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Therapy FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How will I know when I need to seek professional help?

If you are:

• feeling overwhelmed by loss or change in your life
• feeling unhappiness, grief, depression, aloneness, emotional pain
• wanting to fulfill your potential, seeking personal or professional growth
• a couple coping with the complexities of your relationship
• a parent seeking to understand and cope with your child's/adolescent's needs
• struggling with emotional, physical or sexual abuse
• using addictive substances
• worrying, feeling stuck and your everyday life is being disrupted

How does therapy work?

Therapy is a process that uses specialized techniques of caring that have been designed to offer effective, long-lasting help for people suffering from a wide range of difficulties, such as emotional distress, anxiety, marital strife, fears, a significant loss, or a clinical disorder. Therapy can also help fulfill aspirations for personal growth or self-improvement.

Recognizing the need for help and seeking professional therapy is a sign of both strength and your determination to live a productive and meaningful life! Working together, you and your therapist will identify your goals and agree on how you'll know when you are making progress. Therapy has one clear and definite purpose: that something of positive value and constructive usefulness will come out of it for you.

As therapy progresses, a relationship is built and your trust in the therapist is established, you will actually use the relationship as an opportunity to reshape significant emotional experiences and work through problems in your life. It is the very process of trusting that it's safe to release your feelings--the good and the bad--and knowing that the therapeutic relationship permits you to safely explore deeply felt sources of conflict and dissatisfaction that will finally allow you to make lasting, positive changes in your life.

What is the best way to find a therapist and know which counselor is right for me?

Because the relationship with the therapist is so essential to the effectiveness of the process, it is very important that you find someone with whom you feel a comfortable connection, a therapist who makes you feel understood. Start by asking people you trust such as your doctor, clergy, school counselor or a friend for a recommendation. Then approach finding the right fit by asking questions about office policy, experience and how the therapist might help you through a brief interview. Trust yourself if talking with this person feels comfortable, but remember to be open and honest if you don't get the help you expected.

What about confidentiality?

As professionals we abide by a professional Code of Ethics which protects your privacy in the therapeutic setting. By law what is shared in the counseling setting and the fact that you are in therapy is confidential. The two exceptions to confidentiality are if you divulge child or elder abuse, or if you are a danger to yourself or others, the law requires that we make an abuse report so that you will be safe. In addition, if you sign a release of information because you want us to talk or consult with others for collaboration of an issue or your care, confidentiality is waived.

View our Privacy Policy (PDF 104KB)

How do you pay for therapy?

Services are paid for at the time they are received. A super bill is then given to the client so they can submit to their insurance for reimbursement. If you're eligible for Medicare please call for details.

Hours

Our therapists do have hours in the evening and on Saturday. Each therapist determines his or her own hours and a phone call can help you to set up a workable time for your sessions.