Practice policies

0. About this work

I am a QHHT-certified hypnotherapist (Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique), not a licensed psychotherapist, counselor, social worker, psychologist, or physician. Hypnotherapy as I practice it is a form of personal development and self-inquiry — it is not psychotherapy, counseling, mental-health treatment, or medical care. I do not diagnose, treat, cure, prescribe, or provide psychological assessment for any mental, emotional, or physical condition. Hypnotherapy is not a substitute for medical or mental-health care; if you are receiving care from a licensed provider, this work runs alongside that care, not in place of it, and nothing here should delay or replace consultation with a qualified provider for any condition. Where these policies refer to "sessions," "practice notes," or similar terms, they describe how I run my own practice, not a clinical or medical relationship.

1. Arrival

Sessions are in person at my studio in Austin (address sent on booking), or remote by Google Meet. Plan to be ready to begin right at the start time — settled in the studio, or with the Meet link open and your audio, video, and connection already checked. For remote sessions, opening the link a minute or two early is enough; no need to be early-early. If the link or audio glitches in the first five minutes, that's not lateness — we'll troubleshoot together, and that time doesn't count against the lateness rules in Section 2. After five minutes of unresolved tech trouble, Section 2 applies. If you need to switch modes the day of — wifi out, car trouble, something unexpected — text or call and we'll figure it out.

2. Lateness

Sessions end when they're scheduled to end. If you're running late, we'll start where you are, and the session still ends on schedule. If there isn't enough time left to run a full QHHT induction and trance, we'll spend the remaining time in conversation instead — the work the trance does needs the full block to land well, and a rushed version isn't worth doing.

If you know you'll be late — even by a few minutes — a quick text or call to (512) 960-3089 or an email to hello@alexnegrete.com helps. Whichever is faster for you in the moment.

Fifteen minutes past start time with no message counts as a no-show — see Section 5.

Every once in a while something gets in the way on my end — sickness, plumbing, electrical, internet. If that happens, I'll text or email you as soon as I can. We'll either run the session that day (with whatever time works) or reschedule cleanly. The aim is keeping your program on track.

3. Rescheduling

Sessions begin as part of a pre-paid starting program. The standard starting program is six sessions, three hours each. Sometimes I'll offer a shorter three-session or single-session start instead — we'd talk about whether one of those fits during your discovery call. The program is the commitment; individual sessions are the slots inside that commitment.

The 72-hour rescheduling framework applies to all booked sessions — starting program, single session, continuation pack, or continuation arc. The 72 hours is measured against the session start time in Central time — a reschedule request received more than 72 hours before the session is outside the window; 72 hours or less is inside.

Rescheduling outside the 72-hour window is free and unlimited.

Inside the 72-hour window, each session can be rescheduled twice without penalty. A third inside-window reschedule of the same session forfeits it — the session counts as used, with no refund or further reschedule. Reschedules made outside the 72-hour window don't count toward the two.

For reschedules: text or call (512) 960-3089 or email hello@alexnegrete.com. The more notice, the easier it is to make it work. Any exception to the 72-hour rule is only binding if I confirm it to you in writing.

4. Cancellation

If you decide to step away from the program partway through, there are no cash refunds once we've begun. What's left of your program can be:

• Credited to future work with me — single sessions, continuation packs, or continuation arcs — within 12 months
• Transferred to another adult within 12 months — distinct from you, not a corporate redirect to yourself under a different name. A transferee starts with a discovery call first; fit isn't something I take for granted. If we agree to work together, the transferred balance carries over to them, with the discovery call on the house; if we don't, the credit returns to you under the same 12-month window. Transfers to minors follow Section 12.

One exception: if our work ends under the hard-limits provisions in Section 14, the credit and transfer options above don't apply.

For true hardship — medical emergency, family crisis, major life disruption — reach out. We'll work something out together, which may include credit, transfer, or a partial refund of remaining unused sessions at my discretion, exercised in good faith. Each situation is evaluated on its own facts — the resolution depends on the specifics of what's come up and where you are in the program — so outcomes vary case to case. The decision rests with me, but the goal is finding what's fair.

In the rare event of a client's death during a program, the unused balance is returned to the estate, or, at the executor's request, donated to a charity I'll name at the time.

