Policy and Customer Rights
Thank you for coming to our office. The following are office policies that you as our client/patient should know. Please read them and talk to your therapist if you have questions.
- Alcohol and/or drugs are not allowed in the office.
- Pets are not allowed in the office (service animals allowed).
- Firearms are not allowed in the office, including hand guns and knives.
- Your appointment is a reserved hour for you. If you have to cancel the appointment, please call us 24 hours in advance (no later than 5:00 pm the day before your appointment). If you have waited 10 min past your scheduled appt time, please let the Front Desk staff know.
- If you miss a scheduled appointment, we will cancel future appointments previously scheduled.
- We understand that there are times in which circumstances do not allow you to pay for our services. If you have problems paying your bill, talk to the Practice Manager or your therapist. The receptionist cannot make decisions about payments.
- Please, bring your insurance card to each appointment.
- We apologize, but we do not have someone that can watch your children while you are in therapy. Children younger than 8 years of age must be accompanied by someone that can take care of them.
- Therapy/Medicine is not always 100% effective. However, around 75% of our client’s symptoms considerably improve and almost 100% of our clients are satisfied with our services.
- You might feel uncomfortable after a therapy session, and we invite you to let your therapist know if this is the case.
- El Futuro staff reserve the right to discharge active cases if there has been no contact in a 2 consecutive months time.
- Please do not contact your therapist via email/text message unless you both reached an agreement to do so. Please remember, in case you are considering hurting yourself or someone else, do not inform your therapist via email or text; we want to make sure someone knows immediately and can help you be safe. In this case, please go to the ER closest to you or call 911.
- Our after-hours emergency line is (919) 913-0795.
Privacy
The law protects the information shared between therapists and clients. Almost always we need written authorization before we share information about your case with anyone else as stated in General Statutes or in 45 CFR 164.512 of HIPAA. This confidential information cannot be shared without your written consent except in cases of emergency or as stated in General Statutes 122C52 to 122C56.. By law, we are required to take steps to protect our clients and
other people. Therefore, there are moments when we do not need your written authorization to release your information, like for example:
- In cases of child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse to the handicapped.
- If you mention, or we believe that you are going to harm yourself or others.
- In cases of medical emergency.
- In court issues, when we receive a legal order signed by a judge.
- If you commit a crime in our office area.
- For audit/healthcare oversight and as required by payer
- It is rare that one of these exceptions occur, in every instance we will try our best to talk to you before we have to take action. We will only reveal the minimum information needed to comply with the request presented, or with our legal duties.
Client Rights
- Rights established in 10A NCAC 27D.0201:
- Right to dignity, privacy, humane care, and freedom from mental and physical abuse, neglect and exploitation
- Right to treatment and care based on the normalization principle.
- Right to obtain a copy of your treatment plan. Please ask your provider to print you a copy.
- Right to receive age-appropriate treatment, access to medical care and habilitation, and the right to an individualized written program plan at the time of admission to maximize his/her development regardless of age or degree of MH/IDD/SA disability.
- Right to be informed in advance of the potential risks and alleged benefits, and alternatives to program choices.
- Right to confidentiality.
- Right to be free from unnecessary or excessive medication. Medication shall not be used for punishment, discipline or staff convenience.
- Right to consent to or to refuse any treatment offered as described in statute without the threat of termination of services, except as outlined in statue (10A NCAC27D.0303; GS 122C-57). Consent may be withdrawn at any time.
- Right to request notification after occurrence of any or specified interventions.
- Right to be informed of emergency procedures.
- Right to exercise all civil rights. Certain civil rights may be limited if a client has been adjudicated incompetent.
- Right to certain safeguards and carefully controlled circumstances when interventions are used.
- Right to be free of corporal punishment, and to be free of harm, abuse and exploitation.
- Right to be free of restrictive interventions including, but not limited to physical restraint, isolation or seclusion except when there is imminent danger of abuse or injury to himself or others, when substantial property damage is occurring, or when it’s necessary as a part of treatment/habilitation.
- Right to be free from threat or fear of unwarranted suspension or expulsion.
- Right to be free from unwarranted invasion of privacy.
- Right to be free from unwarranted search and/or seizure.
- Right of the person legally responsible for a minor or an incompetent adult to request notification of the use of an intervention procedure.
- Right to request notification of the restriction of rights.
- Right to file a grievance or a complaint with the El Futuro Client Rights Committee
El Futuro Client Rights Committee
2020 Chapel Hill Rd, Suite. 23, Durham, NC 27707
Right to contact Disability Rights North Carolina
3724 National Drive, Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27612
1-877-235-4210
Legal Letters Request
- When there is a request for a legal letter, El Futuro staff will indicate to the client and/or attorney the following guidelines:
- Client must have a diagnosable mental health or substance abuse disorder at this time that requires active treatment for said disorder.
- El Futuro requires that a client attend a minimum of 7 therapy sessions before a letter can be written by a therapist. If client is only receiving psychiatric services, the minimum number of MD sessions will be at the discretion of the MD.
- There is a charge of $50 per hour of time for a Therapist and $200 for an MD.
- El Futuro clinician will determine fee based complexity of case, and will communicate fee and charge full amount to client prior to writing the letter.
- Letter must be written by clinician. Note: Client cannot bring a pre-written letter and ask for clinician’s signature.
- Request for letter must be given 7 to 10 business days prior to date when letter is needed.
- Clinician will reserve judgement as to the appropriateness of providing letter to client and/or attorney.
NO-SHOW Policy
People miss appointments when other things take priority over meeting with their service providers, or when they are physically prevented from meeting. Personal crisis, medical emergencies, and transportation failures are common reasons for missing appointments, but we know that families cancel or don’t show up for appointments for other reasons, too.
An appointment is considered “MISSED” if you do not show up or notify us less than 24 hours before the appointment that you will not be coming. This makes it difficult to arrange another productive use of the appointment time. If you know you will miss an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible. This will allow us to use that time for another client. If you miss an appointment, please call us to schedule another appointment with your provider. If
we don’t hear from you within 30 days, we will close your medical record and open up the space for a new client.
Payments
• No Insurance – MCO: I understand that if I run out of authorized sessions, the costs of therapy will be at least $30 per session.
• Medicaid: I understand that if my Medicaid coverage ends, I will be responsible for the costs of therapy.
• Self-pay: I understand that payment due must be made in full at check-in; otherwise I will be asked to reschedule appointment
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD