Onboarding Checklist

To Download  Your Checklist Click Here

Getting Started Instructions

Independent Contractor – Recommendations for Setting up Your Business

Lacamas Counseling Business Information:
Legal Name: Lacamas Counseling LLC
Office Address: 3400 SE 196th Ave, Ste. 102, Camas, WA 98607
Fax: 360-693-2045
Phone: 360-975-0512
Email: info@lacamascounseling.com

NPI-2 (Organizational NPI): 1730852971
EIN: 81-2379114
Email: info@lacamascounseling.com
Taxonomy Code: 101YM0800X

Leadership Team

Priscilla Gilbert, LMHC (Owner)

  • priscilla@lacamascounseling.com
  • Business Phone: 360-954-8463
  • Personal Phone: 503-919-0675 (if you need to get ahold of me sooner than later)
  • WA Licensed Mental Health Counselor: LH 60463811
  • Priscilla is an approved supervisor for WA LMHC. Hours in coordination or consultation with Priscilla can be counted towards your licensure

Blake Arnold, LMHC, LPC (Licensure Supervisor)

  • blake@lacamascounseling.com
  • Business Phone: 360-409-3619
  • WA Licensed Mental Health Counselor: LH60604519
  • OR Licensed Professional Counselor (C4017)
  • Blake is an approved supervisor for WA LMHC and OR LPC. Hours in supervision, coordination, or consultation with Blake can be counted towards your licensure

Legal Steps

  1. Register your counseling license with Washington State Department of Health
  2. Create your business name and apply for EIN
    • https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/apply-for-an-employer-identification-number-ein-online
  3. Decide your business entity
    1. A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is formed by 1 or more individuals or entities through a special written agreement. The agreement details the organization of the LLC, including provisions for management, assignability of interests, and distribution of profits and losses. LLCs are permitted to engage in any lawful, for-profit business or activity other than banking or insurance. Filing with the Washington Secretary of State is required prior to filing a Business License Application.
      1. Washington Secretary of State Corporations Phone: (360) 725-0377
      2. https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/
        • Select “Create a User Account” to create a business
        • The Secretary of State will issue your business a Washington State Unified Business Identifier (UBI). This UBI is required to complete a business license application.
    2. A Sole Proprietorship is one individual or married couple in business alone. Sole proprietorships are the most common form of business structure. This type of business is simple to form and operate, and may enjoy greater flexibility of management, fewer legal controls, and fewer taxes. However, the business owner is personally liable for all debts incurred by the business.
      • The Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number will be assigned upon receipt of a completed Business License Application with Washington State Department of Revenue
  4. Apply for your Washington State Business License
    1. https://secure.dor.wa.gov/home/
    2. Business address of 3400 SE 196th Ave, Ste. 102, Camas, WA 98607 within City of Vancouver business limits
      1. Vancouver Business License Applications Questions
        • Yes – smoke detection or fire sprinkler system installed
        • No- Compressed gases (oxygen, helium, acetylene, propane)
        • No – Discharges to sewer
        • No – flammable/hazardous/toxic materials
        • No – Floor drains other than in restroom/shower facilities
        • No – Emergency Alarm Monitoring system
        • Office Suite Square Footage – 1673 sq ft
    3. Electronic application takes about 10 business days
  5. Apply for Malpractice Insurance. List Lacamas Counseling name and address (3400 SE 196th Ave, Ste. 102, Camas, WA, 98607) as an “Additionally Insured Entity.”
    1. HPSO
    2. CPH & Associates
    3. American Professional Agency
    4. American Counseling Association (ACA)

Steps/Tasks for Lacamas Counseling 

  1. Coordinate your office schedule with Lacamas Counseling
  2. Coordinate your Start Date
    • Dependent upon active counseling license, business license, and malpractice insurance
  3. Business Phone Number
    1. Options that I’m aware of:
      • Add an additional phone line to your phone plan
      • HIPAA password requirement: Standard best practice requires at least 8-10 characters, including symbols, numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters.
      • Phone.com
      • Spruce Health – https://www.sprucehealth.com/
      • RingRx
      • iPlumb
    2. Google Voice – Google will not offer a BAA so this option is not HIPAA compliant
  4. Lacamas Counseling will create and purchase business cards once you provide your phone number
  5. Write your profile page for the Lacamas Counseling website
    • Name, Counseling License
    • About (Name) as a Counselor (Narrative about your counseling skills and style)
    • Training (Narrative)
    • Contact Info
    • Rates
    • Office Days & Times
    • Insurance (If applicable, list accepted in-network insurances)
    • Downloadable Documents (optional to provide documents that clients can download from the website, such as Professional Disclosure Statement, Release of Information, Court Fees and Legal Action)
    • Counseling Specialties (bullet point list)
    • Counseling Services (bullet point list of service types)
    • Additional Info (Narrative about you personally)
    • Psychology Today link (optional link to your psychology today profile)
  6. Write and submit your Professional Disclosure Statement to Priscilla Gilbert (template is on intranet)
  7. Payroll & W-9 forms. Complete and submit to Priscilla Gilbert
  8. Professional Headshot
    • Provide Lacamas Counseling with an electronic copy of your high quality professional headshot
    • Coordinate professional headshot with Priscilla/Ryan Gilbert
  9. Business Bank Account
    • Optional. Useful for tracking business accounting and transactions
  10. Set up your SimplePractice Account (Priscilla will add your account and send you a link)
    1. Settings -> My Profile
      • Add personal and clinical information
    2. Availability
      • “Availability” button is in top right corner of calendar view. Add the repeating hours that you are available to see clients. Do not include your breaks or lunch.
      • When viewing the calendar by day or week (not Month), SimplePractice will gray out all other non-available times.
    3. Clinical Documents
      • Other forms & assessments – email any additional documents that you need for your practice to Priscilla to add to SimplePractice

