FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
A: FAQ is an acronym for "frequently asked questions."
A: The treatment of mental and emotional disorders through the use of psychological techniques designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight into problems, with the goal being relief of symptoms, changes in behavior leading to improved social and vocational functioning, and personality growth.
A: A social worker trained in psychotherapy who helps individuals deal with a variety of mental health and daily living problems to improve overall functioning. A social worker usually has a master's degree in social work and has studied sociology, growth and development, mental health theory and practice, human behavior/social environment, psychology, research methods. Abbreviated L.C.S.W.
A: One hour for individual therapy, 90 minutes for couples and family therapy; 90 minutes for group therapy.
Q: How much does psychotherapy cost?
A: Individual Psychotherapy is $85.00 per hour; couples and family therapy is $125.00 per session; Major insurance companies will pay for a percentage of individual and couples/family therapy. Please check with your insurance company to see if you need prior authorization and/or will need to provide a co-pay amount. All co-payments are due at the beginning of each session.
A: It is not enough that one's psychological windows become open. Merely being open to experience doesn't mean you will benefit from it. Too much open too fast can leave a person feeling very vulnerable and frightened (or angry or agitated, or any of the myriad ways that people express their fear). This is a particular problem for people who have been closed off because of abuse or trauma. Such clients can be quite unable to tolerate the emotions that surround their issues. Too much exposure to issues can lead to 'flooding'.
The same patients frequently avoid bringing up painful subjects – a sort of defense mechanism. Good therapists can 'ride herd' by keeping a running note of the flow of topics their clients bring up, noting quick dodges and bends away from topics and avoidance of topics and pointing these dodges out to clients in a non-threatening way so as to keep them focused on that which they would avoid.
Therapists find themselves faced with the sensitive balancing act of needing to engage their clients in talking about their issues, but also needing to avoid letting that talk escalate into a situation that becomes overwhelming. Another way to say this is that it is necessary to regulate the degree to which people's windows are open at any given time if they are to tolerate and thus benefit from venting, recognition and learning opportunities.