Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs About Counseling in Tempe, AZ

Who knew when you started Googling “find a therapist near me” that you would’ve found so many options and be left with SO many questions? I am here to help!

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TALKING TO YOU AND TALKING TO MY FRIENDS OR FAMILY?

Talking with an objective third party as opposed to family or friends has some distinct advantages.  When processing with people who we are intimately involved with, we tend to censor or manage our thoughts and emotions in an effort to minimize disruption to the relationship.  In counseling, you can speak freely without hesitation or concern for the backlash from unfiltered honesty. Counselors listen without judgment and ask questions that help clients sort through the raw material they excavate in counseling. While friends and family often focused on helping you find a quick solution or explanation, a good counselor will take the time to help you identify probable causes, implement effective coping skills and inspire new perspectives and possibilities.

WHO DO YOU WORK WITH? 

We offer individual and couples counseling in Tempe, Arizona and specialize in working with Anxiety, Grief + Loss, Heartbreak (post break up) and helping Couples heal and restore their precious relationships.

HOW LONG DO COUNSELING SESSIONS TYPICALLY LAST? 

We offer 50-minute sessions as well as intensive 90-minute session, as needed. Your unique factors and commitment to the process will influence the length of your treatment.

Ok, that’s great, but actually I think I might need more of your time?

A great option is to tack on some additional time so that we can actually meet for 90 minutes! At times, and especially during the beginning of counseling, clients report benefitting from longer sessions. In addition, some people do really well meeting twice a week. If you feel there’s more going on than we can comfortably cover during a 50-minute session, or your session feels too rushed, we might benefit from doing an intensive session every now and then.

HOW DOES INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING WORK? WHAT HAPPENS DURING A COUNSELING SESSION?

Counseling helps you understand how your experiences in life have led you to where you are now. You’ll learn to hone in on the patterns that have developed in your thinking and nervous system to better understand yourself and your current needs. Counseling allows you to not only focus on what’s wrong, but also focus on your strengths and the best ways to practically apply what you’re learning in your day to day life. Our goal as therapists is to “work ourselves out of a job.” Our hope is that you leave therapy with a renewed self-trust and confidence in your ability to navigate the ups & downs of life according to your personal values.

When you schedule your first appointment, you will sign into a secure online client portal and fill out and sign all the forms necessary to begin counseling. We ask that these forms are filled out 24 hours before your first appointment. These forms will provide me with some initial information about you and give you some additional information about the counseling process.

In our first sessions, we will gather your history, explore the struggles that brought you into Wild Willow Counseling, and establish your treatment goals. Your therapist will meet you wherever you are on your journey (novice or expert), and will respect your level of comfort in sharing personal issues right off the bat. The work done in later sessions will greatly depend on your goals and participation. When we work together to establish treatment goals, your therapist will discuss with you what the nature of your work and sessions may look like. While we value having a plan or roadmap to your goals, we are also always prepared to meet you wherever you show up and tend to your therapeutic needs along the journey. Typically, at the conclusion of each session, we will review our progress and agree on appropriate action steps.

HOW DOES COUPLE COUNSELING WORK? WHAT HAPPENS DURING A COUNSELING SESSION?

When you schedule your first appointment, you will sign into a secure online client portal and fill out and sign all the forms necessary to begin counseling. We ask that these forms are filled out 24 hours before your first appointment. These forms will provide me with some initial information about you and give you some additional information about the counseling process.

In our first sessions, we will gather your relationship and personal history, explore the struggles that brought you into Wild Willow Counseling, and establish your treatment goals. Your therapist will meet you wherever you are on your journey (novice or expert), and will respect your level of comfort in sharing personal issues right off the bat. To read more about the couples therapy process, click here.

DO YOU GIVE HOMEWORK?

Yes. At times when we believe it will be to the benefit of your goals, we will suggest things for you to do at home in between sessions that will support the work we do in our therapy sessions. We have found that clients make significantly faster progress when they do the homework. Much of the homework is to support the integration of the deep work we do in session.

WHAT IF COUNSELING ISN’T WORKING? 

At Wild Willow Counseling, we are committed to your progress and growth. We are consistently monitoring progress and will set specific measurable goals and discuss how we monitor progress together. If, at any time during your treatment, you feel that you are not benefiting from therapy, we invite you to start a conversation with your therapist about that. Those thoughts and feelings are important, and could be helpful in finding a new direction for your therapy.

HOW OFTEN WILL I NEED TO COME TO COUNSELING? 

