4044820009
Integrative Holistic Mental Health Counseling
"A part of healing is finding the wound"
Client Portal
Frequently Asked Questions
Your Questions Answered About Therapy/Counseling
What are the fees?
$85-$250/session
The fee investment is aligned with the need and requirement for me to be professionally prepared, sound, present, and engaged intuitively and clincially to support you and your ongoing needs.
My client load remains low and few to provide the proper and ethical professional bandwidth to best serve you. This also provides more flexibility in scheduling your sessions.
Investments are due at the start of each session.
I do not work with insurance companies (I am out of network) and therefore do not accept insurance.
There may be an option for you to talk with your insurance provider about reimbursement with the submission of a Superbill. This will be your responsibility and I can provide you with the Superbill to submit.
Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance or employee benefit plan. Please review your coverage carefully, and consult with your insurance provider. Consider the following questions when determining if your insurance will reimburse you for therapy:
What are my mental health insurance benefits?
Has my deductible been met?
How many sessions per year does my health insurance cover?
What is the coverage amount per therapy session?
Does my insurance require pre-approval from my primary care physician?
Read more here about Private Pay.
Sliding scale slots are capped at 10% of my max case load of 20 clients.
Once those slots are filled, a wait list is created.
What are common goals of counseling?
Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals and values
Developing skills for improving your relationships
Improving your self-esteem and self-concept
Increasing creativity and motivation
Managing impacts from past trauma and unproductive relationships
Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that linger from past circumstances
Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
Navigating emotional challenges and distress
Improving communications and listening skills
Changing unproductive behavior patterns and developing more useful ones
What is counseling like?
Counseling will be different depending on the individual's goals and challenges. In general, you can expect to discuss the current events happening in your life, your personal history relevant to your issue, and report progress (or any new insights gained) from the previous therapy session.
Depending on your specific needs, therapy can be short-term, for a specific issue, or longer-term, to deal with more difficult patterns or your desire for more personal development.
Your active participation in the process will yield more results from counseling.
Beyond the work you do in therapy sessions, I may suggest some things you can do outside of therapy to support your process - such as reading a pertinent book, journaling on specific topics, noting particular behaviors or taking action on your goals.
MORE INFO ON WHAT COUNSELING IS LIKE
https://www.abct.org/fact-sheets/what-to-expect-from-therapy/
Most clients do weekly sessions to start and may shift to participating bi-weekly once they feel more established and solid in a mental/emotional care plan and trajectory. Each ongoing session lasts 50 mins with options for mini and extended sessions.
What is your attendance policy?
If you need to reschedule an appointment, you will need to contat me at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment. Otherwise, your appointment slot will be charged at full rate.
It is considered a no show or missed appointment if you:
1. Give less than 24 hours notice for an appointment you are not going to attend.
2. Are more than 15 minutes late to a appointment.
3. Are not at the agreed-upon meeting place and do not respond to attempts to contact you.
4. Do not show for your appointment.
What is the difference between talking to a friend and professional counseling?
Friends are a great source of support and can be very helpful. A good friend, who listens well can be vital for you in tough times and happy times. However it may be very hard to be objective.
Unlike in a friendship, professional counseling is centered around YOUR goals and needs.
A licensed clinician has extensive education and training to understand relational patterns and human behavior and follow strict legal and ethical guidelines in order to protect your confidentiality.
A good therapeutic relationship is not a dual relationship where the therapist shares his/her own personal problems or interacts frequently outside sessions with clients. Because of these factors the client is able to focus clearly on themselves and the goals.
What should I expect at the first appointment ?
You can expect your first appointment to last approximately 70-80 minutes. During your appointment, I will inform you of information and policies critical to your therapeutic care. You will participate in a diagnostic evaluation and I will spend time talking with you to learn more about any mental wellness concerns you may have and how I can best serve you.
A diagnosis is not assigned within the first session.
How do I access psychiatric services?
You may be interested in or require medication to collaborate with your counseling/therapy journey. For some it is short term as you gain new skills, for others, it may be more medically necessary long term.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I do not assess or evaluate for medication management.
I can provide you with an option for you to follow up with for effective, wholistic and culturaly competent psychiatric services.
What do I do in a crisis ?
If you’ve already begun working with a counselor, using some of the skills and resources from sessions may be useful.
If you have exhausted all other options and have to call 911 for yourself, family, or a friend, please engage in the following instructions to ensure the safety of yourself and your loved ones: If you personally are in need of assistance, try and have a loved one or family member come over so that you are not enduring this process alone.
When calling 911, inform the dispatch worker that officers are being called out to deal with a mental health crisis and to interact with yourself or loved ones as someone in need of care and NOT someone who has broken the law.
Upon the arrival of the officer(s), inform them that you or your loved one is unarmed (no weapon on his/her person) and not dangerous. If you are calling for someone who is experiencing an episode of psychosis and could potentially be a danger to him/herself or others or is armed with a weapon, inform the officers of the situation, but advocate that your loved one is still handled with care.
It is a mandatory policy for law enforcement to place handcuffs while transporting the individual suffering from a mental health illness to the car. This can be traumatizing. You can avoid this by being willing, if you feel safe doing so, to transport your loved on to the ER for further evaluation. If this is not possible, you can follow the officers to the ER to help yourself and your loved one feel more at ease.
What approaches do you use?
