Considering Therapy? Here’s What You Can Expect
If you’re considering therapy but are unsure what to expect, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s talk about the process of starting therapy.
Day: August 9, 2022
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If you’re considering therapy but are unsure what to expect, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s talk about the process of starting therapy.
We are conveniently located in Monkey Junction at 4833 Carolina Beach Road, next to Earthbound Salon and across from Family Dollar.
Our office and parking lot are accessible. Unfortunately, our yoga studio is on the second floor, and the building does not have an elevator if this is needed.
You will receive an email with a link to all necessary intake paperwork in the client portal. This will need to be completed before your first appointment. This usually takes around 5-10 minutes to complete. Other than that, we will need a copy of your insurance card if we are filing it for you and a state-issued ID. The admin team will let you know if anything else is needed based on your situation (custody paperwork, POA, etc.)
We know that the first appointment can be a bit intimidating whether you are a newbie to therapy or a seasoned therapy-goer. The first appointment is a time for your therapist to get to know you a little and vice versa. One of our amazing team members actually wrote a blog post about this very thing since it is such a common question. You can access the post here: What You Can Expect
If we are filing insurance on your behalf, you will receive an email from two places: Headway and SimplePractice. These are the platforms that we use to deliver services, maintain records, and file insurance claims. SimplePractice is for scheduling, client files, and telehealth if this is being utilized. Headway is a third-party billing service that files insurance claims for us. If we are not filing insurance on your behalf, you will only receive an email from SimplePractice.
§ You will need to create a profile for both platforms and complete their registration process. We know it might seem like a lot upfront, but there is minimal paperwork (if any) after that. All of this is necessary to protect you, the client, and us, the provider.
We have therapists who work with children starting at 4 years old, and it only goes up from there! We don’t have a maximum age, as we are firm believers that therapy can be beneficial at ANY age.
Glad you asked! We have a wonderful blog post related to this topic, as it really is one of the main determinants of whether your experience in therapy will be a positive one. Read about it here: How to find a “good fit” therapist
We do not prescribe medications. However, we are happy to help you determine whether a conversation with a medical professional about medication is a good option for you. You certainly do not have to be on medication to address concerns that you have about your mental health. Like many other interventions, medication can be a helpful tool on your road to well-being. This is an individualized choice and depends greatly on circumstances and symptoms.
Our therapists will tailor their work with you to help you meet your goals. Therapists vary in their preferred approach but most often pull from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Horticultural Therapy, Art Therapy, Child Therapy, and many others.
While we completely understand wanting to feel comfortable with your therapist, it is against our ethics to work with clients that we know personally. We love boundaries around here, and that is one we stick to!
This is another boundary that we love to keep. An effective therapeutic relationship is one that stays neutral and feels very safe. In the spirit of this as a priority, we do not see clients that know each other outside of Evoke Mind + Body. We love referrals and will be happy to schedule you, your friend, or family member with one of our other amazing team members!
Sometimes we have to lock the door for safety reasons if everyone is in session with their clients and there is no one at the front desk. If the door is locked, you can just wait in your car, and your therapist will come out to get you at the time of your appointment.
We try our very best to be prompt and attentive, so if you leave a voicemail or send an email, you can expect return communication the same day if it is before 4:00 pm or the next business day if it is after 4:00 pm.
We sure do! We are happy to offer these options to clients.
This is a very easy and efficient way to get on the schedule! Just click here, go to “Request Appointment,” and follow the prompts.
Once you request an appointment, you will receive an email stating that your appointment is pending approval. The reason for this is to ensure that there are no other conflicts and that you get the time you want. The turnaround time on this is usually quite fast.
Of course! If you cannot get to the office for one reason or another, we can easily change your appointment to a virtual session. Just let one of our admin people know, and we will get it all set up.
Our therapists have schedules that fill up fairly quickly, so sometimes their online availability is limited. If you don’t see a time that works for you, we can add you to a therapist’s cancellation list, meaning that if a spot opens up, we will reach out and offer it to you. There are no hard feelings if you can’t take it; we simply offer it to someone else.
You and your therapist will have ongoing conversations about the cadence of your sessions. Often, we like to see clients close to weekly or biweekly to begin with and spread appointments out as you reach goals and it makes clinical sense to do so. Schedules vary from client to client, so just know that you and your therapist are in control of this (with a little input from the insurance companies).
There are a couple of nuances to this. If we are filing insurance on your behalf, the insurance companies have some rules around having more than one appointment in a given week, though there are circumstances where this is permitted. If you are a self-pay client, these restrictions are not a factor. If you are at a pace that is more spread out, we understand that things come up sometimes and the support of your therapist might be warranted sooner. If this happens, you are welcome to schedule an additional appointment or move your next appointment to be sooner. Our lovely admin team is always ready and willing to help in this regard.
We love to see our clients and understand that life happens sometimes. If you need to cancel an appointment, please do so more than 48 hours in advance. This ensures that we can offer that spot to someone who might be on a cancellation list or address other issues if needed. If you do not cancel within 48 hours’ notice, the late cancellation fee is $50…and trust us when we say that we really don’t like imposing this. You will receive reminders about any upcoming appointment, so respond quickly if you have a conflict. If you need to cancel a Monday appointment, you will need to cancel before close of business on Friday to avoid a late cancellation fee.
Like anyone else, your therapist may run a few minutes behind from time to time. If you are “in the room” and your therapist isn’t there yet, they should be on shortly. This rarely happens, but if you have been waiting for an extended period of time (15+ minutes past the scheduled start time), there may be a problem with the link or connection. Feel free to call the office and let them know that you have been waiting. They will work to remedy it immediately.
