I am giving this document to all my patients because my practice is based primarily on referrals from present and former patients. Of course I am grateful that so many of my patients as well as their friends and family refer to me. However, there are a few things I would like for you to know in order for you to make an informed decision.

Bend is a small town and I have discovered that many of my patients may know each other and I may not realize the personal connections and relationships that exit. I have found that some of my patients are involved in organizations, both public and private, and that I may also have a personal, business, volunteer or professional relationship with these organizations. For instance, I am involved with St. Charles Medical Center, Bend Memorial Clinic, the Athletic Club of Bend, City of Bend, US Forest Service, Deschutes County, Toastmasters, local newspaper magazines, the college, several churches and the public school system. This means that we may have a lot in common and that we may have mutual interests and community activities.

In addition to Bend being a small town, the services I provide are specialized and to my knowledge there are few or no psychologists with my qualifications and background who also work with acute or routine cases in the intensive manner that I do. My practice is intended to help people who would not or have not benefited from hourly and weekly office appointments. I am flexible with my fees and the times I give patients in order to insure that their goals can be achieved quickly. Many of my patients change their appointments and meet with me additional times. This means that you will probably encounter someone you know leaving my office. Many of my patients and others have heard of me, read my articles or seen me on television. This means that you will probably know someone who knows me or knows about me.

My work with patients is reality based and draws on my experience in many fields. I am known to take patients flying or to a high place to help them deal with a fear of heights or flying. I may observe children interacting with other children or their parents in a natural setting rather than my office. I will sometimes use the outdoors to work with families in order order to facilitate communication, teamwork and emotional bonding.  I am very involved with the community and care about the people who live here. I may attend a funeral or marriage of a patient or a member of their family in order to support new beginnings and help other grieve their loss. I may visit a patient if they are hospitalized or restricted to their home because of injury or illness. This means you may see me outside my office with friends, my family, my clients, and my patients. I ask many of my patients to take a walk in the park - especially if the office is uncomfortable or creates anxiety for them.

While I do provide clinical services, I think the best way to understand my practice would be if think of me as a family or community psychologist. This does not mean I provide family therapy. In fact I provide very little family therapy. Instead I work with entire families and sometimes extended families. I have also worked with families and entire neighborhoods. This family and neighborhood psychologist approach is more like the family physician or family attorney who provides care and services to an entire family. My own father was a physician and he used to treat friends and patients in his neighborhood. He would bring his little black medical bag home each night. While I work with people who know each other, I do not treat friends, my employees, relatives or people with whom I am in business with. But I may also treat or work with people who are employed by my employer, such as a medical setting or an airline. This normally involves crisis intervention or traumatic incident services. Or, I may work with people such as the owner of a market, store or even a teacher who may work at a school where I provide other  services.

There was a time before the age of managed health care that social workers, counselors and psychologists worked in their communities and these professionals were visible to everyone as a community, family and personal resource. Social workers used to work with an entire community. There was also a time when a small city was happy to have their first doctor and there are still places in this country where communities and families are happy to finally have their first counselor in town. I found this to be the case with small communities in Alaska where I have worked. The fact that people knew that someone else was seeing a counselor was not a bad thing and it was seen as good for the community. Seeing a counselor or psychologist is nothing to be ashamed of. I feel I have an obligation to inform all my patients that there is a strong possibility (almost a certainty) that we may have or will have multiple relationships. Multiple relationships are impossible for me to avoid in a small town like Bend and especially where a professional like myself provides specialized services based on referrals from friends of patients, patients and businesses I work with.

Because Bend is a small town, I may also attend your church, be involved on a board or consult with a business that you work with. I might provide training for your employer. It is possible that I might also work with or associate with a relative, friend, co-worker or relative of your employer without even knowing it. It is very possible that your employer, such as St. Charles Medical Center, the city of Bend or even the US. Forest Service may work with me for reasons that have nothing to do with our work together. I need for you to know that I have numerous professional relationships here in Bend with various clinics, businesses, the Hospital and the City of Bend just to name a few. We may even be members of the same clubs and community service organizations. You should not work with me as a patient if you do not want me to work with a business that you may have relationship with or you are worried that I might work for your employer some day.

