is $180. for a 50-minutes appointment.**

Typically, payments for appointments are made in advance or after the appointment in accordance with the initial agreement. The only exception is if there has been a prior agreement between Abe Kass and the client.

Insurance coverage for local clients

For those having local appointments, many extended health care policies will cover all or part of the payments.

I am is a registered social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and registered marriage and family therapist with the Ontario Association for Marriage and Family Therapists. Check if these specialties are covered by your insurance policy — every policy is different.

If you are covered by a private health insurance plan, at the end of each session you pay me and I will give you an insurance receipt that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.

Zoom and Phone Appointments***

Zoom and phone appointments are available. Call me or send me an email and we can discuss what would work best for you. I work with individuals and couples worldwide.

For Phone appointments, there are two types of appointments available: (1) Scheduled and (2) Unscheduled.

When an exact time is “scheduled” for a phone appointment, you will be asked to pay $180.00, for a 50-minutes session.

“Unscheduled” appointments are when you call at your convenience and I am able to speak with you or you leave a message and I call you back when I am free. The charge is as follows:

1. Charges are by-the-minute (end seconds rounded to a full minute) and are determined by the rate for a 50-minutes “scheduled” appointment. For example, at the rate of $180. for 50-minutes that would be $3.60 per minute.

2. Minimum “charge” for a counseling phone call is ten minutes. Thereafter the charge is for each additional minute.

3. The charge for counseling phone calls during regular office hours, which are Sunday 10-2, Monday through Thursday 9-7, Friday 9-2 EST, are at the same rate as an office appointment. Telephone messages left in my voice mailbox or emails for me to listen to or read are as an unscheduled appointment. There is no charge when the call is to schedule or change an appointment.

4. Counseling calls initiated outside regular office hours (see #3 above), are subject to the following conditions:

A. Charge for counseling calls will be increased by ½ time when, upon request, or out of necessity, the call is outside of regular office hours. The charge includes, if necessary, travel time to a private and suitable place to receive or return the phone call.

B. When the office is officially closed during what would normally be regular office hours, such as for a personal or civil holiday, the conditions in item A also apply.

C. Calls increased by ½ time means, for example, that a ten-minute counseling phone call will be charged as if was a fifteen-minute call.

Payment methods (depending on location)

Visa
MasterCard
American Express
PayPal
Interac e-Transfer
Cash (when the appointment is in my office)

Privacy and Office Policy

Privacy and confidentiality

Records, documents, and conversations between clients and Abe Kass are private and confidential. Information will never be released to another person or agency without explicit written consent. Exceptions to this commitment are only when the release of confidential information is required to ensure a client’s or someone else’s immediate safety or if there is an unavoidable court subpoena.

When two or more people attend counseling sessions together, I (Abe Kass) will use appropriate judgment, should the occasion arise to enter into private discussions with one person of the client group about another person in the client group. If requested, I will occasionally agree not to pass on to another member of the client group specific information. However, I will not keep secrets that are harmful to another member in the client group or private appointments secret that other member(s) of the client group do not know about.

For more information about confidentiality in relation to the “Health Information Protection Act 2004” see below “Confidentiality and the Collection of Personal Health Information in accordance HPHA.”

Canceling or changing a time for a scheduled office appointment

If you need to cancel or change the time of an appointment, please let me know 24 hours in advance. You can leave a message in my voice mailbox. Otherwise, I may ask you to pay for your missed appointment.

If something unexpected comes up, and you are unable to notify me 24 hours in advance, I will certainly understand and there will be no charge.

Confidentiality and the Collection of Personal Health Information in accordance HPHA:

We collect personal health information about you directly from you or from the person acting on your behalf. The personal health information that we collect may include, for example, your name, date of birth, address, health history, records of your visits to [the Hospital] and the care that you received during those visits. Occasionally, we collect personal health information about you from other sources if we have obtained your consent to do so or if the law permits.

Uses and Disclosures of Personal Health Information

We use and disclose your personal health information to:

Treat and care for you
Get payment for your treatment and care (your private insurer, EAP plan, or others)
Plan, administer, and manage our internal operations
Conduct risk management activities
Conduct quality improvement activities
Teach, research, compile statistics, fund raise to improve our health care services and programs
Comply with legal and regulatory requirements
Fulfill other purposes permitted or required by law

Your Choices

You may access and correct your personal health records, or withdraw your consent for some of the above uses and disclosures by contacting us (subject to legal exceptions).