We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and Oxford. Be sure to check your therapist’s bio, as not all providers accept all insurance.
Let’s talk credentialing and enrollment. We will make every effort to pair you with a therapist that is able to bill your insurance. Providers are “enrolled” or “paneled” with insurance companies, which means that they have been vetted and approved by the insurance company to provide certain services. Each insurance company has their own set of requirements for this approval. If your therapist does not meet those requirements (this is often years in the field or something along those lines and does NOT mean that they are any less awesome), then they will not be able to be paneled with that insurance company. Currently, Blue Cross Blue Shield is the only private insurance company that credentials provisionally licensed providers. In that case, you can pay out of pocket for your sessions, consider another provider, and/or we can provide a superbill that you can file with your insurance company (in this case, we would not file insurance on your behalf and would not be able to advocate for reimbursement).
If something doesn’t look right to you, we will absolutely work to correct it. You can contact us by phone or email, and we will work with the insurance company and/or biller to verify benefits, challenge charges, etc.
If we are filing insurance on your behalf, we will verify benefits and discuss your copay/responsibility with you.
*Please note that couples counseling is not covered by insurance. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) through your employer may cover this cost, so check with your workplace to verify.
Our third-party biller requires that a credit card remain on file. If there is any concern about this, please discuss with one of our admin team to work towards a solution.
We do! We currently accept EAP benefits through Optum and Cigna, as well as MyGroup. If you have EAP benefits, you will need to contact the EAP first to get a referral and/or approval number. Then we will be happy to get you scheduled!
They absolutely can with your consent. Let us know if this is necessary, and we will get a Release of Information from you to stay HIPAA compliant.
You can simply provide your insurance information to us, and we will take it from there!
Children have big emotions in small bodies, so sometimes this comes out in their behaviors. We love when parents are eager and available to their child’s therapeutic process! Your child’s therapist will meet with you throughout the time that they are working with your child to relay any techniques or tips that might help your child express and understand their emotions better. Ongoing communication between parent and therapist is vital for a child’s success in therapy!
We get it: an hour of alone time to run to the grocery store or browse Walgreens seems like heaven when you are a busy parent. However, because of liability and safety, we ask that you stay in the building if you have a child under 16 years old in session. Your child’s therapist may want to bring you in to discuss ways to support your child and will need you to be pretty close by if they go looking for you. Our office is on a very busy, very fast road (not to mention a parking lot with lots of coming and going), and it only takes a moment for the front door to open. We always err on the side of caution when it comes to your child’s well-being, and we ask that you play a vital role in maintaining that.
If all paperwork is completed by a parent or guardian, your driving teenager may bring themselves to their session. You may be contacted by our office administrators or your child’s therapist to discuss various matters, so please just avail yourself to those instances if the need arises.
Couples counseling is very individualized since no two couples are alike. This is a decision that you and your therapist will discuss to determine the best approach. Sometimes your therapist might want to meet with one or both of you individually, but prioritizing sessions regardless of who attends is important to your overall success.
The therapist’s role is to support you and your partner in whatever decision you ultimately make about the fate of the relationship. We love when couples can work things out, but we also understand that not every relationship is meant to last and can help with that transition as well.
The short answer is yes logistically speaking, but the reality is that the other person in the relationship will need to engage in the process early on.
If you are having a mental health crisis and in an unsafe situation (i.e. you are having thoughts of harming yourself or someone else), these resources can help:
§ call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room
§ call 988, the national 24-hour suicide and crisis hotline
§ do not be alone…reach out to a safe support person
§ call the office to be scheduled as soon as possible. We are here to help!
While we offer a wide breadth of services and treat lots of different things, there are times when we need to enlist the support of another provider or specialist in addition to your therapy here. We will be happy to get you connected with the right people if we are not able to support you fully.
Act natural…don’t look them directly in the eye…they are more scared of you than you are of them. All joking aside, therapists are people outside of the office, and Wilmington is not a very big town. Your therapist will not approach you first so as to respect your privacy and confidentiality. However, you are welcome to say “Hi” if you wish and are comfortable with it.
We want your experience to be a great one, but sometimes things happen that make it a little less than great. You can email info@evokemindandbody.com, and we will get back to you as soon as possible. You can also speak to one of our admin team members to address any concerns you have.
Your therapist and the admin team have access to your records in ordinary circumstances. You can give us written permission to allow certain designated people to have access (and can revoke this at any time). The other times that confidentiality can be broken is in the event that you are experiencing suicidal or homicidal ideations, there is reason to suspect abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person, the records are subpoenaed by legal action, or information is requested by the insurance company to verify medical necessity for the services you are receiving. More information can be found in the Notice of Privacy Practices form.
We can’t know what it is like to be a client at Evoke Mind and Body, though we try to consider everything from a client-centered perspective. We love it when our clients give us kind and constructive feedback about ways that we can improve your experience. Feel free to email info@evokemindandbody.com or speak to one of our admin team members.
We are here to help answer any questions you have! You can contact us by phone at (910) 833-7122 or by email at info@evokemindandbody.com.
No way! The more, the merrier, so grab your mat and let’s go!
Not even a little bit. Our instructors are exceptional and will make everyone from the newest newbie to the seasoned yogi feel comfortable and welcome.
If you have a mat, then bring it along. If you don’t, we have plenty to share. We also have blocks, blankets, and straps if those are helpful during a class. Otherwise, just comfortable clothing that you can move easily in and an open mind is all it takes to do yoga.
We love that you asked! Simply click here for more information and to book a class
Mindy is currently taking new supervisees for LCSW-A clinical practice. Click here to contact her and to schedule a meet and greet!