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Here at Trailhead, we strive to create a supportive and understanding environment for our clients while also taking into account the well-being of our dedicated clinicians. We recognize that life can be unpredictable, and sometimes unexpected circumstances arise that necessitate a change in plans. We ask that clients give us 24 business hours' notice if they need to cancel or reschedule a session. When clients give us 24-hour notice of a cancelation, it increases our ability to fill that now-empty slot with a new client, a client on the therapist’s waitlist, or even a client who may have reached out for an emergency session.

 

But, as sometimes happens, clients are not able to give us that much notice, which is also completely understandable. Life happens.  In such an event, we charge the client the full rate or "private pay rate" of the session.

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If you're a client who has had to pay the late cancellation fee, you may find yourself feeling confused or even punished. You may find the charge unfair, asking yourself,  “If I didn’t get my hour of therapy, why do I have to pay for it?” These thoughts and feelings are completely understandable, and we'd like to help you better understand the rationale behind this policy.

 

At Trailhead, our therapists offer specialized care, tailored specifically to you. Clients and their therapists develop a unique relationship over time, and this relationship isn't easily or quickly exchangeable. Because of the unique nature of the therapeutic relationship, our therapists aren't able to do the things that many other appointment-based professionals can do to offset the financial loss of missed appointments. We can't accept walk-ins, double/triple book appointment slots, cover appointments for other professionals who are on vacation, or fill missed appointment times with other billable work. If you as a client don't pay for a session that you either don't show up for or cancel with short notice, your therapist simply does not get paid for that hour they showed up to work and were ready to work. 

 

We think most people would agree that if one day they showed up to work their full eight-hour shift only to be told by their supervisor that they were only getting paid for five or six hours of work, they would find that unfair and frustrating --and rightly so!. But then, what if this were to happen every week, and you had no real way of knowing how many hours of work you'd be getting paid for, despite being required to plan and prepare and schedule to work a full forty? For most of us, this would cause feelings of distress and make our lives feel financially unstable. 

Our Cancelation policy exists to ensure that none of our therapists feel that way. 

 

We love offering you high-quality, specialized care, and we appreciate the value you as a client place not only on your therapist's expertise but also on the therapeutic relationship you and your therapist have and its role in moving you further along on your healing journey. 

If you have any further questions about our cancelation policy, please let us know.

 

Sincerely. 

The Trailhead Team