Self-Marketing Ideas

  1. Create optional marketing profiles (Many referrals will be provided from Lacamas Counseling; plus it is good business practice to self-market so as to increase your name, services, and specialties)
    1. Psychology Today
    2. Thriving Campus
    3. Portland Therapy Center
    4. Therapy Den
    5. Christian Counselor Network
  2. Join Facebook Groups for networking, self-marketing, resources, and referrals
    • Vancouver Washington Mental Health Providers
    • Portland Mental Health Providers (sometimes there are referrals for WA that you can respond to)
    • Private Pay Private Practitioners (Not Paneled With Insurance)- WA & OR
    • Online Therapists Group (if you’re considering telecounseling)
    • Your graduate school alumni group
  3. Consider participating in networking events to introduce yourself
    • Events are typically mentioned in Facebook Groups (e.g. Clark County Counselors (CCC), Coffee & Community, Yoga for Therapists
  4. Enroll in Therapist Resource List
  5. Contact Vancouver Counselors to be added to listserve
Lacamas Office Wifi

Staff Wi-Fi

Lacamas Counseling Staff
Password: L@C@MAS!

Closing the Office Procedures
Opening the Office Procedures
Check-in Kiosk
Voicemail Message Script Template:

Hi. You have reached the Confidential voicemail of {YOUR NAME}. If this is an emergency please hang up and call 911 or the crisis line at 1800-784-2433. Otherwise leave a message and I look forward to speaking with you.

HIPAA Compliance

Cell Phones & Computers

  1. Both of these must have high security passcode protection, because if someone stole your phone or computer then we need to prove that we tried to our best intentions to protect client information.
  2. HIPAA Password Protection: Standard best practice requires at least 8-10 characters, including symbols, numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters.
  3. Only use secure Wi-Fi Networks: Free Public Networks are not secure. Don’t access client information at a coffee shop!

Google Suite Emails

  1. HIPAA Compliance
    1. G Suite is HIPAA compliant only within G Suite to other colleagues using a Lacamas Counseling email
    2. G Suite is not HIPAA compliant is you send an email outside of G Suite to Lacamas Counseling
  2. Add Notice of Confidentiality to your email signatures
    1. Notice of confidentiality: This email may contain information that is  protected by Federal Confidentiality laws (42CFR, Part 2). It is intended only for the individual(s) above-named, and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by email. If the reader of the email is not the  intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender by phone and delete this message.
    2. Notice of Confidentiality does not completely cover HIPAA guidance rules for sending client protected information. It is a step to add additional coverage and offers limited protection in case of accidental breach of information. 
  3. Google Chat
    1. HIPAA compliant if chatting within Lacamas Counseling G Suite to other colleagues with a Lacamas Counseling email

Simple Practice Secure Messaging

  1. This is secure and HIPAA protected. Email clients through Simple Practice when possible (instead of through your Lacamas Counseling email)
  2. Secure Messaging 
    1. https://support.simplepractice.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003629583-Getting-started-with-Secure-Messaging
    2. Set up Secure Messaging in Simple Practice
      1. Select Settings
      2. Select Secure Messaging
      3. Switch the toggle to On to enable Secure Messaging between you and your Clients
      4. Activate Secure Messaging with each client
        1. Update each individual Client Record
          1. Edit Client Record
          2. Select Client Portal Tab
          3. Check box “Use Secure Messaging
        2. Send Secure Message
          1. Select New Message
          2. Search for Client Name
          3. Select “Enable” to activate secure messaging
  3. Invoicing
    1. HIPAA compliant through Simple Practice
  4. Payments 
    1. HIPAA compliant through Simple Practice
    2. Paypal, Venmo, Quick Books – are not HIPAA compliant for payment processing

Log all Record Requests

  1. Keep a log of all client record requests including 
    1. Date of the request
    2. Date of your response
    3. Nature of your response (e.g. provided three pages of records in paper format).

Computer and Phone Updates – Maintain Recommended Software and System Updates

  1. Operating system and browser updates often include security patches, new security features, and privacy measures. If you have a security flaw in your browser or operating system all the data on your computer then all the data you access on the internet is at risk. This includes both files you may have stored on your computer as well as any PHI you access via the internet like an electronic health record (EHR)
  2. Use Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browsers
    1. Don’t use Internet Explorer – major websites have stopped supporting this browser