Frequently Asked Questions
Look here to get answers to your questions about counseling, coaching, mediation, and collaborative law.
General Questions
I specialize in ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Aspergers), anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder. I also complete evaluations for legal cases, and I am a facilitator in collaborative law cases.
If you need to reschedule or call, please do it no later than 24 hours before your appointment. If you cancel 24 hours or less before your appointment, you may be billed the whole session fee. You cannot make another appointment until this fee is paid. If you do not show up for an initial appointment, you will not be rescheduled.
Whenever you file a medical insurance claim, whether it is for counseling or a broken leg, that information goes into a national clearinghouse called the Medical Information Bureau (www.mib.com). The information MIB has in your file is used to deny you life insurance and disability insurance – and until the Affordable Care Act was passed, medical insurance. Because my role is to advocate for and serve my clients, I do not participate in insurance claim filing. If you do choose to file with your insurance company, I will give you a receipt. I do recommend you go to the MIB link and ask for a copy of your file – I did and found there was an error in it that would have affected the chances of me getting insurance. I wrote a letter to the editor, published in Smart Money magazine about this issue.
Counseling Questions
When you talk to a neutral person (one who doesn’t favor one side or another), it can help you make challenging life decisions. Counseling provides you a safe place to talk about your concerns. Other counseling techniques (like those used in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) may also help you make positive change in your life.
The following applies to the State of Florida. Your state may have different laws and rules. Counseling is confidential, EXCEPT (but not limited to) in the following cases:
- A child is being hurt or neglected;
- A person who is elderly is being hurt or neglected;
- A person that is disabled is being hurt or neglected;
- You are a danger to yourself or others;
- I receive a subpoena from a judge;
- When you allow me to via a signed release of information form – [download id=”12272″ template=”filename”]
I cannot guarantee counseling will make you feel better. It may help you, it may have no effect, and there is always a chance that you could feel worse (sometimes people can feel temporarily worse if they are working through a particularly difficult issue – counseling can be hard work). If a therapist guarantees they can help you feel better, do not go to that therapist.
The amount of sessions you need depends on the individual person. Sometimes people come to an initial session and need a referral; some people come once a week, then every other week, then once a month, then once every three months. We will talk together at your first appointment about the possibility of continuing sessions; we can also talk about whether another method of treatment or another specialist can be of more help to you. The bottom line is that we will work towards what is in your best interest.
Reimbursement differs by insurance company. When you call your insurance company, ask them how much they “reimburse for an out-of-network provider for CPT code 90791“. This is the code for the initial visit. Visits after that are CPT code 90837. It is recommended you get this information in writing from your insurance company.
Testing Questions
After testing is completed, I interpret your results and write up a report. I schedule a follow-up appointment with you to go over your results. This appointment is usually one week after your testing appointment.
Most insurance companies no longer cover testing. If you want to find out what your insurance may or may not reimburse, ask them how much they reimburse for “an out-of-network provider for CPT code 96101”. (A CPT code is a billing code that I give you on a receipt in case you want to file with your insurance.) Whatever the customer service representative tells you – get this information in writing, as insurance companies are not required to honor verbal statements.
Coaching Questions
In counseling, you are talking with the counselor about issues that cause you anxiety and/or depression, or how ADHD impacts your life – and that may include talking about things that have happened in the past. In coaching, you are getting help with being organized, setting a schedule, creating goals, and being more efficient and productive.
I do provide coaching online or by phone. You purchase a “block” of time, and that time is all yours.
At this point, no insurance company reimburses for coaching sessions.
Mediation Questions
The court wants you to be able to exercise self-determination as much as possible in your case. This means that you are in control of your choices and the outcomes of your case. Otherwise, the judge makes the decisions for you.
The results of mediation could be a partial agreement (the judge decides on items you didn’t resolve in mediation), a full agreement, or an “impasse” (you decide to take your case in front of a judge and the judge decides the outcome).
In some states, going to mediation is required before taking your case to court. However, participating in mediation is voluntary, and you can discontinue the process at any time. By discontinuing the process you agree to have a judge decide the outcome.
It is highly recommended that you retain an attorney before mediation. When you represent yourself, it is called pro se. While some mediators see pro se clients, I will only see parties who have legal representation. This is so you have someone advocating for you and looking out for your best interests, as mediators cannot give legal advice or “steer” you in any particular direction.