Group Consultation
How to use a consultation group for clinician participants or consultation clients receiving professional consultation services together.
Group Consultation
Group consultation is for multiple clinician participants or consultation clients receiving professional consultation services together.
Consultation group participants are clients of the consultation service. They are receiving consultation rather than psychotherapy in this context.
Use group consultation when the group needs scheduling, attendance, billing, secure communication, documents, and consultation notes without psychotherapy-specific workflows such as diagnosis, treatment plans, insurance claims, or superbills.
What group consultation supports
A consultation group can support:
- recurring consultation appointments
- participant attendance
- invoices
- payments and automatic payment collection
- receipts
- secure messages and emails
- consultation agreements or other consultation-specific forms
- consultation notes or group consultation notes
- participant-specific billing contacts when needed
- portal access when appropriate
Create a consultation group
To create one:
- Open Contacts.
- Choose New client or case.
- Select the group option used for consultation groups in your setup.
- Add clinician participants or consultation clients.
- Name the consultation group.
- Review billing responsibility and create the case.
After creation, manage participants, billing contacts, services, appointments, messages, and notes from the case.
Scheduling and attendance
Schedule consultation appointments from the calendar or from the case.
For group consultation, attendance is usually participant-level. One participant may miss a consultation appointment without canceling the entire group appointment.
Use consultation language where type-specific copy appears, such as:
- consultation appointment
- clinician participant attendance
- consultation group
- group consultation notes
Billing and payments
Consultation groups use invoices and receipts by default.
Depending on the practice arrangement, the group may use:
- one billing contact for the group
- separate billing contacts for each participant
- participant self-payment
- a sponsoring organization or administrative contact, if configured as a billing contact
Use consultation language on invoice line items where possible, such as:
- Group consultation
- Clinical consultation group
- Consultation services
Do not use superbills by default for consultation groups. Consultation services are professional services, not psychotherapy reimbursement workflows.
Notes
Use Consultation notes or Group consultation notes.
Consultation notes should not require diagnosis, CPT, treatment plans, mental status exam, or psychotherapy-specific metadata by default.
Useful group consultation note sections may include:
- consultation focus
- topics discussed
- group themes
- guidance or recommendations
- participant-specific follow-up items, if needed
- ethics or risk considerations, if relevant
- administrative notes
When participant-specific details are needed, keep them limited to what is useful for consultation documentation.
Documents and agreements
If your practice sends documents for consultation groups, prefer consultation-specific agreements and forms.
A consultation agreement may explain:
- there is no psychotherapy relationship
- confidentiality limits within the group
- how clinical material should be de-identified
- payment and cancellation terms
- the distinction between consultation, supervision, coaching, and therapy
- that each consultee remains responsible for their own clinical and legal decisions
Avoid psychotherapy consent forms or intake packets unless the practice has configured a consultation-specific version.
Portal and communication
Portal access can be used when appropriate for each participant or billing contact.
Consultation-facing portal and email copy should use terms such as:
- Your consultation appointments
- Consultation invoices
- Consultation documents
- Messages
- Payment method
Avoid psychotherapy-client, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment plan, insurance claim, and superbill language for consultation groups.
What is hidden by default
Consultation groups should hide or avoid:
- diagnosis panels and diagnosis requirements
- treatment plans
- insurance setup and claim submission
- superbill generation
- psychotherapy intake packets
- presenting-problem or symptoms language
This keeps consultation groups available for scheduling, billing, communication, and documentation without treating the consultation relationship as psychotherapy.