Respectful Communication & Zero Tolerance Policy

Mending Mental Health is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and professional environment for our patients, providers, administrative staff, and visitors.

We understand that mental health care, medications, scheduling, insurance, billing, and other concerns can sometimes be frustrating or stressful. Patients are always welcome to ask questions, express concerns, disagree with a decision, advocate for themselves, or make a complaint.

We ask that all communication with our team remain respectful. Frustration or disagreement does not make it acceptable to threaten, intimidate, verbally abuse, harass, or behave aggressively toward our staff, providers, other patients, or anyone associated with Mending Mental Health.

Zero-Tolerance Standard

Mending Mental Health has a zero-tolerance policy for threatening, intimidating, abusive, hostile, or aggressive behavior.

This policy applies to interactions in person, by telephone, during telehealth appointments, and through voicemail, email, text message, patient portal, social media, or other forms of communication.

Unacceptable behavior includes, but is not limited to:

  • Yelling, screaming, shouting, or repeatedly raising your voice at staff or providers

  • Speaking to staff or providers in an aggressive, hostile, intimidating, or threatening manner

  • Swearing at or directing profanity toward staff or providers

  • Name-calling, insults, personal attacks, degrading comments, or abusive language

  • Bullying, intimidation, harassment, or attempts to frighten or coerce staff

  • Threatening physical harm, retaliation, property damage, or other harmful actions

  • Threatening or attempting to intimidate staff in order to obtain medications, appointments, documentation, billing changes, refunds, or another desired outcome

  • Sexual harassment, discriminatory slurs, or other harassing behavior

  • Repeated unwanted contact with an individual staff member or provider

  • Stalking, following, or attempting to locate staff outside of the workplace

  • Physical aggression, unwanted physical contact, throwing objects, damaging property, blocking exits, or displaying or threatening the use of a weapon

  • Any other conduct that reasonably causes a staff member, provider, patient, or visitor to feel threatened, intimidated, harassed, or unsafe

You Are Allowed to Be Frustrated

This policy is not intended to prevent patients from advocating for themselves.

You may disagree with us. You may be frustrated. You may question a bill, medication decision, clinic policy, diagnosis, scheduling decision, or treatment recommendation. You may ask to speak with a supervisor, submit a complaint, request an accommodation, appeal a decision, or tell us that you are unhappy with your experience.

We simply require those conversations to remain respectful and non-threatening.

What Happens if This Policy Is Violated?

Our employees and providers are not required to continue an interaction that has become abusive, aggressive, intimidating, or threatening.

Depending on the circumstances, Mending Mental Health may end a phone call or appointment, discontinue an electronic conversation, require future communication to occur in writing or through a designated staff member, restrict in-person access, establish communication or behavioral expectations, contact emergency services or law enforcement when appropriate, or initiate termination of the treatment relationship.

Mending Mental Health does not use a required three-strike system for aggressive, abusive, intimidating, or threatening behavior. A single incident may be sufficient to initiate termination of care.

A warning may be provided when appropriate, but a warning is not required before Mending Mental Health takes action when the nature or severity of the behavior warrants a more immediate response.

When termination of care is appropriate, Mending Mental Health will follow applicable legal, professional, clinical, and continuity-of-care requirements, including providing referral or transition information when required.

Threats of Violence

Threats of physical violence are taken seriously.

When a statement or behavior creates a concern that a patient or another person may harm someone, Mending Mental Health may take appropriate steps to protect the patient, our staff, or others. This may include contacting emergency services, law enforcement, an identifiable potential victim, or another person or organization able to assist when permitted or required by law.

Disability and Reasonable Accommodations

Mending Mental Health does not discriminate based on disability or any other status protected by state or federal law. We recognize that some disabilities and mental health conditions may affect communication or behavior, and reasonable accommodations may be requested when needed.

At the same time, an accommodation does not require our employees or providers to accept threats, violence, harassment, intimidation, or behavior that creates a serious safety concern.

Our Commitment

Our staff and providers are expected to treat patients with dignity and respect, and we expect the same treatment in return.

We want patients to feel comfortable asking questions, disagreeing with us, and raising concerns. Setting clear boundaries around threatening, abusive, and aggressive behavior helps us maintain a safe environment where our team can focus on providing mental health care.

If you are experiencing an immediate medical or psychiatric emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. For mental health or suicide crisis support, call or text 988.