Attendance Policy

In order for the group process to be beneficial and effective, it is necessary to consistently attend. For this reason, I have implemented an attendance policy, which is strictly enforced. When you register for a group, you have a dedicated spot that is reserved specifically for you. By registering for the group, you agree to be financially responsible for the appointment, regardless of whether you choose to attend or not.

MISSED GROUP APPOINTMENT: A missed group appointment (also known as a No-Show) is one that is not attended, where you have not previously communicated your absence. Missed appointments are billable and will not be refunded or given as a credit to use for a future group session. Missing two consecutive appointments without prior communication of absence may prevent you from registering for future groups.

LATE ARRIVALS: Arriving to group late may create distractions for other group members. It is requested that you make every attempt to arrive on time for group. While occasionally barriers to achieving this may arise (technical difficulties, other meetings running late, etc), these are expected to be rare in occurrence. You are provided a 10 minute late window for the occasions these may occur. Arriving late to your group, does not extend your group end time and your group rate will not be pro rated or credited for future use. Should you be unable to attend by the end of the 10 minute late window, you have two options: 1) Wait until the thirty minute mark when admittance is reopened, or 2) choose not to attend group that day. If you choose not to attend or are unable to attend due to schedule conflicts, attendance will be recorded as a No-Show and the group would still be billable and no refunds or credits will be issued. Excessive tardiness to sessions may result in discussions as to whether the current group time is the best for your schedule and in more severe cases, termination from the group.

RESCHEDULE REQUESTS: Requests to reschedule will be honored if received more than 48hours prior to the scheduled start time of the appointment (this time boundary is strictly enforced as it allows for your spot to be opened to those on the waitlist). While it is encouraged you reschedule for the same week, you are able to reschedule for the week of or the week after the original group appointment without penalty. Requests received 48hours or less than the original group appointment start time, will be rescheduled at the discretion of your group facilitator, and the original group spot will still be billed and you will not receive a credit towards the rescheduled group selected and it will not be refunded. This means that you would be billed for the original appointment as well as the new rescheduled appointment.

CANCELLATION REQUESTS: Requests to cancel group appointments (without being rescheduled) will remain billable and not refunded or credited for future use. As previously noted, by scheduling an group appointment, you are making a commitment to be financially responsible for the appointment, whether you attend or not. You are encouraged to instead, reschedule the appointment for the week of or the week after the original appointment. Please refer to “Reschedule Requests” above for terms to related to rescheduling.

CHANGES IN GROUP LENGTH: The standard meeting time for the group is 50-60 minutes. It is up to you, however, to determine the length of time you remain in the group for support. You are not required to attend the full hour, however, fees for the group will not be discounted or pro rated. Entry times for the group occur on the hour it starts and thirty minutes after to allow flexibility with work schedules.

CANCELLATIONS BY Facilitator: Your group appointment may be cancelled by your facilitator for the following reasons:

1. Attendee Intoxication or Use of Substances: Please abstain from the use of mind-altering substances prior to and during your session. Please treat virtual group sessions as face-to-face and refrain from smoking/vaping during group as well. If your facilitator has concerns about your substance use and/or level of intoxication at the time of your appointment, you will be dismissed from group without a refund or credit.

2. Inappropriate Setting: Please minimize distractions and ensure you have a private, safe space to fully participate in your group. Typically, your facilitator will defer to you as far as to the location you choose to attend your group session at, however, the following locations are deemed inappropriate and/or unsafe to have a session and will result in your facilitator dismissing you from the group session and marking it as a late cancellation. Your group fee will not be refunded or credited to you for future group session use in these instances.

A. While Driving: For safety reasons, your facilitator will not allow admittance into group while you are actively driving. In order to prevent dismissal, please plan accordingly for your appointment.

B. Public Locations: While privacy cannot be guaranteed, in order to help protect your privacy and that of fellow group members and allow for transparent communication, your facilitator will not conduct group sessions if you are at a public location (mall, grocery store, coffee shop, etc,). In order to prevent dismissal, please plan accordingly for your appointment.

3. Facilitator Necessity: There may be times when your facilitator may need to cancel/reschedule your session with limited notice due to personal emergencies, illness, etc. While these are expected to be rare occurring, in the instance they are necessary, your facilitator will contact you to communicate changes with the group appointment. Please note for cancellations due to facilitator necessity, you will be provided a credit to use towards a future group session and your facilitator will work with you to reschedule your group appointment.

4. Facilitator Out of Office: Your facilitator will take scheduled vacation periodically throughout the year. Ocean Waves Counseling, LLC is closed to observe all major federal holidays. Additionally, your facilitator may be given PTO that they will use at their discretion throughout the year. Your facilitator will make every effort to provide advance notice of time off as well as work to find another facilitator to cover your group during this time. If they are unable to find coverage and you have already purchased group sessions for that week, a credit will be issued for use in future group sessions.

LACK OF ENGAGEMENT: For legal and ethical reasons, if you do not schedule or attend an appointment for 30 days beyond your last scheduled session, unless other arrangements have been made in advance, your facilitator must consider the professional relationship terminated. In many cases, you may be eligible to return to group at a later time.