Participant Agreement
ROCK Counseling Ministries (RCM) is a 501(c)(3) public charity non-profit organization dedicated to offering Christian counseling, pastoral, and coaching services and intensive counseling services for individuals, couples, and families. We are also dedicated to serving Christian counselors around our nation to help train and equip them to be able to serve Christ and His people in strength, freedom, and unity of spirit founded upon the rock of God’s Word.
All donations given to our ministry are tax-deductible, minus any goods or services received. You have been comprised and are aware of our Goods and Services, Privacy Policy, and Terms and Conditions.
To be a part of our great mission or to contact us as needed, you may donate or learn more at RockCounselingMinistries.com or send mail or checks to:
ROCK Counseling Ministries, 9235 N Union Blvd., STE 150-274, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
NOTE: We are a donor supported ministry, so we thank you immensely for your support in being part of mission to reclaim counseling for Christ and help people everywhere to build their lives upon the rock!
CHRISTIAN, PASTORAL, AND/OR BIBLICAL COUNSELING AGREEMENT
We provide counseling that is biblically-based, clinically-informed, and whole-person oriented provided by trained and/or certified Christian Counselors, Biblical Counselors, and/or Pastoral Counselors. For the purposes of this agreement, we simply call these our Christian Counseling Services. In order to be fully informed about the Christian Counseling Services you will be receiving, please read through this agreement in entirety, and sign and date it at the bottom. This form must be signed and dated and returned to our offices before your first appointment.
DESCRIPTION OF OUR CHRISTIAN COUNSELING SERVICES
The goal of our Christian Counseling Services is to help people through our whole-person oriented model of wellness in becoming spiritually grounded, attaining Christ-like perspectives, and thinking biblically about their current struggles in order to strive towards overcoming them and bettering their lives and the lives of those around them. Our counselors rely on Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and God’s creation as they utilize our wellness model, God’s Hierarchy of Needs, in serving their clientele. We are guided by biblical principles, reality, experience, and applicable scientific, philosophical, and psychological wisdom to conduct our services. We utilize the power of the counseling relationship, guided questioning, empathetic support, problem definition and solving, contemplation, reflection, reframing, reading assignments, encouragement, admonition, the ministry of reconciliation, peacemaking, and prayer regularly to provide wisdom, healing, and strength to those seeking our assistance.
QUALIFICATIONS
Our counselors have varying degrees of education and experience. Please view their online profiles on our website for specific information about your counselor. Note that all our counselors strictly offer Christian Counseling Services as previously defined not matter their credentials, certifications, or licenses.
REFERRAL POLICY/DISCLAIMER
After reviewing the intake form and/or conducting a consultation or initial meeting with you or your family, we will determine whether or not we feel we can provide you with the appropriate services and level of care needed. Partakers in our services will be referred outside of Rock Counseling Ministries to other entities, professional clinics, or life coaching services and so on when treatment required is beyond the scope of care we have available.
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING SERVICES: FEES, NOTES, AND REFERRALS
Please see profile information or inquire of us in writing for your specific counselor’s fee structure or suggested donation information. Credit/debit cards, cash or checks are accepted forms of payment (checks made payable to “Rock Counseling Ministries”) Scholarships on behalf of our generous donors may be available for those struggling financially if funds exist and qualifications are met. Scholarships may be required anytime you, the client, or your family member(s) are unable to afford either the fee or suggested donation. Please note that we are unable to bill to or accept any insurance for our services nor do we provide any mental health diagnoses. We also cannot provide any potential insurance reimbursement receipts. Furthermore, all meeting notes are kept off record and not submitted to any insurance company or governing authorities for review or auditing purposes and will not be able to be utilized for any legal or court proceedings. The only exception to this may be if we were Court Ordered by Judge. While these may be requested by the client themselves and may be given upon the discretion and approval from our ministry, they may not be requested by anyone else, and we may not surrender them nor be required to surrender them to anyone. Our meeting records are for internal use only. Our services are supported by the generosity of our donors. We may have some some fees associated with our services, in which we also accept donations above and beyond the costs of our services in order to help us continue to further our mission. Intensive retreats require a minimum 25% non-refundable deposit to be received before booking can be confirmed. While some of our services are free or donation-based only, others have fees attached. We do provide scholarships for those in need in accordance with the funds we have available. All scholarship services are awarded solely upon need and the leading of the Holy Spirit and the discretion of our ministry.
