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Psychotherapy Frequently Asked Questions
Therapy is an opportunity to build a connection with a trained mental health professional (therapist) who will provide you with active listening, accurate empathy, and genuineness. In this connection, hopefully you will be able to connect more to your unconscious and find ways to open the gates to a more authentic life. I like to emphasize that therapists are not there to “fix” you or your problems. Therapy is there to help you gain insight, connect to your intuition, and give you the confidence to help yourself through connecting to your own inner resources that already exist.
Of course! You will come into therapy either via telehealth or in-person and sit together with your therapist. In your first session, your therapist will gather information about why you are coming into therapy and about your history. Then, together you will come up with a treatment plan to work towards your goals. From there, you will come in as often as you see fit (weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc.) and work in collaboration with your therapist towards your goals.
The only way to know if we are a good fit together is to either do a phone consult or come in for a visit. I find that my clients are all very intuitive and know pretty quickly if I am a good therapeutic fit for them. If you have any questions about me that you would like to know before coming in, please feel free to inquire via email and I am happy to answer any questions you may have. If you find that I am not the right fit for you, I am more than happy to provide you with referrals for other therapists.
When looking for a therapist, the letters behind their name can describe their training. Some examples:
Education Level: MA (Master in Arts), MS (Master in Science), MSW (Masters in Social Work), Masters Degree, PsyD (Doctor of Psychology)
License: LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), APSW (Advanced Practice Social Worker), LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), LPC-IT (Licensed professional counselor in training), SAC (Substance Abuse Counselor), SAC-IT (Substance abuse counselor in training).
No, I am not a psychiatrist or medical provider. Many people do find that medication can be helpful for their mental health along with therapy. If you are interested in medications I recommend you call the number on the back of your insurance card to find a psychiatrist in your network.
Appointments are 50 minutes long, the standard length of a therapy session. In regards to how often we meet, that will be up to you to decide. I typically recommend starting by meeting once a week so that we can build rapport and build momentum towards your goals.
Please reach out via phone or email as listed above and your initial appointment with be scheduled. From there, you will schedule out with your therapist at every session.
Absolutely! We will go over your HIPAA rights in your intake paperwork but put simply- everything said in therapy stays in therapy with some rare exceptions. These exceptions only occur if the therapist has valid reasons to believe the client is a risk of harming themselves or someone else or if a therapist is subpoenaed by a court (which can also be argued at times). If any of these kinds of disclosures need to be made this will be something that the client will be aware of prior to it happening and no disclosure will occur with client’s knowledge. Whitestar Wellness S.C. also ensure that your records are kept safely and securely and our telehealth platform is HIPAA compliant.
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, we do not take insurance for equine therapy sessions at this time. Equine therapy is a pay out of pocket service.
We charge a fee of $120 per hour long session. You will be asked to pay prior to your appointment. We take most major credit cards or personal checks.
We do! Please inquire to learn more about our sliding scale fee.
We respectfully ask that you give a notice of at least 24 hours before a cancellation of any appointment. If cancellation is not made within 24 hours, the client may be billed $50 for the session. If the client misses three or more sessions without proper notification, services may be terminated.
Short answer: no. Equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP) will be conducted all as ground work. This means that you will interact with the horse while on the ground. You will get the opportunity to groom, walk, and connect with the horses without riding them.
At this time we are only providing EAP to people age 18 and older. This may change in the future.
Absolutely! We will let you guide the way in regards to your comfort level as we move forward. We will work with your fear together and use it to provide insight into your therapy goals.
We recommend that you wear something that feels comfortable to you and dress to fit the weather. Layers, hats and gloves are strongly recommended in the winter months; sunscreen and bug spray might help keep you comfortable in the summer months. As you are outside or in the barn working with horses you can expect your clothes to get a little dirty. Close toed shoes with a strong sole and boots are encouraged, please avoid wearing sandals or any kind of open toed shoe.
- Horse are very perceptive. They provide non-judgmental, true feedback in real time.
- Horses are known to mirror our emotions or fears. As we are able to recognize or identifying what emotions a horse may be exhibiting, we may be able to better connect with our own emotions.
- Horses are excellent communicators if you learn to read their language. Learning how to read a horses communication style can also help you to better create healthy relationships with others and better understand boundaries. They can also help you learn more about trust.
We try to avoid cancelling sessions due to inclement weather unless it is absolutely necessary. If it is raining or cold we will try to use the session and stay in the indoor arena or barn area. In case of dangerous weather conditions, we will contact you on the morning of your appointment to cancel.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
For psychotherapy, We take most major insurance companies. Once you call in for your intake session please have your insurance card present so that we can confirm that we do take your insurance. We also suggest that you contact the number on the back of your insurance card prior to calling to see if we are in your network. While we will bill your insurance and obtain authorization for treatment, it is always the client’s responsibility to know the limitations of his/her insurance and to know what services have been authorized. Please notify us promptly of changes to your insurance. If you have a copayment via your insurance, we will be sure we have that information and will ask you to pay your copayment prior to each session.
If you are choosing to pay out of pocket, our fees for Masters level therapists are as follows: Initial Evaluation--$225 / 1 hour session--$160 / 45 min Session-- $140 / 30 Min Session--$100.
We do! Please reach out and we will happily send you our sliding scale fee information and application.
We respectfully ask that you give a notice of at least 24 hours before a cancellation of any appointment. If cancellation is not made within 24 hours, the client may be billed $75 for the session. If the client misses three or more sessions without proper notification, services may be terminated.
- Our psychotherapy office is located at 15285 Watertown Plank Rd, Suite #102
Elm Grove, WI 53122
- Our Equine therapy is performed at Green Ridge Stables, located at 26098
Lindsay Rd, Pewaukee, WI 53072
Please do! Our number is 414-552-8242. Please note, that we are often in sessions when you may be calling and we ask that you please leave a detailed voicemail with your name and contact information so that we can call you back. We will call you back within 24 hours, guaranteed!
Absolutely! Email can be even easier in terms of scheduling. Please reach out to info@whitestar-wellness.com with any question or a desire to schedule and your email will be responded to within 24 hours, guaranteed!
- Unfortunately, we do not. We operate as a clinic Monday-Friday from 9am-
5pm.
- Equine therapy sessions are only available right now on Thursdays and
Fridays from 11am-4pm.
Please reach out via phone or email as listed above and your initial appointment with be scheduled. From there, you will schedule out with your therapist at every session.
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