For cancellations: text or call (512) 960-3089 or email hello@alexnegrete.com. DMs on social media don't count — I don't watch them reliably enough to time-stamp against the 72-hour window.

5. No shows

Fifteen minutes past start time with no message is the threshold — at that point, the session is treated as a no-show.

A no-show without a reason forfeits that session — the slot can't be filled on short notice.

If a no-show is caused by a genuine emergency — medical emergency requiring care, accident, death or critical illness in your immediate family, or a weather or transit emergency declared by local authorities — and you reach out within 48 hours with a brief description, I'll treat it as an inside-window reschedule under Section 3. A valid-reason reschedule isn't counted against the two inside-window reschedules in Section 3. For circumstances outside that list, or notifications that take longer than 48 hours because of the emergency itself, reach out anyway and we'll figure out what's fair. Whether a given circumstance qualifies is something I decide; the decision rests with me, but the goal is finding what's fair. If we see it differently, I'll explain my reasoning and we'll talk it through.

Two no-shows during a program means we pause and talk before scheduling the next session. The pattern usually means something — second thoughts about the work, life pulling you in too many directions, or a question about whether we're the right fit. Better to talk about it than push through.

A third no-show ends the program. Remaining sessions can be credited or transferred per Section 4; new bookings stay paused until we've had the conversation above.

After a no-show pattern, future bookings — single sessions, continuation packs, new programs — are at my discretion and may require a conversation first.

6. Payments

Sessions begin as part of a pre-paid program rather than individual appointments. When we agree to work together, you commit to the full program upfront, and we agree on a way to pay for it.

You can pay in full at signup, or in three equal installments charged to a card on file. The first installment runs at signup; the second four weeks later; the third four weeks after that. The specific dates are confirmed in your booking confirmation at signup. Installments run on a fixed calendar — if you reschedule a session, your billing schedule stays put.

Either way, the program fee is committed at signup. If you step away mid-program, Section 4 covers credit and transfer options.

Pricing is the same regardless of payment option — no discount for paying upfront, no surcharge for installments.

I accept major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover) via Stripe. For installment plans, your card stays securely on file with Stripe — I don't see or store the number myself. By providing a card for an installment plan, you authorize me to charge the scheduled installments through Stripe on the dates confirmed in your booking confirmation. Authorization for the full program fee is given at signup, not at each installment — removing the card on file mid-program doesn't reduce your remaining obligation; it triggers the credit and transfer path in Section 4. Receipts are sent automatically after each charge.

Receipts include the date, session length, amount, and a description of the work. As described in Section 0, I'm a QHHT-certified hypnotherapist, not a licensed psychotherapist, counselor, or medical provider — so I can't issue a superbill or a CPT-coded insurance claim. Most FSA and HSA plans require a Letter of Medical Necessity from a treating physician before reimbursing hypnotherapy, and some plans don't reimburse it at all. If you're hoping to use FSA or HSA funds, check with your administrator before signing up — I can provide additional documentation if asked, but I can't guarantee reimbursement.

Specific pricing is on the pricing page and confirmed in your discovery call. If you need a ballpark before scheduling, text (512) 960-3089 or email hello@alexnegrete.com.

If a scheduled installment doesn't go through — expired card, declined charge — I'll email the address on file from your intake. You'll have five business days to update your card or reach out about the issue; sessions stay scheduled during that window. After five business days with no resolution, the program pauses until payment is current. If thirty days pass without resolution, I'll reach out again. After sixty days without response, I treat the program as withdrawn under Section 4. Filing a chargeback during any of these windows triggers the consequences in Section 8.

7. Refund requests

The credit, transfer, and hardship options for stepping away from a program are covered in Section 4. This section covers the broader process — what happens if something more unusual comes up. If you're not sure whether your situation fits Section 4 or this one, reach out anyway — I'd rather sort it out together than have you guess.

If you believe a refund is warranted outside what Section 4 describes, reach out by email with what's come up and what you're hoping for. I respond to refund requests within five business days. Most situations resolve in that first exchange. If we can't reach agreement directly, Section 8 covers the next steps — written summary, then mediation if needed. The decision on any refund outside Section 4 rests with me, but the goal is finding what's fair.