Important Information We take steps to protect your personal health information from theft, loss, and unauthorized access, copying, modification, use, disclosure, and disposal.

We conduct audits and complete investigations to monitor and manage our privacy compliance.

We take steps to ensure that everyone who performs services for us protect your privacy and only use your personal health information for the purposes you have consented to.

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* This policy will be periodically updated. April 21, 2022 is the most recent update.

** Fee is USD $180. For Canadian residents the fee is CAD $180.

*** Companies regularly change the technology that may affect the privacy or security of their products. If you would prefer to use another video conferencing platform other than Zoom, let me know and we can discuss the various options.

Contact Abe today by email or phone

Business Hours:

+1 905 - 771 - 1087

Mon
9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tue
9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wed
9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thu
9:00 am – 9:00 pm
Fri
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sat Closed
Sun Closed

Why Choose Abe:

• Professionally Trained
• Highly Experienced
• Caring
• Accessible
• Insurance Coverage
• Affordable Fees
• Pay with credit card, check or cash

Success Comments*

I know this call is long overdue. And I apologize for that. We talked about making a follow-up appointment session after the last appointment, but we never followed up on that. And the good news is that we really didn’t feel at this point that we needed to follow up. We really feel, and I will speak very personally myself, that you made a huge impact. Most specifically for me, I feel you opened my husband’s eyes to different things and I didn’t feel I was alone about things that were bothering me. This is not to say that I don’t recognize that I have lots of faults that you brought to my attention, obviously something I am working on. But most of all succinctly, with your skill and your compassion, you were able to bring us together to be there for me when it was hard for my husband to see my perspective at all. Thank you very much for that. I suspect we’ll see you again in the future because you’re a person that helps us with our faults and helps us to communicate better with each other. And again, thank you very much. – H.W.

I thought our marriage was over. My husband and I were very unhappy. It seemed like we had forgotten how to talk to one another. Our constant bickering made the children miserable. You taught my husband and I specific communication techniques that we use when we speak together. Now we are happy and it feels like our family has a new lease on life. -B.H.

In just one session you helped me immensely. My depression has completely lifted. I always knew what I had to do but you gave me “permission” to do it. I succeeded and I feel so much better. Thank you. -W.G.

I have come from a very troubled past. It is very hard for me to believe in myself. However, through your help I’m beginning to realize that I have value and my life can have meaning. There are many things in life that I still do not understand, but one thing I know is that G-d sent me to you. I know that it’s a lot of work, but slowly I am putting my life together thanks to your remarkable help and genuine care. -P.W.

As you know, my wife has had a difficult childhood. She has never trusted anyone. However, you are a first. She trust you completely. -L.S.

Before talking to you, I felt completely stuck. My husband and I have been fighting terribly. Every time I mention going for marriage therapy he says I am the problem and I should go myself. You guided me in how to approach him, and to my amazement, he agreed to go for therapy. I feel so much better – I feel there is hope! Thank you. – A.K.

I am very grateful you were there for me when I was having problems with my adult daughter and elderly mother. Your clarity and support made all the difference. Thank you. -C.P.

Thanks to your help I have learned to control my anger. My husband notices a big difference. It didn’t take long, I just needed someone to point me in the right direction. I am pleased with what I have accomplished with your help. Now I have the tools and I intend to use them. – S.Z

Hi Abe, I wanted to wish you and your family a very happy & healthy new year! I also wanted to share with you & thank you for all your hard work as our family dynamics have never been better. This picture was taken 2 weeks ago with our son and his girlfriend during a 4 hour hike up a mountain. We have never been happier and lots of love is being shared. We owe it all to you and your incredible work & counselling with our entire family!!!! -S.R.

* These comments are non-solicited. They are not meant to imply that all people will have similar outcomes. All identifying details have been changed to ensure confidentiality. They have been extracted from records and voluntary remarks for the purpose of research, teaching, publication, and the evaluation of services.