My work with patients involves a clinical, counseling and educational approach. My role is primarily that of an educator, coach and counselor. In some cases I provide psychological evaluations and intensive psychotherapy. I do not use psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapy treatment approaches. In fact I do not discuss or rely on techniques such as the interpretation of transference, counter transference, dream analysis, etc... These approaches often require that psychotherapists have no contact with patients and essentially remain detached, unknown or distant from their patients. I would not be able to practice in Bend, volunteer, go to church or work with any organizations if I used those approaches. In contrast to those approaches, I find that it is very helpful for many patients and clients if I am am active in the community, share my life experience and relate to my patients and community as one human being to another. I believe this approach and the methods I use are well researched, modern and effective.

Your communications with me for purposes of diagnosis, evaluation and treatment are protected under Oregon State Statutes. Unless ethically or legally required, I will not discuss your case by name or any identifying information with anyone without your permission. On occasion I obtain consultation from a professional in order to help insure that I am providing the best possible service. Your name will used to reference the consultation but that communication will remain confidential. My work with minors is confidential with the exception that I reserve the right to discuss anything with a child's parent that I deem important to therapy and the parents ability to raise their child.

By working with me you understand that I will not pretend that I do not know you. At the same time I will not tell anyone that you are a patient of mine unless you give your permission. I will not reveal the content or purpose of work together without your permission unless I am legally or ethically required. As a general rule I will say "hello" to all my patient. I will acknowledge that I know you. I will refer to you as someone that I know. But since I know many people in town, it is not possible for me to avoid people that you know and I cannot pretend like I do not know someone. I will simply acknowledge that I know you. (To pretend that I do not know you when a another person knows that I do will only identify you as my patient). I am sometimes asked by others if I am treating someone in particular. When asked I will say that I simply know a person and that I would never reveal that kind of information to anyone.  I do not talk about or reveal any private information about my patients unless they tell me it is OK. It is up to you to let others know the full extent of our relationship. I am perfectly fine if you wish to keep our relationship private, but at the same time I will not promise that people will not find out that I know you or that you are a patient. You should not work with me as a patient if you are worried that someone might conclude or suspect that you are a patient on mine. You should not work with me as a patient if you want me to pretend that I do not know you.

I hope this has been helpful. Please talk with me about any concerns that you have. I am more than glad to discuss this with you further.

1. That you understand that a multiple relationship may exist or occur if you choose to work with Dr. Conner.

2. That Dr. Conner's practice, professional and community activities are such that a multiple relationship occur and often exist.

3. That you understand that you may discuss any multiple relationship with Dr. Conner and that you have the option to terminate your relationship with Dr. Conner if a multiple relationship occurs or exists.

4. That you will not expect or ask Dr. Conner to terminate a multiple relationship with another patient, individual or organization if one occurs or exists. (You may terminate if you chose to do so.)

5. That Dr. Conner is free to work with individuals, families and organizations even if you have or may have a relationship with those people or organizations. (This means that you have the option to stop working with Dr. Conner at anytime you feel there is a risk of harm or that Dr. Conner may not be able to work with you effectively)

6. That Dr. Conner may, at his sole discretion, terminate his relationship with you because of a multiple relationship, without telling you about the relationship or any giving you information about the reason for termination.

7. That you accept full and complete responsibility for any harm, injury or damages that may occur from a multiple relationship, termination of a relationship or that a relationship occurred.

8. That you should not work with Dr. Conner if the potential problems associated with a multiple relationship are not acceptable to you or if you have a concern that you could be harmed, injured or damaged by a multiple relationship.

9. That by working with Dr. Conner you agree to hold Dr. Conner blameless for the consequence of any multiple relationship that occurs or exists.