CONTACT INFORMATION
Kristina W Lujan, MA, LPC, LMFT
Wolfe Counseling, PLLC
4251 Kipling St #430, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Main: 303-991-1223 (ok to text)
Direct: 303-653-6604 (ok to text)
Main: info@wolfecounseling.com
Direct: kristina@wolfecounseling.com
DEGREES & LICENSES
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT.0001171,
exp. 08/31/2025
Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC.0011149, exp.
8/31/2025
MA Counseling Psychology, Emphasis: Couple & Family Counseling,
University of Colorado at Denver, 2010
BA Psychology, Minor: Family Studies, University of Northern Iowa,
2004
PSYCHOTHERAPY LICENSURE
The practice of licensed or registered persons in the field of
psychotherapy is regulated by the Mental Health Licensing Section
of the Division of Registrations through the Colorado Department
of Regulatory Agencies. The Board of Licensed Professional
Counselor Examiners regulates Licensed Professional Counselors,
and the Board of Marriage and Family Therapist Examiners
regulates Marriage and Family Therapists; both boards can be
reached at 1560 Broadway, Suite 1350, Denver, CO 80202,
303-894-7800. Levels of regulation of mental health
professionals in Colorado include licensing (requires minimum
education, experience, and examination qualifications),
certification (requires minimum training, experience, and for
certain levels, examination qualifications), and registration
(does not require minimum education, experience, or training.)
All levels of regulation require passing a jurisprudence
take-home examination. As to the regulatory requirements
applicable to mental health professionals: a Licensed Clinical
Social Worker, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and a
Licensed Professional Counselor must hold a masters degree in
their profession and have two years of post-masters supervision.
A Licensed Psychologist must hold a doctorate degree in
psychology and have one year of post-doctoral supervision. A
Licensed Social Worker must hold a masters degree in social work.
A Psychologist Candidate, a Marriage and Family Therapist
Candidate, and a Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate must
hold the necessary licensing degree and be in the process of
completing the required supervision for licensure. A Certified
Addiction Counselor I (CAC I) must be a high school graduate, and
complete required training hours and 1,000 hours of supervised
experience. A CAC II must complete additional required training
hours and 2,000 hours of supervised experience. A CAC
III must have a bachelors degree in behavioral health, and
complete additional required training hours and 2,000 hours of
supervised experience. A Licensed Addiction Counselor must have a
clinical masters degree and meet the CAC III requirements. A
Registered Psychotherapist is registered with the State Board of
Registered Psychotherapists, is not licensed or certified, and no
degree, training or experience is required.
CLIENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
You are entitled, to receive information from your therapist
about the methods of therapy, the techniques used, the duration
of your therapy, if known, and the fee structure. You can seek a
second opinion from another therapist or terminate therapy at any
time. In a professional relationship, sexual intimacy is never
appropriate and should be reported to the board that licenses,
registers, or certifies the licensee, registrant or certificate
holder. Generally speaking, the information provided by and to
the client during therapy sessions is legally confidential and
cannot be released without the client's consent. There are
exceptions to this confidentiality, some of which are listed in
section 12-43-218 as well as other exceptions in Colorado and
Federal law. I (therapist) am required by law to: (1) report any
known or suspected incident of child abuse or neglect to
authorities; (2) report any known or suspected incident of abuse
or exploitation of an at-risk adult or an elder 70 years and
older; (3) report any threat of imminent physical harm by a
client to law enforcement and to the person(s) threatened; (4)
initiate a mental health evaluation of a client who is imminently
dangerous to self or to others, or who is gravely disabled, as a
result of a mental disorder; (5) report any suspected threat to
national security to federal officials; and (6) may be required
by Court Order to disclose treatment information. When I am
concerned about a client's safety, it is my policy to call
Department of Human Services. In doing so, I may disclose
information regarding my concerns. By signing this Disclosure
Statement and agreeing to treat with me, you consent to this
practice, if it should become necessary. If you are 18 years or
older and disclose to me that you were abused as a minor I do not
have a duty to report unless the abuse has never been reported
AND there is reasonable cause to know or suspect that the
perpetrator has subjected another child currently under 18 to
abuse or neglect or to circumstances that would likely result in
abuse or neglect or if the perpetrator is currently in a position
of trust as defined in C.R.S. 18-3-4-1(3.5) with regard to any
child currently under 18.
***IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW IN WORKING WITH
KRISTINA****
- Please be sure to read the
appointment cancellation policy below.
- I am in the office 3 days per week. Please know that I do not
offer emergency services and it may take 1-2 business days for me
to return messages. If it's an emergency, call 911, Colorado's
Crisis Hotline at (844) 493-8255, or go to your local
emergency room.
- Phone, text and client portal are the official ways to contact
me. I prefer texts so I can get back to you as soon as
possible. Please do not email me unless we've
discussed you sending me a document ahead of time. I do not
respond to emails quickly.
- At times, technology fails. If you have contacted me and do not
hear from me within 2 business days or sooner, please assume I
did not get your message and call or text me again.
- Please feel free to schedule using this portal (click on the
Calendar tab). If you don't see a time that works for you, you
are welcome to call or text me to see if I have any flexibility
with my schedule.
- Check out my list of references and referrals on my Pinterest
page www.pinterest.com/wolfecounseling! You can also find a link
to my Pinterest page on my website.
- I have a clinical assistant, and at times an intern, that
assists with clerical tasks. Know that my assistant may read
and/or respond to email, phone and text correspondences in
addition to myself.
- Do NOT send clinically-relevant information via email, phone or
text as cell phone and email communication can be intercepted by
third parties and can never be guaranteed as confidential. Any
and/or all text and voice messages may be added to your client
file for proper case documentation purposes. Communication
between sessions should be limited to scheduling purposes only.
If it is urgent and cannot wait until our next session, please
leave a brief text or voice message with a few good times to call
back. Phone calls over 10 minutes may be billed at a prorated
rate of your current 50-minute session rate.
- Please do not record sessions. Both therapist and client agree
to obtain written consent before any recording of sessions should
take place.
- Therapists are not allowed to accept gifts. My gift is seeing
your life and relationships grow. :)
COUPLES COUNSELING POLICIES
In couples counseling, the couple is the client. In order to
maintain fidelity to the client, there are important agreements
that need to be understood and agreed to:
- Secrets: When treating a couple or a family, the couple or
family is considered to be the client. If one member of the
couple or family discloses information that is directly relevant
to the treatment of the couple or family, it may be necessary to
share that information with the other members of the couple or
family for the sake of facilitating treatment. The best
judgement will be made in deciding when or if such disclosures
will be made and, whenever possible, you will first be given the
opportunity to share the information yourself. This "no secrets"
policy is intended to allow the therapist to continue to provide
therapy to the family or couple by preventing, as much as
possible, conflicts of interest that may arise. If you feel it
necessary to talk about matters that you do not wish to have
disclosed, you should consult with a separate therapist for
individual treatment.
- Abuse: Emotional and/or physical abuse present in the
relationship (past or present) should be shared as soon as
possible, as indications for couples therapy are assessed based
on severity and characteristics of the abuse, whether "Common
Couple Violence" or "Characterological Violence". If you
are the victim of abuse, Information regarding the abuse will NOT
shared with your partner unless safe to do so, and a plan for
instilling safety will be discussed individually.
- Confidentiality: All information revealed by each partner shall
be considered strictly confidential. NO information will be
released to any third party (including divorce courts or
attorneys) without the written consent of BOTH partners, except
as described in legal exceptions or "threat of serious harm to
self or others" as in the case of child abuse, suicide, homicide,
or grave disability. In addition, if a request is made for the
records of couple or family therapy, records will only be
released with the consent of all parties, and any information
that is released will be released to both members of the couple
or to all adults engaging in family therapy unless extenuating
circumstances apply.
