DO I NEED THERAPY?

Everyone can benefit from coming to therapy at some point in their life.  When you are going through a difficult time at school, home or work and feeling down or worried a lot therapy can make a huge difference.  We all have ups and downs but when it is starting to interfere with your everyday life it is time to reach out.  Therapy can help more than a friend because I won’t be bias, and I won’t try to spare or minimize your feelings because it makes me uncomfortable.  I know reaching out can be hard but it is the first step changing for the better; it is a sign of courage and strength, not a weakness!

 

 

HOW WILL THERAPY HELP?

Therapy will allow you a safe place to share your concerns, thoughts and emotions.  We can talk through to figure out why the concerns are there and how to cope with them.  Therapy doesn’t make the bad things in life go away but it gives you a space to look at them and find the healthiest way for to respond and move forward.

 

 

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

Therapy takes different amounts of time for different people.  If you are willing to do the work in therapy and outside of our sessions, you will likely start to see results in a few weeks.  You decide how long you stay in treatment.  What I typically find is if you commit to weekly treatment for about 3 months, we can start to taper down to every other week then once a month till you feel confident about ending.  A lot of people need to taper down because you get use to the support of therapy and don’t want it to suddenly end.  There are also a lot of people that come back for “booster” sessions months or years later when they experience a stressful event.  Because of the work they did the first time around sometimes it just takes a couple meetings to bounce back.  I love working with my former client’s in times like this.  It is so rewarding for me to see them bounce back so quick when I known how much work they did to get there the first time!

 

 

WHAT KIND OF THERAPY DO I NEED?

If you haven't studied psychology the list of different kinds of therapy probably doesn't mean much to you.  Research has shown that the effectiveness of therapy does not correlate with the approach or theoretical orientation; instead the relationship with your therapist makes the biggest change. Therapy is personal, and you do best to choose a therapist whose approach feels comfortable to you. Our connection is essential.  Depending on your needs I may utilize different therapy techniques.  I am trained in CBT, TF-CBT, motivational interviewing, solution focused treatment and EMDR.  I also use art and play therapy techniques to enhance the therapeutic work we do!  

 

IF I SCHEDULE A CONSULT, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

You can schedule your 15-minute consultation call via email.  You will get an email with a brief questionnaire to complete and I will call you at your scheduled time to get some background.  If we both feel like a good fit we will schedule an assessment which will last 1 hour. You will get a second email with intake paperwork to complete prior to the assessment.

 

 

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE ASSESSMENT?

This is our first chance to chat face to face.  I will ask a lot of questions to learn what is bringing you or your child to therapy and what you hope to gain from coming to therapy.  This should also give you a chance to get a feel for my personality and make sure it is right for you (and your child). My hope is you will leave feeling understood and safe enough to start sharing.

 

HOW INVOLVED WILL I BE IN MY CHILD'S TREATMENT?

I hope that you will be very involved in your child's treatment.  Depending on their age there will be different levels of involvement needed. For younger children, therapy will be more a partnership between you, your child and me.  While I will meet with them alone, I like to end the session reviewing with a parent what we talked about and any skills I taught.  I will need you to reinforce these at home. As your child approaches middle and high school, they will want you involved a lot less and need the confidentiality that treatment providers.  However, I still want feedback from you about what you see and are concerned about.  Know that you will be made aware of any safety concern that your child shared with me (as long as you are not the safety concern).  When your child is open to it we will also have you be a part of treatment.

 

WILL MY INSURANCE COVER THERAPY?

Insurance will cover therapy if I provide a DSM V diagnosis (such as anxiety or depression).  At this time, I bill BCBS of SC, CIGNA and the DSS adoption subsidy.  If you have another insurance I am considered “out of network”.  In this case you would pay my self-pay fee and I will provide a superbill you can send to your insurance company and they may reimburse you for a portion of treatment.   If you do not meet medical necessity for a diagnosis, do not want insurance billed or to allow for enhanced confidentiality then you may pay for services out of pocket.

 

CAN I CHANGE APPOINTMENTS?

Yes, I require a minimum of 48 hours notice for changes or cancellations.  Appointment canceled with less than a 48 hour notice are charged a late cancel fee. Missed sessions (no shows) will be billed as well. Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours notice are charged the full fee as I am unable to fill your spot with that little notice. We can discuss any concerns about this at your first appointment. 

 

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN COUNSELOR?

I am a counselor who is a Christian, but I am not specifically certified in Christian counseling.  I ask all my client’s to share about their faith and beliefs with me and make an effort to respect views whether or not they align with my own as I do not believe the therapy room needs to be a pulpit.   If you are Christian, I may incorporate this at times into treatment and have some books that I may use that have a Biblical perspective.  If you have another faith background, I will invite you to share about how that may influence your perspective on certain issues that we tackle in treatment.

 

ARE YOU AN LGBTQ+ ALLY?

Yes, I have worked with many individuals who are a part of this community and feel privileged to have been one of the first adults many of my younger clients have shared this with. I have also worked with individuals (children and adults) on the process of coming out to their families.  Please know if you identify as trans then I will likely refer you to another counselor who specializes in this population.  While I do support you, I do not have the level of expertise in issues related to transitioning that I believe you deserve for the best treatment.