How can therapy help me?
There are many potential benefits from participating in therapy. Therapists can provide support, enhance both coping and problem-solving skills, and provide a fresh perspective on life challenges. Additionally, therapists can assist clients in addressing mental health challenges including but not limited to anxiety, depression, PTSD, and ADHD, as well as support clients facing loss, marital issues, interpersonal conflict, parenting concerns, and the stresses of daily life. Therapy can also be utilized for personal growth and reflection on core beliefs, priorities, and life path. Client participation is essential to the therapy process and directly corresponds to treatment progress.
Do I really need therapy? I can usually handle my problems.
We all face life challenges from time to time and in many cases we can address these issues on our own. However, there are times when the challenges we face are overwhelming for our current knowledge, problem-solving skills, and coping strategies. During those times it can be helpful to have the support of an experienced therapist to assist with expanding our ability to address the difficulties we have encountered.
What is therapy like?
Therapy sessions differ from client to client based on a number of factors including presenting concerns and client goals. The first time we meet (an intake), we will explore your presenting concerns as well as your life history to try to understand how your current challenges may have unfolded. Following our first session, you can expect to discuss current events in your life, personal history particularly as it relates to current concerns, and progress towards your therapy goals. Depending on your specific therapeutic goals, therapy can be short term to address a specific issue or long term to shift overall patterns creating space for personal growth. Whatever your goal, it is common to schedule regular appointments often weekly or at least every other week.
How long will I be in therapy?
It is understandable that if we have been feeling emotionally unwell for a while we are hoping to feel better as soon as possible. It is important to remember that because the contributing factors or presenting problems likely took a long time (sometimes a lifetime) to develop, it can take a while to truly heal. It is also important to recognize that what one puts in to therapy is likely to determine not only the overall outcome but also can significantly impact the length of treatment. For people interested in temporary coping skills that may get one by for a while, that may take fewer sessions but could involve returning to therapy if the underlying issues were not addressed. For those hoping to address underlying issues, particularly those with complex trauma, treatment may involve several years. It depends on a number of factors including the intensity of the underlying issues and/or trauma, the severity of presenting symptoms, the resources/coping skills one has and utilizes upon entering treatment, life events during treatment, whether or not one has had previous therapy, and how much effort one puts into therapy both in and between sessions, to name a few.
What about medication vs. psychotherapy?
Medication tends to address the symptoms of the underlying issue. Thus, it is important to utilize therapy in conjunction with pharmacological treatment to address the issue at hand as well as create the greatest potential for growth. Medication is not appropriate for all clients and questions about medication should be addressed directly with your primary medical provider or a psychiatrist (a medical doctor with a specialty in psychiatry).
Do you take insurance, and how does that work?
To determine if you have mental health coverage through your insurance carrier, the first thing you should do is call them. Check your coverage carefully and make sure you understand their answers. Some helpful questions you can ask them include:
When choosing to use your insurance benefits know that you are ultimately responsible for the cost of your sessions. Further, insurance typically does not pay for missed sessions. Utilizing insurance (both in and out of network) comes with the benefit of possibly making therapy more affordable (depending on your plan including your deductible, co-insurance, and/or copay). However, utilizing health insurance also requires justifying medical necessity which means you need to meet criteria for a mental health disorder (e.g., Adjustment Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD) which is what your sessions will be billed under and what will be in your mental health records. It requires that we do additional paperwork to be in compliance with the insurance company requirements (e.g., regular treatment plan updates, more specific progress notes, etc.) all of which will need to be done during your sessions. It also means that your insurance company may choose to audit your mental health records to determine if the work we are doing is effective and if the insurance company is interested in continuing to pay for our work together. They may to some degree dictate what we can and cannot do in therapy sessions (i.e., certain protocols may not be reimbursed by insurance). Please talk with me if you have questions or concerns about utilizing your health insurance.
Does what we talk about in therapy remain confidential?
Confidentiality is one of the most important parts of the therapeutic relationship. An ability to trust your therapist with sensitive information is paramount to growth within the therapeutic process. At the beginning of therapy, you will sign a document that includes informed consent as well as a privacy policy. This document is a contract between client and therapist regarding the confidentiality of all information (refer to that document for more detailed information). As a client, you have the freedom to sign an authorization to release information to a third party (e.g., doctor, attorney, family member, etc.); this information cannot be released without your consent.
The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission. However, there are exceptions to confidentiality, primarily (but not limited to) those involving harm to self or others, as follows:
There are many potential benefits from participating in therapy. Therapists can provide support, enhance both coping and problem-solving skills, and provide a fresh perspective on life challenges. Additionally, therapists can assist clients in addressing mental health challenges including but not limited to anxiety, depression, PTSD, and ADHD, as well as support clients facing loss, marital issues, interpersonal conflict, parenting concerns, and the stresses of daily life. Therapy can also be utilized for personal growth and reflection on core beliefs, priorities, and life path. Client participation is essential to the therapy process and directly corresponds to treatment progress.