DISCLOSURE REGARDING DIVORCE AND CUSTODY LITIGATION
If you are involved in divorce or custody litigation, the role of
a therapist is NOT to make recommendations to the court
concerning custody or parenting issues. By signing this
Disclosure Statement, you agree not to subpoena the therapist to
court for testimony or for disclosure of treatment information in
such litigation; and you agree not to request written reports to
the court or to your attorney regarding making recommendations
concerning custody. The court can appoint professionals, who have
no prior relationship with family members, to conduct an
investigation or evaluation and to make recommendations to the
court concerning parental responsibilities or parenting time in
the best interests of the family's children.
***FEE STRUCTURE, PAYMENT AND CANCELLATION POLICY***
- As of August 1, 2023 for new clients and January 1, 2024 for
existing clients, the fee for a 50-minute therapy session is $210
per session. A 75-minutes session is $270 (15% discount for
75-min sessions). A 100-minute session is $360 (15% discount from
a 50-min rate).
- Phone call check-ins held with the client between sessions are
billed at a prorated rate of the client's current 50-minute
session rate.
- Phone calls and consultations with collaterals and all others
involved in treatment of the client are billed at a prorated rate
of the client's current 50-minute session rate. This includes but
is not limited to consultations with family members,
consultations with other therapists involved in treatment,
manager/work consults, etc.
- Rates are subject to change at any time with notice. All
attempts are made to keep counseling affordable to current
clients.
- A reduced fee scholarship may be available upon request and
granted upon several conditions including working hard in therapy
(i.e. completing homework), regular attendance, and financial
need. Scholarship rates may be re-evaluated every two to three
months.
- A "75% Off First Session" may be requested by the client to
decide therapist-client fit. This must be requested before or at
the time of service (intake session), is only applicable to
50-minute sessions, and is billed at 25% of the 50-minute rate
above. If the client does not make contact with the therapist
within one week of the 75% Off First Session, it will be assumed
that no further counseling services or referrals are needed or
desired by the client.
- Cancellation Policy: Making counseling a priority is important
to ensure therapy goals are achieved. Canceling an appointment
within 24 hours will result in a fee equal to 50% of the
scheduled session rate. No-shows (including cancellations within
6 hours of appointment time) are charged in full. Cancelling or
rescheduling three sessions in a row may result in being charged
for the third cancelled or rescheduled session regardless of
amount of notice given. If there is a Winter
Weather Warning from the Weather Channel,
clients may cancel within 2 hours of the appointment time for no
fee. My preference is for you to check in with me the night
before to make a plan together if you're unsure about the
weather.
- Payment Methods: Cash, check, and credit card accepted. A
credit card is kept on file for cancellations and balances
due.
- $60 fee assessed per generated summary letter or other report.
Any edits needed are billed in ten-minute intervals at the full
hourly-rate.
- $40 fee per returned check due to insufficient funds.
- Clients may be charged copying costs plus $2.00 per minute for
professional time spent responding to information
requests.
- You will be expected to pay for each session at the time it is
held unless we have agreed otherwise in advance. If your account
has not been paid for more than ninety (90) days and payment
arrangements have not been agreed upon, your account will be
considered past due and I have the option of using legal means to
secure the payment. This may involve using a collection
agency or filing a claim in small claims court. Name,
address, and telephone number may be released to a collection
agency if the client does not show suitable effort to make
payments towards outstanding debt(s) within 90 days of service. A
$140 fine as well as collection fees may be assessed to the
client, or responsible party named on this consent, if a
collection agency is needed to assist in collection of
outstanding balance after 90 days of nonpayment. In
collection situations, I will make all efforts to release the
minimum information necessary to proceed with collections or a
claim, which will include the client name, dates, times, and the
nature of services, and the amount due. Before I engage a
collection agency, I will provide you with written notice of my
intent to do so, sent to your last address I have on record, and
give you an opportunity to make payment arrangements.
