Addictions Counseling Online and by Telephone

Please Note the Following General Counseling Information:

1. All information submitted to Jan Williams is confidential, safeguarded by encryption, firewall, and other protections, and will not be revealed to anyone, without a release of information from the client. Confidentiality is mandated by Federal Confidentiality Law and Regulations (42 CFR Part 2).
2. Any individual seeking help through this site who is under 18 years of age must provide a verifiable expression of consent from a parent or legal guardian.
3. Persons with serious emotional or psychiatric conditions (such as, but not limited to, eating disorder, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia), not stabilized through traditional treatment by a qualified mental health professional are not appropriate for the help offered here and should seek help from such professionals before accessing online services.
4. Persons who are depressed and thinking of harming themselves or others are also not appropriate for the help offered here and should get help immediately by calling a crisis line, for example, 1-800-SUICIDE, or going to the Emergency Room of a hospital, or seeking other immediate help. See http://suicidehotlines.com/national.html
5. Persons who have a pattern of using addictive substances on a daily or almost daily basis need to access face-to-face evaluation and treatment service providers to address possible medical and other problems involved in withdrawal associated with physical dependence, before using the services available here.

Please Note the Following Information about Internet and Telephone Helping Services:

1. By its nature, counseling online and by telephone can be interrupted by technological difficulties beyond the control of either the counselor or the client. Before services are provided, the client will be given suggestions for alternative methods for contacting the counselor should disruptions in the client's service occur (for ex., a public library). Jan Williams pledges that should technical difficulties result from his internet home service, he has alternative internet and telephone access.
2. The visual and auditory cues available during face-to-face counseling are, of course, not available in internet and telephone counseling. Therefore, it is vital that both the client and Jan Williams seek clarification of any communications, as needed.
3. Jan Williams will at the outset of the counseling relationship help the client to identify local therapists and other treatment providers, including crisis services.
4. Jan Williams has included safeguards to keep client information confidential and protected from unauthorized access. Client information, including history, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and progress notes, and notes from telephone sessions are all for Jan Williams' eyes only. No one else has access to this information. The information will be retained on a safeguarded CD for one year after the counseling relationship has ended, or for a longer or shorter period of time dictated by the client. A copy of the electronic directive from the client to retain or delete will be filed.