8. Disputes

Please come to me before filing a chargeback. You'll get a faster, more thoughtful resolution working directly with me than through a bank dispute — and Section 7's refund-request process covers most situations on its own.

If direct conversation under Section 7 hasn't resolved it, here's the path:

• Written summary. Send me a short email laying out what happened, what you're asking for, and what would resolve it. Same email address as Section 7.
• My response. I'll respond in writing within ten business days with what I can offer and why.
• Mediation. If we still can't agree, either of us can request non-binding mediation through a Travis County mediator we both accept. We split the mediator's fee; each side pays its own costs. Mediation is a conversation with a neutral third party — not a court, not a binding decision. If mediation doesn't resolve it, either of us is free to pursue other remedies.

While we're working through these steps, please don't file a chargeback. Chargebacks are your right under federal law and I won't punish you for exercising it — but a chargeback filed during an active dispute process duplicates the resolution path and, if successful, exhausts the credit and transfer options in Section 4 for the same amount (you can't recover the same fee twice).

9. Session recording

Recording starts with our discovery call and continues through every session we have together — audio for in-person sessions, audio and video for remote sessions and the discovery call (since Google Meet captures both naturally).

Recording is how I work — by default, every session is recorded. The default exists because the recording is genuinely useful: it informs the notes I write, gives you something to listen back to during integration, and lets us pick up the thread cleanly next session. But if recording is a concern, tell me. If you ask me not to record a session, I won't. If you ask me not to store a recording, I won't. The conversation about that happens at the discovery call or at intake so we can plan together; once we begin work, recording can also be paused at my discretion in specific situations — a particularly sensitive moment, a technical issue, or my own judgment about what serves the session.

Recording is core to how I work. The transcript lets me notice what I missed in the room, refine the language we used together, and prepare more thoughtfully for our next session. It's also what generates the follow-up notes you receive after each session, and the recording you receive of every session as part of the QHHT tradition.

You'll receive a copy of your session recording within seven days after each session — listening back is a meaningful part of integration in the QHHT tradition. If something delays that, I'll let you know and send it as soon as I can.

Recordings are processed through two tools: a transcription service (currently Fireflies) that converts the audio to text, and an AI summarization tool (currently Anthropic's Claude) that helps me draft the practice notes from the transcript. You can review Fireflies' policy and Anthropic's policy directly. I review each vendor's privacy and security commitments before adopting it, and I retain the right to change vendors as my practice evolves — provided the new vendor's privacy and security commitments are comparable to or better than the current vendor's. If I change vendors, I'll update this page. By beginning work with me, you consent to the vendor processing described above.

The recordings, transcripts, and AI-generated notes are not shared with anyone else. They're stored in my own accounts with these tools, accessible only to me.

If you'd like to record on your own device during a session as well, that's fine — please don't share that recording with anyone else, since it contains the substance of our work together. If you'd like another person present in the room — a partner, family member, friend — we'll talk about it in advance and they'll consent to recording before we begin. For remote sessions, please be in a private setting where only you can be heard or seen by the camera; if you'd like another person intentionally present, the same advance-conversation rule applies. If others are incidentally captured in audio or video, that's on you, not on the recording.

For couples and family work, each adult participant consents to recording individually before the first joint session — see Section 11 for how confidentiality is structured in joint work.

Recordings, transcripts, and the practice notes I generate from them are retained as part of my practice records. They aren't deleted on a schedule, which means they remain available for reference if we ever work together again. You can request deletion of your recordings, transcripts, and the practice notes I generate from them at any time; I'll complete deletion within 30 days. Payment records, signed agreements, and any record subject to a legal hold are kept for the period the law requires regardless of a deletion request.

Deletion applies to source recordings, transcripts, and notes in my own systems. Anonymized material already published — or in production at the time of your request — in podcast episodes, books, or training materials is not retroactively withdrawn from those works, since the material there has already been anonymized to the standard described in Section 11.

If we don't end up working together after a discovery call, that recording and any associated notes follow the same deletion rules — you can request deletion at any time, and I'll complete it within 30 days.

10. Communication between sessions

Reach me by text or call at (512) 960-3089 or email at hello@alexnegrete.com. Whichever fits the moment. Social media DMs aren't a working channel — I don't watch them reliably enough to count on a response.