- If you become involved in legal proceedings, I charge $300 per
hour for services related to your legal matter. You will be
responsible for paying any and all professional time I spend on
your legal matter, even if the request comes from another
party. Professional time spent on your legal matter
includes, but is not limited to: attorney fees that I may incur
in preparing for or complying with the requested legal services;
testimony related matters such as case research and other
preparation, report writing, travel, depositions, actual
testimony, cross examination, and courtroom waiting time.
EMAILS, TEXT MESSAGE AND CRISIS CONTACT:
Emails, Text messages, and Crisis Contact: Emails or texts should
only be used for logistical purposes to schedule appointments.
Never use email or text for any treatment issues. Because any
electronic communications are at risk of being compromised,
unsecured, and/or accessed by an unauthorized third party, if you
choose to communicate with me via electronic means, you will be
asked to sign a separate electronic communication agreement
indicating that you accept the risks of using electronic
communications. All treatment issues must be talked about
in session. If you are in crisis you should call 911 or got to
the nearest hospital emergency room, rather than sending an email
or text message to me regarding your situation. A free 24-hour
Colorado Crisis and Support Line is also available at
844-493-8255. Twenty-four hour therapy is not available to
triage mental health emergencies or crisis. If this is something
you need, please dial 911 or go to your local emergency room. If
you email or text treatment information, it is our policy not to
respond, and instead discuss this information during scheduled
appointments. Please note that time spent outside of regular
sessions may be charged, including emails and phone calls.
Prorated charges may apply.
THERAPIST SUPERVISION & CONSULTATION
Kristina is a licensed professional and therefore not under
professional supervision. Kristina regularly attends ongoing
training as a high priority for continued growth and expertise in
the field. She also participates regularly in professional
consultation in an individual and/or group format. Confidential
client information may be disclosed during such consultation.
Practices of maintaining confidentiality and privacy are
regulated by the Colorado State Department of Regulatory Agencies
(DORA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA) and held to the same strict confidentiality laws as
discussed in the Client Rights section of this Mandatory
Disclosure. All action is taken to maintain confidentiality. If a
consultant identifies that the consultant knows a client
personally, plans are in place to stop all forms of consultation
about the client. Consultation consultants may change depending
on the situation. Therapists Kristina consults with regularly
that may be privy to identifiable information include Bev Tuel,
Pam Semmler, and Chris Wilhoite. Please advise Kristina Lujan,
MA, LPC, LMFT if you know any of these individuals or if you have
other concerns regarding consultation and/or client
confidentiality.
ASSESSMENT
Psychotherapists must conduct both an initial and ongoing
assessment of their clients to understand their psychological
needs. It is essential that you cooperate with this assessment
process by completing all forms, questionnaires, and
psychological tests provided to you and by meeting with your
therapist as your therapist indicates. Please be completely open
and honest with your therapist about all influences that may be
affecting you, even if doing so is painful or embarrassing to you
(or to your partner if you are in couples therapy). Therapists
usually cannot tell when people deliberately conceal things.
Therapists can only help with problems to the extent that they
are provided with the whole truth.
