Cancelation and No Show Policies- love 'em or hate 'em?

Cancelation and no-show policies aren’t anything new. Many providers and places of business have put one or both of these policies in place to help their business run effectively. Although cancelation and no-show policies may be frustrating and annoying to those asked to follow them, they serve a purpose, especially in the field of psychotherapy.

  1. Your time. That session or appointment time is reserved for you and only you. Your provider will not double-book (unless by mistake) and will be ready for you at that designated time. Personally, I come to each session having prepared material or activities and have reviewed my notes from the previous session in order to be ready to see you.

  2. Respect. I respect your time and hope you will respect mine. If you late cancel or no show, that spot cannot be filled. A cancelation policy allows me to offer the spot to someone else who may be waiting to be seen. Think about it… what if you REALLY needed to be seen and I did not have any spots to offer you. However, I could have offered you Wednesday at 4:15 if my Wednesday at 4:15 person canceled on time. My schedule looks fully booked, but that spot was actually open and I just didn’t know it until the last minute. 

  3. Continuation of care. Once therapy starts, routine appointments will help you achieve your treatment goals. Cancelations and no-shows can impact treatment and only further the time you need to spend in therapy. With an advanced cancel, I have the opportunity to offer you additional spots to reschedule. If everyone does their part in following the cancelation policy, I will have other spots to offer to you for rescheduling instead of waiting for something to hopefully open up.


Each provider’s policy is different and should be clearly spelled out, as well as provided to you at the start of services. My cancelation policy is 48 hours. Anything after that time or a no-show will incur the full session fee. If you late cancel or no-show on two occasions, your standing appointment spot (more on that below) is forfeited. The third time a late cancel or no-show occurs, I have the right to refer you to another provider. You can find my cancelation policy in the following places:

  1. The office agreement form (given prior to services starting)

  2. The credit card authorization form (given prior to services starting)

  3. The recording of my voicemail

  4. My e-mail auto-response

  5. My website

  6. The patient portal

For your convenience, I strongly recommend standing appointment spots (e.g., Mondays at 5pm). That way the day and time are easy to remember- they hardly ever change! My electronic system, as well as many others that providers use, also sends reminders to you 48 hours prior to your appointment. By default, the system sends an e-mail. However, you can change that or include additional reminders such as text messages or voice messages. Some people even have all 3- it’s totally up to you! 

Whether it’s with me or another provider, or even your hair salon (yes, my hair salon also has a cancelation policy), make sure the policy is something you agree to. If the policy is something that isn’t realistic, don’t agree to it. Speak to the provider about the policy and the concerns that you have. If they are unwilling to change their policy, as it may be something that works for them and their business, move on to someone else. Once, I heard of a provider requiring 1 week’s notice for all cancellations. To me, that would not be possible. I respected that rule, didn’t agree to it, and found another provider. By signing a form that includes a cancelation or no-show policy, you are stating that you agree to comply with that policy. 

Do you know what your provider’s cancelation policy is? If not, I encourage you to reach out to them. It’s better to be prepared and have clear communication than to be shocked that you will be charged or discharged for a late cancelation or no-show.