FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
Please note printable pdf documents below.
What
is a Licensed Professional Counselor / Licensed Mental Health Counselor? An
LPC / LMHC is one of 6 types of licensed mental health professionals
who are qualified to provide counseling and psychotherapy. LPCs
/ LMHCs usually hold a masters or higher graduate degree, obtain 3000
hours of supervised experience, and have passed a national licensure
exam. These highly credentialed professionals use counseling techniques
to assist people in identifying and resolving intrapersonal and/or interpersonal
issues, as well as social and vocational concerns.
What is your education,
training and experience? Both my Masters and Specialist graduate school
degrees (M. S., Ed.S.) are in mental health counseling psychology from
Florida State University. I have earned additional expertise as
an Approved Consultant and Certified Therapist in EMDR, National Certified
Counselor by the NBCC, Certified Traumatologist with the Green Cross
/ Traumatology Institute, and licensure in both Georgia (as an LPC) and
in Florida (as an LMHC and Qualified Supervisor). My clinical experience
ranges from inpatient treatment for people with dual-diagnoses, outpatient
community mental health as a substance abuse counselor, and a 7-½ year
thriving private practice. The bulk of my expertise is in the recovery
from acute- and post-traumatic stress, panic, anxiety, depression, and
grief and loss.
What happens during counseling? My intention is
always to provide my clients with the highest-quality counseling services
by being thorough, compassionate, and ethical. Most people seek
counseling because they desire certain changes in their lives and /or
are experiencing very distressful emotions or challenging circumstances. During
our first meeting I will ask you for details of your specific concerns
and also about your current and past history and experiences. We
will together gain a working understanding of the issues, the possible
outcomes, and identify the most effective approaches that could best
benefit you. We will work together in an open, honest, and collaborative
way towards helping you to attain greater freedom, understanding, peace,
integration, and connectedness.
What is EMDR? EMDR (Eye Movement
Densensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful form of therapy that
is shown by much research to be highly effective at providing rapid emotional
relief for many people for whom talk therapy by itself was not enough. EMDR
targets undigested memories of trauma which a person may now experience
as depression, posttraumtic stress, panic attacks, shame or guilt, low
self-esteem, anger, worry or anxiety. About 80 –90% of my
clients are amazed at the deep and fast transformation of emotional and
psychological pain into profound understanding, relief, peace, and freedom. Please
read FAQs About EMDR for more details.
What are your fees? My
fees are $100 per hour. This rate can be discounted to $90 per hour
or less if paid for on the day of the session due to decreased bookkeeping
costs. (Please read my complete fee policy as detailed in Office
Policies and General Information Agreement form.) If you cannot
afford my fee I will provide names of other agencies or professionals
that might offer free or low-fee services.
Do you take insurance? I
am contracted as a provider with Magellan, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United
Health Care, American Behavioral Health, ComPsych, and several EAPs. I
can file claims with these organizations if you have arranged for the
appropriate authorization / pre-certification. You will need to
also ask if you have met your yearly deductible for mental health benefits,
the amount of subsequent co-payments, and the number of sessions allowed
per calendar year.
What if you are not listed as an in-network
provider for my insurance company? I do not file claims as an out-of-network
provider but will give you the necessary paperwork to file for reimbursement. I
can also give you a list of questions to guide you in talking with your
insurance carrier about your benefits for counseling services.
What
are the risks of using my insurance benefits for counseling? I am
required to disclose certain confidential information to your insurance
carrier in order to process claims. However, I have no control or
knowledge over what insurance companies do with the information or who
has access to this information. You may be aware that submitting
a mental health invoice for reimbursement carries a certain amount of
risk to confidentiality, privacy, or to future eligibility to obtain
health or life insurance. The risk stems from the fact that mental
health information is entered into insurance companies’ computers
and soon will also be reported to the Congress-approved National Medical
Data Bank. Accessibility to companies’ computers or to the
National Medical Data Bank database is always in question, as computers
are inherently vulnerable to break-ins and unauthorized access. Medical
data have been reported to have been sold, stolen, or accessed by enforcement
agencies; therefore, you are in a vulnerable position. We both understand,
however, that using insurance benefits may be the only affordable solution
to receiving professional services. I will attempt to disclose only
the minimal information necessary to process your claims.
What are your
office hours? Day, evening, and Saturday appointments are usually
available.
How long are the sessions and how often will our meetings
be scheduled? I usually schedule 90 minutes for the initial session. Following
this, we will meet once per week for a 45-50 minute session (or a 75–90
minute session for EMDR work). I prefer scheduling longer sessions
because the healing work seems to flow more efficiently, however we can
decide this together. Most of my clients appreciate and actually
prefer longer sessions.
How do I schedule a first appointment? Please
call me at 229-227-1295. I do not have a secretary and do not answer
the phone when I am with clients. I do have secure confidential
voicemail and am able to check for messages more often than e-mail. So
if your need is urgent I strongly suggest we communicate via telephone.
PLEASE
PRINT and READ THE FOLLOWING INTAKE FORMS. Please bring these completed
and signed forms to our first meeting (along with your insurance card
if you plan to use insurance).
more relief, peace, confidence, understanding, and strength!