MINORS
If you are a minor, your parents may be legally entitled to some information about your partaking in our services and the counseling you’re involved in. We will discuss with you and your parents what information is appropriate for them to receive and which issues are appropriately kept confidential. We work together with our clients as an entire family whenever possible, therefore your information is shared at the discretion of the counselor in order to attain the goals stated on behalf of the family whenever any family, relational, or parent-child counseling is a part of the process. As a minimum requirement, in signing this document every minor and parents of that minor agree to an automatic release of information for billing purposes.
EMERGENCIES
We provide non-emergency services by appointment only. You agree to not contact us in emergency situations, but to rather call 911 or the suicide hotline at 988 or your local crisis hotline in your area. You agree to hold us harmless for any emergency you may suffer whether related to our ministry or services we’ve provided or not.
GROUP SERVICES, CLASSES, WORKSHOPS, AND/OR FORUMS
We also host group services that take place either in-person or online. You recognize that these services have limited or no confidentiality, and therefore you forfeit all private or confidential matters related to your life or family in accordance with what you choose to share through these services or on these platforms. Furthermore, any information you choose to share publicly in these settings our ministry then has full rights to share and or utilize in accordance with our discretion for the betterment of our ministry, marketing campaigns, or the goods or services we offer.
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENTIAL COUNSELING AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED LIABILITY
Participating in our interactive, experiential or equine services may be a potential risk to your health and well-being. These actives have an element of danger and risk. We cannot assure the safety of clients in all circumstances. You participate at your own risk and of your own will, and by signing this document you agree to not indemnify or hold liable Rock Counseling Ministries or any staff members in any way for any harm or injury that may arise in association with your or your family member(s) or staff member(s) participation in this form of counseling or education.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
In order to continue the progress of your services, we will conduct your meetings remotely via phone or video if you are unable to travel to any of our physical counseling locations. If your counselor decides a remote meeting is not appropriate for your progress, then your meeting may be rescheduled accordingly.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Any means of contact you provide to us is considered legitimate to use by our organization or staff in contacting you for any reasons we deem appropriate. You agree that as a client your email will be added to our e-newsletter and client contact list and any other internal marketing lists. You may unsubscribe from any of these at any time.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Your counselor will adhere to commonly accepted practices of privacy and confidentiality in counseling ethics, except when any of these conflict with the Word of God or the goals set forth by the client(s). There are situations in which the law requires that certain information can be revealed without your consent. Under the discretion of the counselor or coach, if there is any indication that you may be a danger to yourself or others, suicidal, or are suspected of being involved in the neglect or abuse of a
minor, your information may be disclosed to appropriate mental health services or law enforcement or governing bodies. Also, an issue may occasionally arise that would benefit from the counsel or involvement of another counselor at or outside of our ministry. If deemed appropriate, your counselor will consult with you accordingly and may decide that another person be consulted to insure the quality of care you are receiving. Furthermore, if you are involved in any of our Christian marriage or family counseling services involving more than one member from your family or a significant other, then your counselor may choose to inform select involved parties at his or her discretion of any necessary or relevant information pertaining to your or their counseling for the benefit of unity, open communication, removal of unseen or unknown obstacles, or for any other reason that the counselor deems worthy to attempt to bring about healing, progress, growth, or change in the relationship. Lastly, if you partake in any Christian experiential counseling services, then these may have limited confidentiality associated with them because they sometimes take place in public settings, and therefore, you agree to this limited confidentiality if you or your family partakes in any of these services. Lastly, you forfeit all rights to privacy for anything you choose to share in a group, online group, or public forum setting.
