it's normal to have questions
Frequently Awesome Questions
The idea of opening up about your deepest, darkest whatever can be realllly daunting.
However, when it comes to long-term, sustainable change, therapy has a pretty great track record. In part, because you no longer have to navigate the darkness alone.
Interdependency is part of wellness.
As humans, we have evolved to withstand life’s inherent traumas through interdependency. Not codependency –interdependency. We thrive, as humans, when we can rely on and support others. And we learn how to support ourselves and others through the kind of support we’ve received.
In an ideal world we would feel all our feelings and let those feelings guide us in a regulated and attuned manner. This is what healthy functioning looks like (despite cultural norms minimizing emotions).
However, we get stuck when we are left alone with unbearable emotions. This can lead to mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and the like. When left alone with unbearable emotions, we adapt in ways that may serve us in the moment, but may not be the best in the long run.
How therapy can help.
In therapy, we create a relationship (a unique one at that!) to help you bring those feelings up to be safely experienced and now responded to in the way(s) you needed before. With compassion, empathy, sincere belief, and support. This is how we release the past and free ourselves from having to “manage” all the freaking time.
And in this process, we also release your inner badass. That core part of you that is strong, fierce, knows what’s up and how to do life. That’s the key to sustainable change – the kind that persists long past the time you spend in therapy.
Excellent question!
As a psychotherapist, it is not within my professional scope to prescribe medication, however I can support you in a number of ways.
My role in this process of exploring medication would be to:
- Help you explore what makes you feel like you might need medication and help you rule out other contributing factors.
- Help you identify other modalities that could help reduce symptoms, like therapy.*
- Provide referrals to practitioners who can provide psychological assessments and medication or alternative therapies, if that is more your thing.
- Help you monitor your progress to more clearly assess if this medication/alternate therapy is helping you or not.
*There are more and more studies showing psychotherapy to be as, if not more, effective than medication in the short term. Additionally, there is support for psychotherapy’s effectiveness at preventing relapse well beyond time spent in therapy. Everyone is different and has different needs, so we are keen to help you explore all the options and make an informed choice for yourself.
What a big question!
In a logistical sense, we will meet weekly for 50 minutes per session. Depending on your clinical needs and goals, we may move to bi-weekly, monthly or as needed sessions. With starting therapy, it’s wise to account for meeting on a weekly basis until we collaboratively decide to taper down on the session frequency.
What will we talk about in therapy?
The initial phase of therapy is when we are likely to do some exploration of your history – your family of origin, relationships, career/school stuff, you name it. This may feel onerous to rehash, but it truly helps inform our work together. Later we will focus more in the here and now while weaving in a greater understanding of how your past influences the present.
Additionally, Rebel In Bloom is an attachment-oriented practice. Therapy work is intentionally facilitated through the relationship to help you create the change you are looking for in life. In real time, this will involve being real with you and also checking in about your experience of therapy in the moment. This orientation helps to make therapy an experience to promote long-term growth and healing.
Furthermore, you are the leader here. If you come in, first session, and have something big going on that you want to focus on – we can abso-fucking-lutely start there. There’s no rule that says we have to begin by talking about your past. I trust that we will get there eventually.
How structured is therapy?
At times we may incorporate somatic or creative approaches or homework in our process. There is no obligation to do any of it. Your voice on the matter is important to me and this is your space. We will work together to determine what’s most helpful to you (whether that’s more or less structure) and we will roll with that.
Oh, I wish I could say you’d be done after 3 months, but it’s not that simple. Everyone is different. And different life experiences will benefit from different amounts of time in therapy. There are too many variables that influence time in therapy to give a concrete answer to that question.
But here’s what I can tell you – I am committed to working myself out of a job with each and every client. I will be honest about what I notice and what I believe would be helpful. And, I make explicit use of our clinical chops to ensure that we are pacing therapy in a supportive manner.
What does that mean?
There are times in life when we have a lot to work on. Some challenges are more short term oriented and need immediate attention. Other challenges may need a longer term approach. Either way, we will work together to discern prioritization of goals.
You don’t have to change everything in your life right now – life’s a journey after all. And, taking breaks from therapy can be an important experience to have as well. Our goal is to partner with you and help you find a path that is realistic and empowering of your short and long-term goals.
Professional Fees: The standard fees for therapy sessions are as follows:
$190 per clinical hour (50 minutes) for individual therapy
$220 per clinical hour for couples therapy
$200 per hour, prorated, for any work on documentation completed outside of session
Fees are prorated at this rate for any additional time. Full payment is due at the time services are rendered.
Sliding Scale
In alignment with anti-oppression work, I am committed to working with clients across all socioeconomic backgrounds. I have a limited number of sliding scale spots offered and unfortunately, none are available at this time.
If you are in need of sliding scale psychotherapy, check out these low-cost mental health care resources in Austin.
Insurance
Rebel In Bloom is considered out-of-network for all insurance companies. If you would like to use your mental health benefits, I can provide a “Superbill” (a fancy receipt with the service delivered, your diagnosis, and my info) for you to request reimbursement from your insurance company, if you so choose.
It’s also important to consider a few things about using insurance. First, to request reimbursement from your insurance, your therapist would have to give you a diagnosis. This diagnosis will be read by all relevant parties within your insurance company and become part of the insurance company’s files. Given all of this, it’s advised to weigh if it would have any impact on you, personally or professionally. For a variety of reasons, it may be important to keep this information confidential. Check with your insurance company directly if you have questions about their confidentiality practices and to understand what coverage is available to you.
Once again, I seek to help you make an informed choice.
STANDARD NOTICE: “Right to Receive a Good Faith Estimate of Expected Charges” Under the No Surprises Act
You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical care will cost.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
- You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, prescription drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.
- Make sure your health care provider gives you a Good Faith Estimate in writing at least one business day before your medical service or item. You can also ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule an item or service.
- If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill.
- Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises or contact us.
In short, yes! There are many reasons why having video or phone sessions may be helpful. Like, living in a remote part of Texas, kids getting sick, or a pandemic.
Because of this video or phone sessions are offered as needed.
To make this work, there are a few considerations we would need to take into account. Do you have a confidential space you could have sessions in? What kind of technology can you access? Are we able to feel connected enough on the phone or through video? Additionally, I am only able to provide services to Texas residents per Texas law.
If you are looking for remote sessions, a.k.a. telemental health sessions, please let us know and we will talk through these considerations together.
