Why Work with Me?

Why Work with a Marriage and Family Therapist?

Distress Signals for which Marriage and Family Therapists can Help

What is Protected Health Information?

Whether or Not to Use Your Mental Health Insurance Coverage?

Why Work with Me?

To facilitate this discussion, I use measures of outcome and session satisfaction.  These are filled out quickly at the beginning and end of each session.  In this way, I have immediate and first hand information about how you, the client, feel you are progressing in therapy as well as how satisfied you are with therapy.  This process allows us to better and more consistently focus therapy on your areas of concern.  It also allows me adjust how we work in session in order to maximize the benefit you receive from therapy.  Unfortunately, not every therapist is a good fit for every client.  If this is the case, the outcome and session satisfaction measures will allow us to identify this situation quickly and allow you to find a therapist who is a better fit with minimal loss of time and finances.

Based on data I collect using the Outcome Rating Scale, the majority of clients I work with are very satisfied with the services I provide.  The Outcome Rating Scale measures the client's sense of functioning in life.  The average score for clients beginning therapy with me is 13.34.  The average score for clients when we finish therapy is 25.99.  A score lower than 25 identifies a client who is not functioning as well as an individual in the general population.  On average, a client working with me reports an improvement in their sense of functioning of 12.65 points and they move from a reported functioning level well below normal back into normal functioning by the time we complete therapy.  While the length of therapy varies, clients that I work with complete therapy in an average of 13 sessions.

Why Work with a Marriage and Family Therapist?

Marriage and Family Therapists are relationship specialists who treat persons involved in interpersonal relationships. They are trained to assess, diagnose and treat individuals, couples, families and groups to achieve more adequate, satisfying and productive marriage, family and social interactions. 

Marriage and Family Therapists practice early crisis intervention and brief, focused psychotherapy to resolve problems or reduce symptoms in the shortest time possible. They also have the expertise and skills to work with persons for whom more intensive, long-term treatment is necessary to cure or relieve mental or emotional conditions. 

A Marriage and Family Therapist helps individuals, couples, families and children explore and solve problems.  People who work with Marriage and Family Therapists are more productive at work, visit their doctors less often, and have lower average lengths of stay at in-patient facilities.

Competent therapists do not offer solutions or take sides. They help clients work out solutions according to individual values and lifestyles. Seeking professional assistance is a sign of courage and a willingness to deal with life's many challenges.

Distress signals for which Marriage and Family Therapists can help

• Emotional stress or anxiety
• Child behavior problems
• Feelings of loneliness, isolation
• Depression
• Moodiness
• Sexual disturbances
• Unexplained fatigue
• Unusual eating patterns
• Unexplained injuries to family members
• Excessive alcohol or drug use
• Family conflict or tension
• Divorce or separation
• Difficulty coping with changing lifestyles
• Fear, anger or guilt
• Grief or emotional pain

On-line screening tests are available for many psychological issues at HealthyPlace.com.

What is Protected Health Information?

Protected Health Information is any health information that can be connected with an individual.  This term has come out about due to the HIPAA Law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996).  Protected Health Information that is transmitted or shared with Health Insurance Companies includes the client's name, date of birth, social security number, insurance identification number, mental health diagnosis, dates of service, and other information requested by the Health Insurance Company for payment.

Whether or Not to Use Your Mental Health Insurance Coverage?

People who use their medical insurance or disability insurance to pay for psychotherapy waive some of their rights to confidentiality.  When you use your insurance, a psychiatric diagnosis must be assigned and transmitted to your insurance company, detailed clinical information often must be provided by your therapist, and in the case of ‘in-network-benefits,’ total access to patient files must be provided to insurance company employees at their request.  Further, insurance companies often attempt to influence the methods or course of treatment so as to save money.  That means treatment decisions are taken away from you and your therapist, the two people in the best position to make such decisions.  Finally, psychiatric diagnoses may affect your ability to obtain future health or life insurance at a reasonable rate.  There is no way to ensure the confidential information will be treated as private once it is transmitted to an insurance company.

I do accept some insurance plans for payment.  However, in order to protect my clients’ confidentiality and to provide ethical treatment, I encourage clients to pay out of pocket for psychotherapy.  There are several options for financing the cost of therapy including spreading out your payments over time by using a credit card. I am happy to provide clients with a simple billing statement that they may submit for ‘out-of-network’ insurance reimbursement and/or for tax purposes.