Do I really need therapy? I can usually handle my problems.
We all face life challenges from time to time and in many cases we can address these issues on our own. However, there are times when the challenges we face are overwhelming for our current knowledge, problem-solving skills, and coping strategies. During those times it can be helpful to have the support of an experienced therapist to assist with expanding our ability to address the difficulties we have encountered.
What is therapy like?
Therapy sessions differ from client to client based on a number of factors including presenting concerns and client goals. The first time we meet (an intake), we will explore your presenting concerns as well as your life history to try to understand how your current challenges may have unfolded. Following our first session, you can expect to discuss current events in your life, personal history particularly as it relates to current concerns, and progress towards your therapy goals. Depending on your specific therapeutic goals, therapy can be short term to address a specific issue or long term to shift overall patterns creating space for personal growth. Whatever your goal, it is common to schedule regular appointments often weekly or at least every other week.
How long will I be in therapy?
It is understandable that if we have been feeling emotionally unwell for a while we are hoping to feel better as soon as possible. It is important to remember that because the contributing factors or presenting problems likely took a long time (sometimes a lifetime) to develop, it can take a while to truly heal. It is also important to recognize that what one puts in to therapy is likely to determine not only the overall outcome but also can significantly impact the length of treatment. For people interested in temporary coping skills that may get one by for a while, that may take fewer sessions but could involve returning to therapy if the underlying issues were not addressed. For those hoping to address underlying issues, particularly those with complex trauma, treatment may involve several years. It depends on a number of factors including the intensity of the underlying issues and/or trauma, the severity of presenting symptoms, the resources/coping skills one has and utilizes upon entering treatment, life events during treatment, whether or not one has had previous therapy, and how much effort one puts into therapy both in and between sessions, to name a few.
What about medication vs. psychotherapy?
Medication tends to address the symptoms of the underlying issue. Thus, it is important to utilize therapy in conjunction with pharmacological treatment to address the issue at hand as well as create the greatest potential for growth. Medication is not appropriate for all clients and questions about medication should be addressed directly with your primary medical provider or a psychiatrist (a medical doctor with a specialty in psychiatry).
Do you take insurance, and how does that work?
To determine if you have mental health coverage through your insurance carrier, the first thing you should do is call them. Check your coverage carefully and make sure you understand their answers. Some helpful questions you can ask them include:
- What are my mental health benefits?
- What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
- How many therapy sessions does my plan cover?
- How much does my insurance pay for an out-of-network provider?
- Is approval or a referral required from my primary care physician?
When choosing to use your insurance benefits know that you are ultimately responsible for the cost of your sessions. Further, insurance typically does not pay for missed sessions. Utilizing insurance (both in and out of network) comes with the benefit of possibly making therapy more affordable (depending on your plan including your deductible, co-insurance, and/or copay). However, utilizing health insurance also requires justifying medical necessity which means you need to meet criteria for a mental health disorder (e.g., Adjustment Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, PTSD) which is what your sessions will be billed under and what will be in your mental health records. It requires that we do additional paperwork to be in compliance with the insurance company requirements (e.g., regular treatment plan updates, more specific progress notes, etc.) all of which will need to be done during your sessions. It also means that your insurance company may choose to audit your mental health records to determine if the work we are doing is effective and if the insurance company is interested in continuing to pay for our work together. They may to some degree dictate what we can and cannot do in therapy sessions (i.e., certain protocols may not be reimbursed by insurance). Please talk with me if you have questions or concerns about utilizing your health insurance.
Does what we talk about in therapy remain confidential?
Confidentiality is one of the most important parts of the therapeutic relationship. An ability to trust your therapist with sensitive information is paramount to growth within the therapeutic process. At the beginning of therapy, you will sign a document that includes informed consent as well as a privacy policy. This document is a contract between client and therapist regarding the confidentiality of all information (refer to that document for more detailed information). As a client, you have the freedom to sign an authorization to release information to a third party (e.g., doctor, attorney, family member, etc.); this information cannot be released without your consent.
The law protects the relationship between a client and a psychotherapist, and information cannot be disclosed without written permission. However, there are exceptions to confidentiality, primarily (but not limited to) those involving harm to self or others, as follows:
- Suspected child abuse, dependent adult or elder abuse, or abuse of a person with a disability, which I am required by law to report to the appropriate authorities immediately. For military personnel this will likely not only include county child protection services but also the appropriate military child protection agency (e.g., for the Army it is Family Advocacy Program or FAP)
- If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, I must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
- If a client intends to harm himself or herself, I will make every effort to enlist their cooperation in ensuring their safety. If they do not cooperate, I will take further measures without their permission that are provided to me by law in order to ensure their safety.
- In the case of military personnel, domestic violence must be reported to the appropriate military agency (e.g., for the Army it is the Family Advocacy Program or FAP)
- Any other exceptions noted on the HIPAA Notices of Privacy Practices on the Client Access page under "Important Forms"
