Coaching agreement

This agreement explains how coaching with me works and what you can expect. Please read it carefully and ask me any questions before signing. You'll sign at the bottom of this page.

What coaching is and isn't

Coaching is a forward-focused partnership. Together we clarify your goals, look at the patterns in your relationships and choices, build communication and relationship skills, and turn insight into action.

Coaching is not psychotherapy, counseling, or mental health treatment. It does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any mental health condition or medical disease, and it is not a substitute for those services when they are needed.

I am also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California. My coaching practice is separate from my therapy practice: in our work together I am acting solely as a coach, and I will not provide psychotherapy to you. Because I hold a license, some legal duties may still apply to me, such as the reporting duties described under Confidentiality below.

When other support would serve you better

If at any point either of us believes you would benefit from therapy, medical care, or another professional service, I will tell you and offer referrals. I do not provide therapy to my coaching clients, coaching clients do not move into my therapy practice, and I do not take current therapy clients as coaching clients. If you are already working with a therapist, coaching can run alongside it; please let your therapist know you are working with a coach.

Your responsibilities and results

You are responsible for your own physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and for the decisions you make and the actions you take during and after our coaching. Coaching depends on your participation, and I cannot promise or guarantee any particular outcome. To the fullest extent the law allows, I am not responsible for the results of decisions you make based on our work together. Nothing in this agreement limits responsibility that cannot be limited by law.

Fees and payment

Your coaching option, fee, and payment schedule are the ones we agreed on, which you'll confirm in the form below. Current options are listed on the Work With Me page; sessions are 50 minutes unless we agree otherwise.

I will send you a secure payment link prior to working together. Single sessions are paid at the latest the morning of each session. Package, intensive, and group fees are paid at the latest 48 hours before the first session, or by the installment dates we agree on. Fees may be adjusted once a year, with at least 30 days' notice; any package you have already bought keeps its price.

Packages are a commitment to a series of sessions, and their price reflects that. If you end a package early, I will refund any amount you have paid beyond the cost of the sessions you have used, with those sessions counted at my single-session rate. Sessions not used within the agreed upon time frame expire. If you find you are unable to continue paying for coaching, please tell me and we will look at the options available at that time.

Insurance

Coaching is not a health care service, and no insurance reimbursement is available for coaching sessions.

Confidentiality

I keep what you share in our sessions confidential and will not disclose information about our work without your written permission. If you take part in couples or joint coaching, I will not release information about that work without written authorization from everyone who participated.

There are limited exceptions. I may share information without your permission if I suspect that a child, an elder, or a dependent adult is being abused or neglected, which I may be required by law to report; if I believe there is a serious risk that you will harm yourself, or a serious threat of violence toward someone else, in which case I may contact emergency services or take other steps to keep people safe; or if I am required to by law, subpoena, or court order.

Sessions may not be recorded by either of us unless we both agree in writing to how the recording will be made and used.

Couples and joint coaching: no secrets

When I coach a couple, my client is the relationship and both partners together. I do not keep secrets between partners. If one of you shares something with me privately (in a message, an individual session, or a conversation outside our joint sessions) that is relevant to the relationship, I may encourage you to share it with your partner, and I may share it myself if I believe it is important to our work. If you are not comfortable with this, please talk with me before sharing anything privately.

Your information

I keep your intake answers, notes, and messages only as long as I need them for our work and my business records, and I store them with care. My Privacy Policy explains what I collect, how I use and protect it, and your rights, including your rights if you live in the European Union or the United Kingdom.

Who coaching is for

I coach adults aged 18 and over. Coaching sessions take place by video unless we agree otherwise.

Scheduling and cancellations

Please give at least 48 hours' notice if you need to reschedule or cancel. Sessions cancelled with less than 48 hours' notice, or missed without notice, are charged in full or deducted from your package.

Communication between sessions

You may text me or leave a voicemail at any time, and I will make every effort to respond within one business day. Text, voicemail, and email are best used for scheduling and sharing resources. Unless your package includes messaging support, conversations between sessions longer than 15 minutes are charged at your session rate. Text and email are not fully secure, so please avoid sending sensitive personal information that way.

Emergencies

Coaching is not an emergency or crisis service, and I am not available for emergencies. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself or someone else, call or text 988 (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US), call 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. If you are outside the United States, contact your local emergency number.

Legal proceedings

Coaching often involves sharing personal and confidential information, and our work is not intended for use in legal proceedings. If you become involved in a legal proceeding (including, but not limited to, divorce and custody disputes, injury claims, or lawsuits), you agree not to call on me, or ask your attorney or anyone acting on your behalf to call on me, to testify or to provide records of our work. I will release records only if you authorize it in writing or if I am legally required to do so.

Mediation and arbitration

Any dispute arising from or relating to this agreement shall first be referred to mediation. The mediator shall be a neutral third party chosen by agreement between the coach and the client(s), and the cost of mediation shall be split equally unless otherwise agreed. If mediation is unsuccessful, any unresolved dispute will be submitted to and settled by binding arbitration in Los Angeles, California, under the rules of the American Arbitration Association in effect when the demand for arbitration is filed.

Other resources

I am happy to share other resources with you, such as reading materials, organizations, and practitioners, with the understanding that I cannot be responsible for their quality.

Agreement

By signing below, you confirm that you have read this agreement, understand it, and agree to its terms, including that coaching is not therapy and does not replace therapy when it is needed.