Disclosure Statement for Career Counseling Clients
Credentials and Work Experience
Process of Counseling
My Responsibilities as a Counselor
Your Rights as a Client
Fees
Inventories that you may wish to complete
Contact Information
I have a doctoral degree in counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and I am a National Certified Counselor and a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor. I studied under Dr. Donald Super, an internationally-recognized career development theorist during my doctoral work. Upon receiving my Ph.D., I taught courses in career counseling and assessment techniques to master's and doctoral-level students at several universities in the Austin/San Antonio area. I have published a variety of journal articles in the areas of career development, multicultural issues, and counseling supervision. In April 1997, my book, Career Development, Assessment, and Counseling, was released by the American Counseling Association (ACA). In March 1998, I received a national research award from ACA. I have also served on the Executive Council of the Association for Assessment in Counseling and Education and, currently, on the editorial review board for the Texas Counseling Association's journal.
My professional training has included counseling experience primarily with college students in a college counseling center, career services center, and residence halls. However, I have also counseled high school students, adult college students, and adults in the work force in my private practice. Although my specialty area is career counseling, I have also worked with clients' personal concerns, such as relationship difficulties, depression, anxiety, divorce adjustment, academic skills development, and attention deficit issues. In addition, I have supervised masters'-level counseling students dealing with clients who have a variety of personal and career concerns.
When people come to counseling, it is because they want something to be different in their lives. They may want to change their life situation, solve a particular problem, make a decision, or understand what is happening in their lives or in themselves. As a first step in counseling, you and I will explore your feelings and concerns and what changes you want or decisions you want to make. When we both understand your situation, I will help you devise various ways to get what you want, as far as that is possible. For counseling to be most effective, you must make a commitment of time and energy and take an active part in the process; this may well involve activities you undertake between sessions, such as seeking out occupational information, taking some career assessment inventories, or practicing a new behavior.
I have a strong belief that career and personal issues cannot be separated; work is important to people but it is not the only activity that is important. I will take the position that other aspects of your life, besides work, need to be considered as you reflect on any career decisions you might make. I am also committed to the goal of teaching you the process of career planning and decision-making, so that you can meet these challenges when they arise for you in the future, whether in the career or the personal domain.
I will keep anything that you tell me in strictest confidence unless I have your permission to tell someone. The only exceptions are: (1) I may consult with another professional about your concerns and how I might proceed in order to help you, but I will do so without using your name. You have the right to ask me not to consult with anyone, (2) If you tell me you are going to harm yourself or someone else, I may choose to do what I reasonably can to prevent that, (3) In the event that my records are subpoenaed, in as much as Texas does not have privileged communication for counselors, I could be required to make available to the court my records pertaining to you and our work together, and (4) If you report to me that you have been sexually abused by another professional in the mental health field or that you have knowledge of a child or elder abuse situation, I am obligated to report that.
In the event of my permanent disability or death, my client files will be turned over to Leslie Tourish, LPC. She will make sure that you are appropriately referred to another counselor.
You have the right to understand my reasons for making suggestions or using particular procedures. I will try to explain clearly, but if you have any questions, please ask them--another of your rights. You also have the right to refuse to do anything I suggest. And you have the right, at any time and for any reason, to decide you do not wish to continue counseling. In that case, I would request a termination session to bring closure to our work together. Furthermore, you have the right to any and all of your records.
Most counseling sessions take place weekly and last 50 minutes. Depending on your concerns, however, sessions may be scheduled more or less frequently. The number of sessions needed varies with each person and problem; after I fully understand your concerns, we will discuss the number of sessions you might need.
Session fees are $110 per 50-minute session. Payment is expected at the time service is rendered. I do accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express at no extra charge. Additional prorated fees will be charged for additional session time, telephone and email consultations over five minutes long that do not involve solely the scheduling of appointments or initial contact with you, and any other services, such as resume critique, I perform outside of the session. Listed below are the additional fees for various inventories that we decide together will help you achieve your goals. Incorporated into these fees are the scoring and interpretation times required for each. Others, not listed here, may also be useful.
Your session time has been reserved for you. Please give me as much notice as possible if you must cancel your appointment so that your time may be given to someone else. In order to avoid being charged your session fee for missed appointments, a 24-hour notice of cancellation by telephone is required. If you are paying a co-pay instead of full fee, you will be charged the full fee for a missed session. If I need to re-schedule or am late for our appointment, you will receive additional time or there will be no charge for the missed session time. Fees that go unpaid for three months may be turned over to a bill collection agency.
I look forward to working with you.
| 1. Strong Interest Inventory/Skills Confidence Inventory (measures interests and perceived skills in a broad range of occupations, occupational and leisure activities, hobbies, school subjects, and types of people) | $85.00 |
| 2. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (measures personality characteristics) | $30.00 |
| 3. Values Scale (assesses 21 work and non-work-related values) | $70.00 |
| 4. Career Beliefs Inventory (identifies beliefs that may be blocking the attainment of your career goals) | $50.00 | 5. SkillScan (assesses perceived skills, identifies career areas that utilize preferred skills, suggests actions for development of skills) | $30.00 |
Claire U. Miner, Ph.D., NCC, LPC
April 23, 2006