Megan Sutherland considers any appointment that you have made with her, important. Your appointment is for your exclusive use and when it is cancelled with short notice, or missed altogether, it is often too late or impossible to offer this time to someone else and the appointment time goes unfilled. Megan understands that cancellations may feel awkward, but very much appreciates a cancellation over a no-show.

Filling cancellations for in-person appointments can be particularly tricky, given the amount of notice people generally need in order to adjust their schedule to accommodate an office appointment.

Please note, as of November 2024 the following cancellation / missed appointment policy is in effect:

• A full 24 hours notice is required for cancelling appointments. Please log in to your secure client profile in the Jane app or email Megan directly. Voicemail is not recommended as it is checked infrequently.. Online cancellations can only be made with 24+ hours notice.
• If you cancel with less than 24 hours before your appointment time, you will be billed for 50% of the cost of your appointment, that is: $87.50 for a 50-minute session, $125 for a 75-minute session and $45 for a 25-minute appointment. This also applies to same-day bookings which are subsequently cancelled.
• If you cancel with less than 12 hours before your appointment time, you will be billed for 75% of the cost of your appointment, that is $131.25 for a 50-minute appointment, $187.50 for a 75-minute session and $67.50 for a 25-minute appointment. This also applies to same-day bookings which are subsequently cancelled.
• If you cancel with less than 6 hours before your appointment time, you will be billed for 90% of the cost of your appointment, that is $144 for a 50-minute appointment, $198 for a 75-minute session, and $76.50 for a 25-minute session.
• Clients who fail to show up for a scheduled appointment (“no show”) are billed for the full cost of their scheduled session — i.e. $175 for a 50-minute session, $250 for a 75-minute session and $90 for a 25-minute session.
• Clients receive emailed appointment reminders that are set up through their client profile in the Jane App booking system, sent out initially 3 days before their appointment time and also 24 hours before their appointment. Clients also have the option of adding SMS reminders. Reminders are highly recommended. While clients can deactivate these reminders in their profile, clients understand that in doing so that they are solely responsible for remembering their appointments. Most missed appointments are related to deactivated reminders. Also, rarely, the Jane App may be subject to technical problems whereby reminders are not sent out. These reminders are a courtesy only; clients are responsible to keep or cancel their appointment regardless of whether they receive a reminder or not. If you are uncertain when your next appointment with Megan is, please log into your profile on the Jane App or contact Megan to check.
• There is a range of valid reasons for cancelling an appointment. In order to be consistent with all clients, cancellation fees will only be waived in the event of a medical emergency requiring urgent professional treatment, a death in the family or a natural disaster. Please also see my Communicable Disease Prevention Plan, below, for one notable exception, which applies only to in-person sessions.
• If you have purchased a prepaid counselling package and you cancel one of your prepaid sessions with less than 24 hours, or miss the session, this session counts as having been used.
• Out of fairness to you, if Megan cancels your appointment with less than 24 hours, your next appointment is 50% off. If she cancels your appointment with less than 12 hours, your next appointment is 75% off. If she cancels your appointment with less than 6 hours, your next appointment is 90% off. In the unlikely event that Megan does not show up for your appointment, your next appointment is free.
• If you have booked a series of counselling appointments and have cancelled your most recent appointment with less than 24 hours notice or have missed that appointment, you have 24 hours to pay the associated fees to retain your pre-booked sessions.
• Life circumstances may arise which make attending counselling on an ongoing basis difficult or even impossible. Clients who cancel 3 consecutive appointments or 5 a year are asked to take a 6-month break from counselling with Megan.
• Missed appointments and late cancellations are payable via credit card, e-transfer or PayPal. Megan provides receipts marked “cancellation fee” or “missed appointment” and cannot mark such receipts as a “counselling session” as this constitutes insurance fraud. Megan appreciates your prompt payment.

Cancellation Policy For In-Person Sessions Related to Infectious Illnesses

If you are scheduled for an in-person appointment and you develop cold or flu symptoms within 24 hours of your appointment please do not come to my office and contact me to switch to a phone and video session, or cancel altogether if you are too ill to continue with your appointment. The cancellation fee will be waived if you are unable to proceed.

If you are experiencing contagious symptoms with more than 24 hours before your in-person appointment please contact Megan to switch to a phone or video session or cancel altogether. Regular cancellation fees apply to situations where more than 24 hours notice could have been given for in-person cancellations related to illness.

For more information, please see my Communicable Disease Prevention Plan.

© Willow Tree Counselling (2024).