I usually respond to messages within one to two business days — Friday-afternoon messages may land on Monday, and sickness or travel can occasionally stretch the window. If you haven't heard back in three business days, send a follow-up text — it likely got buried.

Between-session messages work well for: quick clarifications about something from the last session, brief observations or insights that came up, scheduling, and short check-ins if you're practicing something specific.

For longer reflections — multi-paragraph emotional work, new issues that need real attention, complex feelings — we'll bring it into the next session. That's where the work belongs. If something feels urgent enough that it can't wait, let me know briefly by text and we'll find time.

There's no cap on how often you can reach out — but if our messages start running long or getting into deep material, I'll suggest we save it for the next session, where it belongs.

Voicemail works, but text or email reaches me faster — I check voicemail within the same one-to-two business day window, sometimes longer if I'm in back-to-back sessions. If something is genuinely time-sensitive, text and I'll respond as quickly as I can.

If you're in a mental-health crisis — thoughts of harming yourself or someone else, or you can't keep yourself safe right now — please call or text 988 (the US Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room first. Then text or email me when you can, and we'll figure out next steps together.

I'm a hypnotherapist, not a crisis service. The 988 line has trained crisis counselors available 24/7 — they're built for exactly this and they're free.

11. Confidentiality

What you share with me stays between us. I don't share your name, your story, or your work with anyone outside the working relationship — not other clients, not friends, not family members, not other practitioners.

As described in Section 9, your sessions are processed by transcription and AI summarization tools that I use as part of my own workflow. These are processing tools rather than people I'm sharing your content with — they process content automatically, and only I have access to the resulting recordings, transcripts, and notes.

Legal exceptions. There are three situations where I may disclose information about you, no matter what:

• Child, elder, or dependent-adult abuse. Like every Texas resident, I'm required by law to report suspected child abuse (Texas Family Code §261.101) and abuse or exploitation of an elderly or disabled adult (Texas Human Resources Code §48.051) if I have reasonable cause to believe it's occurring. This is the same legal duty that applies to any citizen.
• Imminent risk of harm. If you tell me you intend to harm yourself or a specific other person and I believe the threat is credible and immediate, I may — at my sole discretion — contact emergency services, a family member, or law enforcement to help keep you or others safe. This is permission, not an obligation: I'm a hypnotherapist, not a crisis service, and I don't take on the role of one. If you're in crisis right now, call or text 988.
• Court orders or subpoenas. If I receive a valid court order for your records, I'll let you know immediately and we'll discuss next steps before any disclosure. If the order or subpoena appears procedurally defective or overbroad, I'll challenge it before complying.

If you'd like me to coordinate with another treating provider — a therapist, psychiatrist, MD — I'll do so with your written consent. The consent specifies what I'll share, with whom, and for how long; you can withdraw it at any time. What the other provider shares with me, and whether they can, is governed by their own confidentiality rules, not this one.

My professional work. I write, speak, and teach about hypnotherapy. That includes appearances on podcasts, hosting my own show, writing books, peer supervision and consultation with other practitioners, and training those entering the field. I use anonymized client material across all of this work — with names, identifying details, professional roles, and specifics changed or removed. The bar I hold myself to: anyone outside your close personal circle would not recognize you as the subject. For long-form treatment of our work — a book chapter, a podcast episode focused primarily on your situation, or any account that uses unusually distinctive specifics or a publicly recognizable role — I'll seek your written consent separately before publication, regardless of anonymization.

By beginning work with me, you consent to my use of anonymized references to our work in the professional output described above. You can opt out of all anonymized use at any time by emailing hello@alexnegrete.com. If you tell me in session, I'll honor the opt-out from that moment; I'll ask you to follow up by email so we both have the date in writing. The opt-out is effective from the date of your email and covers all future use; material already in published work isn't retroactively pulled. The opt-out does not affect our work together.

Couples and family work. When you come in as a couple or a family, confidentiality covers the room, not each person separately. What's shared in the session stays in that session — but I don't keep secrets between members of the same working unit. If you tell me something in a one-on-one as part of couples or family work, I may bring it into the broader conversation. If that's a concern, we'll talk it through before starting. Each adult participant completes their own intake before the first joint session, which includes consent to recording and these policies.