Click below for descriptions
Learn more about types of therapy
Brainspotting
Coaching
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Eclectic
Existential
Humanistic
Integrative
Interpersonal
Transpersonal
Mindfulness-Based (MBCT)
Motivational Interviewing
Narrative
Person-Centered
Psychodynamic
Breathwork
Trauma Sensitive yoga
Sound and Guided Meditation
Reiki
What is Collaborative Wellness?
Working together with other professionals in community with me is central to my practice.
This includes peronsal fitness trainers, massage therapists, doulas, energy workers, spiritual experts, and other mental health professionals for family, relationship/marriage counseling.
Collaborate!!
Therapy/Counseling can be wrapped with other resources and supports. This list is not exhaustive but can be a support to you or someone you know.
Psychoeducation info provided here can give you insight to what you’re experiencing and guide you to reaching out to the best professional for your specialized needs.
Fitness Personal Training
Massage Therapy
Substance Abuse Help
SNAP benefits for Georgia
Georgia Psychiatric Hospitals
Non-Suicidal Self Harm
Good Faith Estimate
Beginning January 1, 2022, federal laws regulating client care have been updated to include the “No Surprises” Act. This Act requires health care practitioners to provide current and potential clients a “Good Faith Estimate” (GFE) on the cost of treatment.
This new regulation is designed to provide transparency to patients regarding their expected medical expenses and to protect them from surprises when they receive their medical bills. It allows patients to understand how much their health care will cost before they receive services.
There are a number of factors that make It challenging to provide an estimate on how long it will take for a client to complete therapeutic treatment, and much depends on the individual client and their goals in seeking therapy. Some clients are satisfied with a reduction in symptoms while others continue longer because it feels beneficial to do so. Others begin to schedule less frequently, and may continue to come in for “tune ups” or when issues arise. Ultimately, as the client, it is your decision when to stop therapy.
I have provided here my typical and current session full fees, projected for a 12 month period with differing levels of sessions scheduled.
Good Faith Estimate Details for Individual Clients
Individual 50 minute session-$175/session
Weekly 50 minute sessions for 50 weeks $8750
Bi-weekly 50 minute sessions for 50 weeks $4375
What is Tele-Mental Health and Wellness?
Telemental health is the provision of remote mental health services by a secure video and audio platform.
Research has shown that telemental health services are just as effective as traditional face-to-face therapy. Telemental health also comes with added benefits. These include there being no need to travel or to book time off from other commitments. It is also much more flexible.
TeleHealth FAQs
TeleHealth Information
Before beginning telehealth counseling, you and I will first do a consultation appointment to assess if these formats are a good fit for the concerns impacting you, and to ensure your location will allow me to work with you from where I am. Please be aware that U.S.licensure laws do not allow me to work on an ongoing basis with clients who are in U.S. states I am not licensed in (Currently I am licensed in Georgia). Therefore, if you move to another state in the U.S. during our work together, I am required to terminate our work together. I am happy to help you find a local clinician who you can continue with.
What equipment do I need?
To attend telehealth sessions, you will need the following:
A computer (laptop or desktop) or smartphone. Newer devices (purchased in the last two years) will be better equipped to provide telehealth sessions.
An integrated or external microphone.
An integrated or external web camera.
An internet connection that is at least 10 Mbps. For optimal results, a reliable, high-speed internet connection with a bandwidth of at least 10 Mbps will minimize connection issues and provide the best quality.
Your internet browser should prompt you to "allow" camera and microphone access. This is a critical step! Otherwise, I will not be able to see or hear you in the session. If you have trouble allowing access, let me know.
When you first join the session, you will be in the virtual waiting room. This is where you will enter the name, as well as check your settings to make sure you are using a strong internet connection and have good video and audio connectivity.
Does this platform meet HIPAA requirements?
Yes, Simple Practice/Telehealth OR SESSIONS by Psychology Today meet or exceed all the requirements of HIPAA as a business associate, including the Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in which each platform agrees to be responsible for keeping all client information private and to immediately report any breach of personal health information.
If notified of a breach by these companies, I will notify you and discuss how to move forward.
Do I have to download anything to join the session?
At times, yes. You can join a session by simply clicking the link I provide you. No password or login necessary.
You can download the mobile app if you prefer to use a mobile device rather than a laptop or desktop computer for their session.
What now?
Choose a place that is comfortable, private, quiet, and has good lighting. Set aside that time to be present and focused just for your session, letting any others in your space know that you are not available for the lengths of your session time.
You can use headphones for more privacy and clarity to hear and speak.
Therapy Outside
Healing through Nature and Movement
What about taking your sessions outdoors? Maybe in a public park or on nearby trails. This alternative infuses the benefits of fresh air and exercise into the therapy sessions.
Movement, whether it’s a leisurely walk or a brisk hike, can make it easier for some people to discuss their feelings. You may prefer to move or walk as opposed to sitting.
Aside from any potential physical concerns, there are some ethical questions to consider before we start our outdoors session. Once we venture out of the office or the living room, we have less control over the privacy of the session.
There’s the possibility that we will see someone you know, or we may come across someone who recognizes me as a mental health professional.
Depending on how busy the park or the trail is, there’s also a chance your conversation may be overheard.
These concerns may not bother some clients and won’t change their preference—but for others, giving up the privacy and confidentiality of their sessions may not be worth the sunshine and fresh air. Lets discuss any concerns prior to your outdoor session, so we can make an informed decision together.
Once rapport is built through tele-mental health sessions, ask about this option.