Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ About Therapy
Browse our frequently asked questions! For more information, view our policies page.
There are so many wonderful choices out there, right?! Please read more about us to get to know us a bit and to make sure our specialties align with your presenting concerns. You’ll also want to get a good feel for our personalities and styles since a good fit is a must, so feel free to contact us and we can do a free meet-and-greet. We don’t take it personally if it’s not the right match, so please be honest and we’ll help you find the right fit!
It can definitely feel intimidating to meet with a total stranger and let them in on your life story. It is our job to make you feel as comfortable as possible and keep confidentiality. You’re the expert in your life and we are there as the mental health experts to help facilitate growth and change. It is not just a job to us.
We truly feel honored to walk alongside you in this journey and we wouldn’t do this work if we didn’t care deeply. We just ask that you commit to our work together, remain open and honest, and trust the process. This means that even though every session may not have an Oprah “aha!” moment, this work of processing, learning, and self discovery is all building towards something awesome!
That’s hard to say without knowing your story and meeting with you. We typically say when someone is motivated, let’s jump on that and meet weekly to gain traction. Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job! You will feel equipped to move to less frequently along the way and you and your therapist will continually assess this progress.
We therapists have very thoughtfully and intentionally chosen to be out of network with insurance companies. This allows us to avoid your insurance company’s involvement in your treatment (i.e. mandating a maximum amount of sessions, requiring we continually show them your treatment plan, rejecting certain treatment or diagnoses, etc.). We want to provide 100% confidential treatment with competitive pricing options. We want you to feel empowered to choose your provider, treatment length and approach, and not have insurance companies interfere with your unique goals and needs. And we want to be able to get creative with your treatment with evidence-based support that is sometimes not covered by insurance. Lastly, we prioritize spending our time beyond the 50 min session – between your sessions- conceptualizing your case, researching, and collaborating with other providers involved in your care.
The million dollar question!
See our current rates on the policies page.
You may also discuss a reduced fee with your individual provider.
EMDR is hard to explain and understand, but having done it as a client and now as a clinician for several years, Juliet is a firm believer in its benefits! She likes to say that it’s like a system update for your brain — to send any negative memories/thoughts/sensations that are stuck to where they belong. It doesn’t erase memories or traumas, but it decreases their intensity and resolves negative beliefs by replacing them with more positive and adaptive ones. Clients will feel distress relief, healing, reduced physiological symptoms, and empowerment. EMDR is proven to help with grief & loss, abuse, traumas, phobias, low self-esteem, attachment issues, family disruptions, upsetting memories, PTSD, and food issues. Juliet, Jackie, and Andrea are trained in EMDR. Find more info here.
This is how all of us therapists start! A LCMHCA is provisionally licensed clinical mental health counselor associate who has completed a master’s level counseling program, passed necessary national examinations, and is currently working toward full licensure by completing a minimum of 3,000 supervised clinical counseling hours.
Authenticity
Creativity
Compassion
Education
Service
Showing up
This happens to spell ACCESS. By definition, access is “a means of approaching or entering a place and the ability, right, or permission to approach, enter, speak with, or use.” Our hope is for every person to find permission to tend to their wellness and to have the opportunity to do so.
Play therapy is a modality of child therapy specifically created for children ages 2-10 years old. The Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as the natural medium in which children learn to cope with their emotions. In play therapy, specific toys are used to assist children in expressing themselves and processing their world in a developmentally-sensitive way. Child-centered play therapy, an evidenced based treatment, is a powerful tool to address cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges. Your play therapist will support your child through a warm, caring, and safe environment to increase self esteem, emotional intelligence, and have a better concept of self to communicate needs and manage their world.
Your child best processes through play, rather than sitting on a couch and talking about their world- they play it out! Play therapy is a highly regarded modality that is developmentally appropriate and evidenced based for treatment of children.
Your play therapist will meet you and your child in the waiting area before heading back to the playroom. The playroom is full of specifically curated toys including, action figures, dolls, cars, animal figures, duplos, doctor kits, craft supplies, and a play kitchen to list a few! In child-centered play therapy, the session is non-directive, meaning that as long as the play is safe, the child leads and the therapist follows. The therapist will track the child’s play as well as reflect feelings and enlarge the meaning of the play. These methods help grow specific skills like frustration tolerance, emotional intelligence, and self concept. At the end of the session, the therapist walks the child back to meet you without having the child clean up. This is a rule that is only for the playroom and your therapist will specifically address this with your child. The act of cleaning up their play would be equivalent to having an adult “eat their words” back after their therapy session. It is recommended for caregivers to ask the child, “what was your favorite toy you played with” rather than “did you have fun” because while the child is playing, that does not always mean that it is fun. Your child may choose to share about their session or choose to keep it to themselves, both of these reactions are ok!
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees. Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least 1 business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit http://www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call 800-985-3059.
