When your first appointment begins at the Centre for Mental Health Research and Treatment (CMHRT), whether for a psychoeducational assessment or for therapy, your clinician will need to review a number of policies and procedures with you. Some of these will include, for example, how we protect your privacy, how our psychologists supervise your clinician’s work with you, the role of research in our clinic, our cancellation policy, and our fees. We thank you in advance for your patience as we work through these important issues with you in the appointment.
One document that will be reviewed with you at your first appointment is our Letter of Information . This document outlines the goals of the CMHRT, basic information on our assessment and treatment services, describes the central role of training at our centre, describes the role of research at our centre, and outlines how we manage privacy (more on this point can be found at our Your Personal Health Information and Privacy web page). You should know that your privacy is very important to us, and we believe that an important part of this form is a brief review of the ethical and legal limits to the privacy of your personal health information.
The next document reviewed will be the Consent for Assessment Form. This document allows us to be sure that you are aware of all of the important information that you need to know before we begin to work with you or your child.
Finally there is also a Consent for Research Participation Form . Because the CMHRT is dedicated to research that investigates the nature and treatment of psychological problems, we would like to request your permission to access and use some of the materials for research that you complete during your assessment and treatment with us. Please note that you have the right to “opt-in” or “opt-out” of the different forms of research participation. Your decision to take part or not take part in such research projects will have NO impact on the services that you receive at our centre. More information on the possible various forms of research participation are outlined in the consent form.
At this time, there is also a Consent to Telepsychology form that you will need to read over and verbally consent to with your clinician during your first appointment.
After your assessment part of therapy is complete, we will have you read and sign our Consent for Treatment Form .
We strongly encourage you to review these forms carefully prior to your first appointment with us. At your first appointment, your clinician will be happy to answer any questions you may have about these forms and our procedures.