After our working relationship ends. These confidentiality commitments don't expire when our work together ends. Your information stays protected after we stop meeting, for as long as the records exist. If you die during or after our work together, my commitment to your confidentiality continues. I do not release records to family members or executors absent a court order — your privacy doesn't end with you.

12. Working with minors

When the client is under 18, additional rules apply for consent, confidentiality, and how I work with parents or legal guardians.

Consent. Before I begin work with anyone under 18, I require written consent from each parent or legal guardian who has the legal right to make care or treatment decisions for the minor under Texas law. If parents share decision-making under a custody order, every parent with decision-making rights must consent in writing. By signing the consent, each parent confirms that they have the legal right to make this decision for their child and that no court order says otherwise. If you're unsure whether your custody arrangement allows this, please tell me before we begin. The minor's own assent — their willing agreement to participate — is also required. If custody or parental rights change during our work, the consenting parent must notify me promptly so we can confirm the work can continue.

Confidentiality with the minor. Within reasonable limits, what we discuss in session stays between the minor and me. That includes what they think about, what surfaces during trance, and what they're working through internally. Without this privacy, the work doesn't take hold.

What gets shared with parents. At the start of work, I sit down with the minor and the parents/guardians together to agree on what gets shared, when, and how. Sometimes everyone agrees that broader themes can be shared openly; sometimes certain topics are held more closely; sometimes the minor wants everything kept between us except for safety concerns. I document the plan in writing, signed by the minor, the consenting parent(s), and me, and we follow it. The plan can be revised at any point if everyone agrees to the changes. If a court orders disclosure of session content or recordings, or if Child Protective Services or law enforcement formally requests records, the safety carve-out below and the legal exceptions in Section 11 govern; the parent-sharing agreement does not bind me beyond what the law requires.

Safety carve-out. If I see signs of harm to the minor — current abuse, serious neglect, suicidal feelings, dangerous substance use, or self-harm — I tell the consenting parent(s), and where the law requires, I tell the appropriate authorities. No prior agreement changes that. The legal exceptions in Section 11 also apply in full. If signs of harm point to a parent or someone in the minor's household, I follow my legal reporting duty to the appropriate authorities first. In that situation I may not notify the parent in question, to protect the minor; the legal report is what governs.

If either parent or guardian withdraws consent during the program, work pauses immediately and we sit down to talk before continuing. If the parents cannot agree, work does not resume; remaining sessions follow the credit/transfer options in Section 4.

Recording. Session recording (Section 9) applies the same way. Parents are informed that sessions are recorded and what's done with the recordings before consent is given. The minor's recording of each session is given to the minor; the parent receives a copy only if the written sharing agreement specifies that. If the minor's willingness to be recorded changes mid-session, we pause and talk about it before continuing.

At 18. If we continue working together once the minor reaches age 18, the standard adult confidentiality framework in Section 11 applies going forward. From that point only the adult client decides what's shared with anyone. Records of the minor period remain subject to whatever access rights applied at the time those sessions happened; if you have questions about records access at the transition, we'll talk through it before the next session.

13. Health disclosures

I work best alongside other care, not in place of it — and a few practical details about your health and life context help me show up well for the work and help us both decide whether my practice is the right fit. Hypnotherapy as I practice it is not a clinical service; the items below are about safety, comfort during a long session, and fit — not a clinical assessment.

Before we begin work, please share with me at intake:

• Anything affecting how you sit or recline for three hours — chronic pain, recent surgery, mobility issues, conditions you manage with positioning, medication, or devices.
• Medications you take regularly that affect mood, sleep, attention, or consciousness — psychiatric meds, sleep aids, anxiety meds, ADHD stimulants, anything sedating or stimulating. Trance is a state of focused attention, and medications that affect that state matter for what we can do together. Prescribed medications are not a problem; I just need to know about them. If you're not sure whether something counts, list it.
• Substance use beyond occasional alcohol — current cannabis use of any pattern, active addiction or recovery, and any psychedelic use (including microdosing) within the past 30 days.
• Seizure history or neurological conditions.
• Pregnancy, recent surgery, hospitalization, or a new diagnosis — relevant to the physical experience of a long session and to what kinds of work are appropriate timing-wise.
• Significant mental-health context you'd want me aware of — particularly any dissociative condition (DID, depersonalization, or derealization), current psychotic symptoms, or bipolar during an active episode. I'm not a mental-health provider (see /terms §3); the work runs alongside any care you're currently getting, not in place of it. Knowing the context helps me decide whether my practice is the right fit and how to support what you bring.
• Therapy or other mental-health care you're currently receiving — to coordinate properly if you'd like me to (see Section 11), or just so I have the broader picture.

