|| FAQs ||
1. Is counseling confidential?
The content of all sessions is CONFIDENTIAL and cannot be shared with anyone else without your written consent. The State of California has carved out of the normally accepted principles of confidentiality several areas where individuals such as teachers, doctors and therapists are required by law to make a report to the proper authority. Most would agree with the specific area of the mandated reporting laws because it involves protecting the innocent and helpless. These areas are:
2. What is your fee and do you accept insurance?
Counseling fees may vary by the type of services being provided. Please feel free to ask the individual counselor about the fee schedule. History has shown that your insurance company will reimburse you much more quickly than they will the therapist. More therapists will provide a superbill at the end of each session to be submitted to the insurance company for appropriate compensation. It is important for you to know what your insurance company will pay per session and if they limit the number of sessions per year they will compensate for therapy. It’s very important to remember that an improved quality of life and relationships is worth the monetary investment.
3. What are the payment options?
We accept cash, check or credit cards.
4. How long does counseling take?
Clients come once a week for a session that lasting 45-50 minutes. This is based on a combination of the mental and physical. Mentally, the optimum amount of time a person can reasonable retain in one session is about 45 to 50 minutes. Physically, the optimum amount of time one maintains a level of attentiveness is about 45 to 50 minutes. The most effective use of time will be a result of the clients following through with their homework assignments and their focus and desire to receive the input to the agreed upon treatment goals.
5. How often do I need to come to counseling?
The goal of therapy is always to get to a place where the client has learned and integrated the needed skills to deal with the issues that brought them in for therapy. We tend to work towards transforming the client beyond the issue as opposed to helping them tolerate the issue. The therapist will develop a treatment plan and then walk with the client to the resolution of the plan. This means that the length of time in treatment varies from client to client according to the severity of the presenting problem and the goals an individual wants to attain. We will discuss this during our initial visit.