RIGHTS AS A CLIENT
1. You are entitled to information about any procedures, methods of counseling or coaching, techniques and possible duration of counseling if that can be determined.
2. You have the right to end counseling at any time without any moral, legal or financial obligations other than those already accrued or agreed upon.
3. You have the right to expect confidentiality within the limits described.
4. You have the right to authorize your counselor to consult with another party about your counseling, even though such authorization doesn’t bind our counselors to such consultations.
MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION
Disputes arising out of or in relation to this agreement to provide services shall first be referred to mediation, before, and as a precondition of, the initiation of arbitration. The mediator shall be a neutral third party chosen by agreement of the counselor and client. The cost of such mediation shall be split.
CIENT EXPECTATIONS AND CANCELLATION POLICY
Please plan to arrive on time to your meetings. We have a 24 hour policy in which if you cancel or reschedule any meeting within this amount of time, you will still be liable for the fee associated with the service if there is one and your donation will still be transacted if you have elected to give one. For intensive retreats, a minimum of one week notice is required in order for you to be eligible to receive any
refund or transferring of funds to other available dates. Your commitment to the counseling process will greatly determine the outcome of your experience and is expected by our ministry as part of your agreement in partaking in our services. In certain situations the cancellation of future appointments or of being no longer allowed to partake in any of our services may occur if you break any of these agreements in this document or if you or your associated family member miss too many scheduled meetings. Exceptions are at the discretion of our ministry and may be for things like sudden illnesses and emergencies only.
CONSENT FOR USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
As part of our ongoing commitment to provide the best possible services, we use an artificial intelligence companion tool for note-taking and ongoing training that assists in generating documentation based on
your meetings. This allows for more time and focus to be spent on our services instead of taking time to jot down notes or important details. A temporary recording and transcript or summary of the conversation may be created and used to generate the note for that meeting. We then regularly review the content of that note to ensure its accuracy. We also utilize AI recordings of meetings to create clips or shorts for both internal and external teaching and training purposes. Note that your personal information is always deleted or changed to protect your confidentiality and anonymity. This artificial intelligence tool prioritizes the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information. Your meeting information is strictly used for the purpose of your ongoing care. Your information is subject to strict data privacy regulations and is always secured and encrypted. Stringent business associate agreements ensure data privacy and HIPAA compliance whenever ethical, applicable, or required. Please discuss any questions or concerns you may have about this feature with us.
AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDINGS & AI UTILIZATION
You agree to never utilize AI in conjunction with any meetings nor to audio or video record any sessions or meetings or any potential client to staff interactions without the expressed written permission from both your counselor and our ministry. While various states may have different legal rules and limits on recordings, we as an organization hold a strict rule that this is never appropriate. Any non-compliance to this can at minimum mean immediate client termination and/or appropriate legal action taken to remedy the situation to the maximum extent of the law. However, we may record meetings for our own internal use only for the purpose of training and developing our counselors.
DOWNLOADS/PRODUCTS/FORMS
If you download or purchase any product, file, or form from our ministry, you agree to not duplicate it in any way for sale or benefit to yourself or to not use it in any way that may be detrimental or harmful to our ministry.
CONTACTING US
For all inquiries regarding anything related to us or your counseling, please contact us via our website.
I AM AGREEING ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND MY FAMILY UTILIZING ANY ROCK COUNSELING MINISTRIES SERVICES OR PROGRAMS THAT I HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO ALL THE ITEMS CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND THAT I NOR MY FAMILY WILL INDEMNIFY NOR HOLD LIABLE ROCK COUNSELING MINISTRIES OR ANY OF ITS STAFF FOR ANY HARM OR INJURY THAT MAY ARISE IN ASSOCIATION WITH PARTAKING IN ANY OF OUR SERVICES OR PROGRAMS OR IN UTILIZING ANY OF THE COUNSELING RECEIVED.
Thank you and God bless,
Jordan Hall, Founder