How will psychotherapy benefit me?
Although it’s impossible to predict how an individual will respond to psychotherapy, in most cases psychotherapy provides clients with many benefits. Often it is helpful to simply know someone understands you and it is likely you will discover fresh perspectives for difficult problems to guide you towards healing and resolution.
Most people who have sought psychotherapy have found that it fosters personal growth, improves interpersonal relationships, helps mediate family concerns, and reduces the stress of daily life.
Your success will depend upon how motivated you are to put into practice what you learn and experience in the therapy session. Some of the positive outcomes you might realistically expect to obtain from therapy include:
- A better understanding of yourself, your personal goals and your values
- Developed and enhanced relational skills
- A sense of resolution around the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy
- Expanded coping skills in dealing with conflict and stress
- More resilance and tolerance for distressing emotions and less reactivity to triggering people and situations
- Improved communications skills
- Expanded awareness for identifing and changing unhealthy patterns of behaviors
- Increased problem solving abilities
- Improved self-esteem and enhanced self-confidence
What if I don’t know what my goals are for therapy?
In the first few sessions we will explore what brought you to therapy and begin to collaborate in prioritizing your goals, knowing it may take several sessions before they become clear for you. During the course of therapy your goals may change, however, determining your initial direction for therapy provides the focus for you to get the most out of your sessions.
How does insurance work?
- The first thing you should do is check with your insurance carrier to find the answers to the following questions:
- Do I have behavioral health benefits?
- What is my deductible and has it been met?
- How many therapy sessions per calendar year does my plan cover?
- How much is paid to both an in-network and an out-of-network provider?
- What will my co-pay be?
- Is there a limit on how much your plan will pay per session?
- Do I need the approval of my primary care physician?
Is therapy confidential?
The law protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a psychotherapist. Information is only disclosed with written permission. There are however exceptions to this rule, which include:
- Suspected child, dependent adult, elder, and sexual abuse. A therapist is required by law to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
- If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person/s, a therapist must notify the police and inform the intended victim.
- If a client intends to harm himself or herself, the therapist will make every effort to enlist their client’s cooperation in insuring their safety. If a client does not cooperate, further measures may need to be taken without their permission in order to ensure their safety.
- If a client has been involved in an unsolved crime a therapist cannot withhold information from authorities and may be required to report information.