Most of this comes up in your intake form, which I read carefully before our first session. If something significant changes during our program — a new medication, a recent diagnosis, anything that affects how we work together — let me know by email before our next session.

If you realize after we've started that there's something you should have shared at intake, the right move is still to share it. Disclosing late isn't the same as concealing — we'll talk it through and figure out whether to continue as planned, adjust, or pause. Where late disclosure changes whether we should be working together, the credit and transfer options in Section 4 apply on the same terms as if you had ended the program yourself.

When something significant comes up in the disclosures above — active psychosis, severe acute mental-health crisis, active substance dependence — we'll talk about it before beginning work. Some situations work well alongside other care; some are better held until other treatment is in place; some need a different kind of practitioner. Whether to proceed, hold off, or suggest you find a different kind of practitioner is a non-clinical judgment about whether my practice can support you well — not a medical or mental-health assessment. The decision to proceed is mine; you're always free to seek a different practitioner.

If anything significant changes mid-program — a new medication, a new diagnosis, a hospitalization, a major life event — let me know. I can adjust how we work to fit what's happening, but only if I know.

If you're unsure whether something is worth sharing, share it. I'd rather know and not need it than not know and need it.

14. Conduct

What you can expect from me:

• Non-judgment. Whatever you bring to a session, however messy or complicated, doesn't change how I show up.
• Presence. Sessions are for you. My phone is off; I'm not multitasking; I'm here for the three hours we have together.
• Honesty. If I think we should adjust how we're working, or that a different approach would serve you better, I'll say so directly.
• Boundaries. I keep the working relationship professional. I don't pursue friendships with current clients, don't follow or accept social-media follows during the working relationship, and don't accept gifts beyond small tokens of appreciation — a card, a handmade item, a thoughtful gesture, nothing more substantial than that.
• Responsiveness. I reply to between-session messages within one to two business days. The detail is in Section 10.

What I ask of you:

• Sobriety during sessions. No alcohol or recreational drugs before or during sessions. The work needs you sober — the only altered state we want in the room is the one I guide you into.
• No driving during remote sessions. Stay in your chosen setting for the full session.
• Phone silenced, notifications off. The work needs uninterrupted attention.
• Honesty about what's working. If something doesn't feel right — a technique, an emerging direction, our pace — tell me. Adjustments need real information.
• Honesty about what's relevant. Anything affecting our work that I should know — see Section 13.
• Respectful communication. In session, between sessions, in any channel.

Ending the work. Either of us can end the working relationship at any time. If you decide to step away, Section 4 covers what happens with remaining sessions or pre-paid fees.

If I decide the work isn't a fit from my side — a different approach would serve you better, or the situation needs a different kind of practitioner — I'll let you know directly, offer a transition session to close the work cleanly, and help with a referral if that's useful.

Hard limits. Some situations end the working relationship immediately, with no transition session. The first two below apply on a single incident; the third applies only after we've had a direct conversation about the behavior and it happens again.

• Threatening or abusive behavior in any channel
• Significant dishonesty about safety-relevant information — concealing active suicidal ideation, current substance use during sessions, or the health disclosures in Section 13
• Crossing the same line after we've already talked about it

If I end the work under the hard-limits provisions above, the credit and transfer options in Section 4 apply on the same terms as if you'd ended the work yourself. The relationship ending is the consequence; financial forfeiture of remaining sessions isn't on top of that. If I end the work for any other reason — fit, my judgment, scheduling, my own circumstances — Section 4 applies the same way.

15. Questions

Questions about anything in this document? Email hello@alexnegrete.com or text or call (512) 960-3089. I respond within one to two business days.

If something's unclear, let me know — these policies are meant to actually be clear.

If you'd like a copy of the policies as they were when you started your program, ask — I keep prior versions and can send you a dated PDF.