We know planning for the worst is troubling to think about. However, failing to plan can place an overwhelming logistical and emotional burden on family, friends and colleagues, and can be quite costly.
TheraClosure is the compassionate, efficient, cost-effective, and secure way to fulfill your ethical obligations and to ensure that your patients will be well cared for. We make it simple for psychotherapists to create a thoughtful Professional Will, and we learn about your practice and then serve, if needed, as your Practice Executor, administering your detailed directive with our caring expertise.
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We take time to learn about you and your practice. Together, we consider best practices and devise a plan for your clients' well-being and for the closing of your business in the event of a sudden incapacitation. A legally reviewed contractual Professional Will is created, naming TheraClosure as your Practice Executor.
In order for TheraClosure to fulfill duties of the Professional Executor, we would need remote access to your patient schedule, contact information, and your patient records. We can gain this access in the following ways: (1) an electronic health record (EHR) system, (2) another web-based system, (3) a digital file transmitted by someone you designate, (4) paper records that have been digitized (which we can help with).
If called upon, our team specializes in compassionate, clinically-informed notification to patients. Trained in grief counseling, our therapists provide support and facilitate personalized referrals for each client. We ensure that no patient slips through the cracks, and we use both your and our referral lists to connect each patient to a qualified therapist suited to individual requirements.
We secure the confidentiality of psychotherapy records in compliance with ethical standards and retain them according to legal requirements. We facilitate notification and transfer of records as needed for patient care.
We provide you with an enterprise-grade password manager for the online services your practice uses, including your electronic health records system. Your passwords will be kept up-to-date, safely encrypted, and only made available to TheraClosure to administer your will in the event of your incapacitation.
We discontinue your business accounts, notifying licensure boards and malpractice insurance, and consulting with your Personal Executor about remaining tasks like your office lease and office bills.
For those who bill using EHRs, we issue statements to your active clients and to insurance so that your estate can collect for services you have provided. We also help your clients by providing them with statements to submit for reimbursement.
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You practice psychotherapy with integrity and the highest ethical standards which must include planning for client care in the event of your sudden incapacitation or death. We know that creating a professional will is complicated, and determining who to ask to serve as your Practice Executor can feel impossible, but don’t put it off any longer. Let us help.
Having served as Practice Executors, we know the tremendous amount of time and expertise required to transfer client care, safeguard their privacy, and manage the business aspects of another person’s practice. And we have learned that when therapists rely on a trusted colleague to be their Practice Executor, the colleague will not have the time or resources to handle all the demands that are suddenly placed on them, and they will lack experience in the closing of a psychotherapy practice and managing patient care following traumatic termination. TheraClosure takes the burden off your colleagues who otherwise may scramble to inform clients who show up in the waiting room and to provide coverage and referrals. And, if you are covered by TheraClosure, you can rest assured knowing you have lined up compassionate grief-trained and business savvy clinicians using innovative tech solutions to be on retainer for you.
As this is our sole responsibility, you can count on us to be available with the resources needed to jump into action for your practice. We have thought through every detail and put every effort into developing ways to get to know you and your practice demands. In the event of the unexpected we want you to be reassured that a caring clinician informed about you and your wishes will be contacting your clients and discussing how important you and your work has been to them, and offering guidance for next steps.
We believe that the therapeutic alliance is at the heart of all therapy, no matter your orientation, so we focus on that. Protecting positive and healing attachments is our goal, so that clients take with them the enduring benefits of their work with you. We approach patient conversations as your trusted colleague, with empathy and attunement, using information you have provided us about your style. We make clear that you would not have wanted your goodbye with them to be like this. In our experience, knowing that you have had the foresight to plan for their well-being leaves a lasting feeling of being cared for by you.
Given the unique bond of the therapeutic relationship, vulnerable clients may be at risk if therapy is abruptly terminated. Their mental health may be impacted not only by the loss and perceived abandonment. Moreover, as it is often difficult for clients to identify and engage in alternative therapeutic care, their interrupted treatment may not be resumed. We notify, support, arrange referrals to appropriate therapists with immediate availability, and facilitate transfers so clients are supported in accessing needed care at this most difficult time. We provide peace of mind that you have done everything possible to ensure your clients’ gentle and thoughtful transition to continuing their mental health journey, even in your absence.
Without a Professional Will and Practice Executor in place, your grieving family may be the ones fielding clients’ demands for private health information, referrals, insurance information, and records- all things they may be unqualified to provide. And your family or estate may unexpectedly owe a significant fee to a colleague who steps in and charges their hourly rate to complete the executor duties. Shield loved ones from additional confusion and pain by ensuring all of your professional responsibilities are covered so that there are no surprises or financial or legal liabilities for them to face.
Emma Basch, Ph.D
Mick Sutter
Ben Rutt, Ph.D.
