Here is some information to explain and clarify aspects of treatment.
What is therapy?
Therapy promotes healing. A therapist’s goal is to help a client identify problems and find a way to heal - this process will differ in every case. This is different from coaching or counseling or a behavior plan, since there is a therapeutic intervention. A provider must be trained and licensed to provide therapeutic interventions and call it treatment. A therapist may employ coaching or counseling as part of the process, but these are not the main focus of treatment.
What is a clinical therapist?
A clinician is anyone licensed to diagnose and treat illness. Therapy is the treatment. Every therapist at Sirona Counseling is a licensed clinician.
What should I expect?
You can expect a consultation phone call to determine if you and your therapist are a good fit. You will receive an email with a link to complete the appropriate paperwork. Once you start therapy, you can expect to answer and ask a lot of questions at the beginning. After that your therapist will work with you to identify issues and create a plan to address those issues. For some people, you might feel worse before you feel better. This is because you’re drudging up some old feelings so they can be sorted out and addressed. You will feel better - that’s the goal, after all. We’d like to help you improve your mood and your functioning and your coping.
How do I get the most out of therapy?
Think of therapy like this - you’re paying for a professional’s time, not for results. You get out what you put in. The results are up to you. Good therapy is client-led. Meaning this: the effort you put into therapy will directly influence the positive changes that will result. Your therapist can’t make you improve. You must be ready and willing to do the work. If you’re in therapy and you don’t feel like it’s helping, take a moment to examine how much effort you’re putting in to your treatment.
Privacy Policies
Your therapist will send you a document to sign acknowledging policies regarding your privacy. We all work according to HIPAA, which is the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996) that is designed to protect your privacy and your health information. Other things included in the privacy policy include use of social media, bumping into your therapist in public, and how your therapist will protect your privacy in other ways.
Practice Policies
Each Therapist has their own set of policies that outline fees, attendance, treatment flow, and expectations. We all work by similar policies. There are fees for last minute cancellations and for no-show appointments - this is how we protect ourselves and our time - in addition to out of pocket payments, copayments or coinsurance. Some policies explain what your treatment might looks like and what you can expect.
Good Faith Estimate
If you’re paying cash for your appointments, whether it’s because you have a high deductible or your therapist does not take your insurance, you’re entitled to a Good Faith Estimate detailing how much you might spend on treatment.
Informed Consent
Since your therapist is a licensed clinician, providing treatment, you must consent to treatment. We must have this on file for you to receive services.
Our Office
We ask that everyone follow our rules in the office suite, including keeping things calm and quiet, which means being considerate and respectful of everyone in our space. If you need to take a phone call, please do so out in the hallway. If you or your child wants to use an electronic device in the waiting area, please use headphones. Children must remain near their parent or guardian, there is no running or wandering in the waiting area. Please do not knock on any doors.
Simple Practice
The electronic health record we use for documentation, claims and billing is called Simple Practice. You will be able to access your files and forms in Simple Practice. Save your login information for the portal when you first sign up to complete your paperwork and sign the policies. This can come in handy if you need superbills or statements or would like to message your therapist securely.