COMMON THERAPY QUESTIONS
Q. YOU ARE A LICENSED MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST, DOES THAT MEAN YOU ONLY SEE MARRIED PEOPLE?
Marriage and Family Therapists are trained to treat individuals, couples and/or families. This includes children and adolescents. It also includes couples who are not married. I find the most joy working with couples that want to improve their relationship, parents who want to find more balance in their parenting and individuals who want to find peace by looking at things in a healthier way.
Q. SHOULD I USE MY INSURANCE OR SHOULD I PAY OUT OF POCKET?
If you use your insurance the therapist has to abide by the insurance regulations. In practical terms this means more paperwork, less privacy/confidentiality and a diagnosis. There will be more paperwork for you to fill out as insurances require me to have a certain amount of information on file. In addition, insurance only provides payment for those that have a medical/ behavioral health diagnosis. This means that you will have a mental health diagnosis (e.g. Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar, etc) if you are using your insurance for therapy. Insurance companies can request your records (including notes) and therapists have to comply with the request. Sometimes clients do not have any mental health issues but find it helpful to discuss life issues with a therapist. An example of this is therapy for personal growth. In these cases an insurance company would deny services; therefore, we recommend that you pay privately. Insurance companies also do not cover couples therapy.
Q. HOW LONG WILL THERAPY LAST?
In the first session you will be able to know if you like the therapist. Did you feel listened to? Did you feel this person was polite, friendly, professional? I believe it is important that you “click” with your therapist. Also, it is important that you feel comfortable being open, genuine and honest with the therapist. I will offer you kindness, humor, honestly, and my exclusive attention.
Q. HOW DO I KNOW A THERAPIST IS THE RIGHT ONE FOR ME?
In the first session you will be able to know if you like the therapist. Did you feel listened to? Did you feel this person was polite, friendly, professional? I believe it is important that you “click” with your therapist. Also, it is important that you feel comfortable being open, genuine and honest with the therapist. I will offer you kindness, humor, honestly, and my exclusive attention.
Q. HOW DO I KNOW THERAPY IS WORKING?
You and the therapist should agree on the goal of therapy, usually that means discussing the issue that brought you to therapy in the first place. I believe therapy is a joint effort, so evaluating progress should be done together. Therapy is working when both therapist and client are able to verbalize the differences from the first day of treatment and when there is movement towards solving the issue that brought you to therapy. I frequently check with my clients to make sure we are moving in the right direction.
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