Through research and tracking client outcomes, we have found that meeting weekly improves clients’ progress toward their goals. For that reason, we meet with clients weekly. We will establish a set time to meet each week and that will be our recurring weekly appointment. As appropriate to your situation and progress, will adjust session frequency over time (meeting every other week, once a month or as needed) until we decide at that point that you’re ready to “graduate” from therapy.

HOW MUCH DO SESSIONS COST? 

Weekly sessions range from 50-90 minutes given the specific treatment services and treatment goals.

The cost for a standard session is $150 per 50-minute session.

The cost for an intensive session is $270 per 90-minute session.

DO YOU OFFER A SLIDING SCALE?

In an effort to provide counseling to more individuals of all economic means, Wild Willow Counseling offers a limited number of sliding scale options for individuals and couples in need.

*At this time, all sliding scale options are full. To be placed on a waiting list, please contact us.

COVERED BY MY INSURANCE?

It depends.

If you have an HMO insurance plan, your insurance will only pay for you to see someone “in-network.” We are not in-network with any insurance company, but if you want to use your HMO insurance for therapy, you can contact your insurance company (or check their website) for a list of the in-network providers (therapists) they contract with directly.

If you would like to pay out of pocket for therapy and not use insurance at all, that is certainly an option. Or, you can pay for therapy with funds from an employer-provided health savings account (HSA), medical savings account (MSA), or flexible spending account (FSA). Check with your employer for details on what is available to you through your health benefits.

If you have PPO insurance and are hoping to have some of your therapy cost reimbursed by insurance, we are currently working to partner with an incredible service called Reimbursify (information to come soon), which allows clients to easily submit claims for out-of-network health insurance reimbursement, using a sleek, user-friendly app that helps get your claims processed quickly and accurately. This service is provided as a courtesy at no cost to you. You can download the Reimbursify app and get started today.

If you would like to check to see if your insurance company will cover the cost, or some of the cost of therapy, with an out-of-network provider, call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask the following questions:

• Am I covered for psychotherapy with an out-of-network provider? (The code for billing is 90834 for a 45-minute individual therapy session, 90837 for an intake session and 90847 for a couple session).

• Do I need prior authorization?

• Do I have a deductible?

• How many sessions will you cover per year?

• How much will I be reimbursed for?

• How do I submit the bill for reimbursement? Where do I send the suberbill to?

We can also provide you with a monthly statement (known as a superbill), which you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement.

HOW DO I PAY FOR THERAPY?

When you schedule your first appointment, you will receive a set of new client forms to fill out electronically before our first meeting. This will include a credit/debit card form you can fill out with the card you’d like safely kept on file. Sessions are paid for in full on the day of session.

DO YOU OFFER TELETHERAPY, VIDEO THERAPY OR ONLINE THERAPY”?

Yes, we use a secure HIPAA compliant platform to offer video counseling. If you have any questions regarding this process, please reach out to us at the bottom of this page or click here to read more.

WHAT IS YOUR CANCELLATION POLICY?

We require 48 hours notice for cancellation, even if you are home sick. If you’re unable to come into the office, we can offer a video session or reschedule to another time later in the week, if possible.

If you start to feel sick more than 48 hours before our appointment, let us know, and we’re happy to take you off the schedule! It’s a lot easier for us to fit in another client who needs to meet when you give us enough advanced notice. That said, please know that we will do our best to be flexible with you in an emergency.

If your therapist is sick or cancels, you won’t be expected to pay for that missed session.

WHAT IS A “GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE”?

Under the law, health care providers need to give clients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected charges for medical services, including psychotherapy services.

Click this link (LINK TO COME) to read our Good Faith Estimate Notice.

IF I COMMIT TO THERAPY, WHAT CAN I EXPECT? HOW CAN I GET THE MOST OUT OF COUNSELING?

The ultimate goal of counseling is to apply what you learn in sessions to your life.  If you commit to honest reflection and resolve to change what you can, you will quickly see a difference in your internal reality and eventually in your experience of the external world. Your progress will depend greatly on your personal investment in the process.  The more attention you give to your personal growth and healing, the better you will become.  At times you may be encouraged to journal your thoughts and feelings, listen to a podcast, read a book or engage in self-care activities to promote progress, but the decision to participate will always be yours to make.

I AM READY TO START COUNSELING AT WILD WILLOW COUNSELING. WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

Contact me here to schedule your free 15-minute phone consultation for counseling in Tempe.

I know it can feel like a big step to call a counselor, but I’ll make it easy. We’ll spend 15-minutes on the phone and I’ll let you know how or if I can help. If I am not the right person, I’ll do my best to get you to the right person.