USE OF AI FOR SESSION DOCUMENTATION
To ensure accurate and timely documentation of our work together,
I use Blueprint, a secure, HIPAA-compliant platform, to record
sessions and complete clinical notes. Blueprint uses encrypted
storage and strict security protocols to keep all information
confidential and protected. No one outside of my
practice-including insurance companies or third parties-will have
access to your recorded sessions or notes. Your participation in
recorded sessions is completely voluntary, and you have the right
to decline. If you have any concerns or questions about the use
of Blueprint, I encourage you to discuss them with me. My
priority is to provide the best care while maintaining your
privacy and comfort. Any data used by AI tools will be
handled in compliance with all relevant data protection
regulations, such as HIPAA. The practice will enter into a HIPAA
Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with any AI vendor which will
obligate the vendor to follow HIPAA requirements regarding
privacy and confidentiality; however, such vendors may still use
protected health information for internal research and other
purposes, and they do not fully disclose such internal uses,
although they remain bound by the Business Associate Agreement
when it comes to any external disclosures of information
RISKS AND BENEFITS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
Most people receiving psychotherapy are experiencing
psychological problems that cause internal distress and/or
problems in relationships. The goal of psychotherapy is reduction
of such problems. However, some individuals and couples
experience an exacerbation of problems or different problems in
the course of psychotherapy. These problems can include increases
in anxiety, depression, sadness, sleep disturbances, intrusive
thoughts, flashbacks, self-destructive or angry impulses,
behavior problems, social problems, academic problems,
suicidality and problems in family relationships. Hospital care,
additional treatment options or referral to a different form of
treatment may be necessary. People in psychotherapy benefit from
having support system, including family, friends and in some
cases, religious affiliations. Other treatment modalities such as
family therapy, group therapy, 12-step groups, support groups and
medication may be helpful. Referrals can be provided to help
develop a support system at your request. In most cases, therapy
eventually improves a person's sense of well-being an one's
relationships. In some cases, people obtain little or no benefit
from therapy, or become worse. It is not always possible to
predict the outcome for an individual or couple. Given this
knowledge, the decisions to begin, continue or terminate therapy
generally belong to the client. These decisions may be evaluated
with one's therapist. Clients may also obtain independent
consultation for a second opinions at any time. It is also
important to consider that if a genuine mental health issue is
present, and psychotherapy is recommended, but not pursued, that
worsening of symptoms and decrease in overall functioning may
occur.
MEDICAL CONCERNS
Mental health therapists are not medical doctors and can therefore
not recognize or diagnose medical conditions. It is essential that
you obtain a medical examination to determine any medical origins
of your psychological problems, e.g., neurological disorders,
endocrinological abnormalities, glucose and insulin imbalances,
effects of toxins, infectious disease, gastrointestinal disorders,
side effects of medication, etc. Not being a medical doctor, I
cannot prescribe psychiatric medication but will refer you for
psychiatric consultation if this appears to be indicated.
CONFIDENTIALITY FROM THIRD PARTIES
Psychotherapy is confidential from third parties with important
exceptions:
1. Information by be released to designated parties by written
authorization of clients, parents or legal guardians.
2. When seeking reimbursement for psychotherapy from insurance
companies, employee assistance programs, or other third parties,
information, including psychological diagnoses, in any case,
explanations of symptoms and treatment plans, and in exceptionally
rare cases, entire client records, must be provided to the third
party. If health coverage is provided by the employer, the employer
may have access to such information. Insurance companies usually
claim to keep psychological diagnoses confidential, but may enter
this information into national medical information data
banks, where it may be accessed by employers, other insurance
companies, etc., and may limit future access to disability
insurance, life insurance, jobs, etc. Your therapist will provide
you with copies of reports submitted to insurance companies at your
request.
3. Psychotherapists are required to release information obtained
from clients to appropriate authorities to the extent to which such
disclosure may help to avoid danger to the psychotherapy client or
to others, e.g., immediate risk of suicide, homicide, or
destruction of property that could endanger others.
4. Psychotherapists are required to report suspected past or
present abuse or neglect of children, adults, and elders, including
children being exposed to domestic violence, to the authorities,
including child protection and law-enforcement, based on
information provided by the client or collateral sources.
5. If clients participate in psychotherapy in compliance with the
court order, psychotherapists are required to release information
to the relevant Court, social service, or probation
departments.
6. Your psychotherapist must release information, which may include
all notes on your psychotherapy and contact with collateral
sources, in response to a court order.
7. Psychotherapists often consult with other professionals on
cases[JJ8] but disguise identifying information when doing
so. Please indicate to your therapist if you wish to place
restrictions on consultation, teaching, or writing related to your
case.
8. Psychotherapist reserve the right to release financial
information to a collection agency, Attorney, or small claims
court, if you are delinquent in paying your bill.
9. Cell phone and email communication can be intercepted by third
parties. These forms of communication should be reserved for urgent
or time sensitive matters. Psychotherapists are required to make a
record of such client contact. Email and text communications become
part of the client's file.
PROFESSIONAL RECORDS
Psychotherapy laws and ethics require psychotherapists to keep
treatment records. Professional records can be misinterpreted
and/or upsetting to untrained readers. You are entitled to receive
a copy of these records unless your therapist believes that seeing
them would be emotionally damaging to you, in which case your
therapist will review them together with you or will discuss with
you why seeing them would be damaging to you. When providing
couple, family, or group treatment, the therapist does not provide
access to records without a written authorization from each
individual competent to execute a waiver, and the same information
will be offered to each member of the couple or family. Your record
includes a copy of the signed informed consent form, progress
notes, any release of protected health information, and copies of
your super bill. Records are kept in a locked file cabinet or HIPAA
compliant online database for a minimum of 7 years. Any person who
alleges that a mental health professional has violated the
licensing laws related to the maintenance of records of a client
eighteen years of age or older, must file a complaint or other
notice with the licensing board within seven years after the person
discovered or reasonably should have discovered this.
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS
Other treatment approaches are available as an alternative, or as
an adjunct, to your psychotherapy. These include individual
therapy (if seeking couples therapy from Kristina), family
therapy, group therapy, 12 step groups and support groups,
medication, expressive therapies (e.g., art, writing,
psychodrama),EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and
Reprocessing), nutritional consultation, acupuncture, massage
therapy, yoga therapy, etc.
LENGTH OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
Some psychological problems can be alleviated in a few sessions.
Other problems require years of treatment. It is often difficult
to predict the length of therapy needed. Some disorders cannot be
properly treated within the limitations of some health insurance
policies. The decision to terminate therapy belongs to the client
or legal guardian, except in which the decision is that of a
child at a certain age, e.g., cases involving issues of child
abuse, substance-abuse, birth control, pregnancy, and severe
need. Terminating therapy should be done over a number of
sessions, particularly in cases of a long-term therapeutic
relationship. Should you decide to terminate therapy prior to the
therapist recommendation, it is important that you have a final
meeting with your therapist. If your therapist believes you are
terminating your therapy before adequate treatment has been
received for your psychological problems, your therapist will
provide you with referrals for other therapist or you may choose
to continue therapy with your current therapist. Some managed
healthcare plans provide benefits for only a time-limited course
of psychotherapy. Some companies have contracts with therapist
that prohibit clients to remain in therapy with a therapist
beyond the designated time frame. If your therapist believes you
need further psychotherapy after this period, your therapist will
provide referrals to other therapists with whom you can continue
treatment.
THERAPEUTIC ENDINGS
Good endings are part of a good therapeutic relationship. The
expectation is that therapist and client will discuss its
prospect during regular psychotherapy sessions and that the
actual ending will be done face-to-face in a therapy session. All
termination will be discussed, for whatever reason, even if you
decide to do it sooner than discussed. It is important that you
let the therapist know if you would like to terminate before all
treatment goals are complete, so that closure can be done in a
way that helps solidify and even augment the benefits and changes
that therapy has achieved.
LOCATION DISCLAIMER
Our therapy office is located at Denver Integrated Therapies. The
practitioners at Denver Integrated Therapies (DIT) are each
independent providers with their own private practices. While
practitioners at DIT have an integrated approach to treatment,
the practitioners do not work for and are not employees of DIT.
They are in business for themselves and you are contracting with
the independent practitioner, not with DIT.
By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read the preceding
information, it has also been provided verbally, I understand my
rights as a client (or as the client's responsible party), and
agree to abide by the therapist's policies based on my informed
wish to proceed.
