Q: How Do I Schedule an Appointment?
A: Appointments are scheduled by contacting our center directly, either by phone or by email. You also have the option of scheduling an appointment through our online booking services through this website.
Q: What payment methods do you accept?
A: FMCC currently accepts cash, BenefitPay, and most major credit and debit cards. Payments can be made in person once you come in for your session, or you can pay through an e-payment (upon request, we will send you the link). All payments are due before or at the time of service.
Q: How much do you charge?
A: FMCC operates a strictly fee-for-service practice. Please visit our “Booking” page for our various service fee categories and breakdowns.
Q: What is your cancellation policy?
A: When you schedule an appointment with a Service Provider or MHP, Family Matters Counseling Center reserves that time just for you. That is why we require 24-hour advance notice for cancellation or rescheduling. Should you fail to show up for your scheduled appointment or need to adjust your appointment after the 24-hour deadline, you will be charged the full cost of that session. These charges will either be added to fees generated with your next appointment, or you will receive an e-payment link to settle the payment. Occasional exceptions may be made in case of an emergency or unavoidable circumstances. Please note that we cannot include missed sessions when helping you fill out forms to claim with your insurance company.
Q: Do you accept insurance?
A: FMCC does not directly deal with any health insurance plan. We will collect payment from you at the time of service. We do, however, fill out your claim forms to help facilitate any reimbursement you may be entitled to. You can submit this form directly to your insurance provider. PLEASE NOTE: submitting a claim form means that insurance companies require us to make a mental health diagnosis for reimbursement consideration purposes. This may lead to unnecessary labeling, which then becomes part of your insurance record. Paying for therapy yourself allows you to maintain higher level of confidentiality.
Infrequent Billable Scenarios
Off-site FMCC services are charged per hour, this includes travel time from the center to your location and back. Partial hour charges are prorated accordingly. These services include, but are not limited to, therapy sessions, teacher/school meetings, collaborations, and/or IEP coordination.
FMCC’S INDIVIDUAL/ COUPLES/ & FAMILY THERAPY SERVICES:
FAQ's FOR LAMAR
Q: How will I know if you are the right therapist for me?
A: The only way to know for sure is to come in for a session. Most people have a good sense of whether I am the right professional to help them within the first one or two sessions.
Q: Who do you work with?
A: I provide individual therapy for adults and teenagers, as well as couples therapy for the married or unmarried alike. I also provide family therapy sessions with Family of Origin members, with or without extended family member involvement when necessary. I work with parents to help them deal with any behavioral or emotional issues their children are experiencing, or they as parents are experiencing themselves. I do not provide psychotherapy for children.
Parenting workshops and courses, as well as adult and teen support groups are run at the center, or at other locations when needed.
Q: What can I expect from therapy?
A: Once you have made a decision to come in for a session, you still might be apprehensive about the process, especially before the first appointment. Therapy is a collaborative journey; a shared process, but it is still ultimately your journey and you will make your own decisions. I do not have answers for all your concerns, but I do have the ability to listen carefully and help you gain a better understanding of them. Our dialogues will help shape the direction of our work. You can expect that I will offer opinions and suggestions from time to time but I will not tell you what to do.
You can also expect strict confidentiality ethics at FMCC. Please see our Confidentiality Policy page.
Q: What happens during the first session?
A: The initial session is the time for you to start to share your story, to talk about your goals and what you would like to change. Another important aspect of the first session is deciding if we are a good fit. Do I seem like someone you can trust? We are establishing a relationship that will become the foundation for working together. You will begin to gain insight and figure out some goals; I will begin to figure out how to help you get there.
Q: How long do appointments last?
A: Appointments are 50 minutes. This is the standard length of a counseling session. I do offer 80 minute couple or family sessions. A longer session can be useful when dealing with the complexities of couples and families.
Q: How often will we meet?
A: To begin, you will come in once a week. We find it’s important to gain some momentum in the beginning by meeting weekly or progress can stall out. Once some or all of your goals are met, meeting less often will make sense.
Q: How Long Do I Need to go to Therapy?
A: Many people also wonder about how long therapy lasts. There is no one correct answer to this question. The duration of therapy depends on the needs of the individual. In my practice, therapy is a tool, not a lifestyle. I believe that effective therapy can be a valuable tool to improving your life and reaching your goals, but the overall goal is to get you to a point where you no longer need my services.
Q: Can we meet virtually? Do you provide online counseling?
A: I find that the best therapy happens with face-to-face sessions. Established clients, who usually meet with me in the office, can conduct sessions by secure video platform to help meet your needs when traveling out of town, home with a sick child, unable to leave work, etc.
Q: What theoretical approach do you use?
A: I pull from a variety of theories and techniques. I find an eclectic approach allows me to utilize various diagnostic methods and apply a wider range of treatment modalities that will cater uniquely to each of my clients. Solution Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Strategic Therapy, Walk-and Talk Therapy, and Mindfulness techniques are often helpful for my clients.
Q: Do you prescribe medication?
A: No, I am not a medical doctor. Although I personally prefer medication to be a last-resort complement to a client’s therapy, some patients find medication helpful. However, many of them also progress well in therapy without them. If you want to be evaluated for psychiatric medication, either contact your primary care physician or a psychiatrist. If you are already taking medication, I can coordinate care with your doctor.
Q: Are there any issues or types of client that you DON’T work with?
A: I personally prefer not to conduct therapy sessions solely with children below the age of 11, unless at least one of the parents is part of the therapy process. For the younger age groups, I prefer not to include the child in the therapy sessions (pathologizing children unnecessarily can have adverse effects), and I usually address children’s behavioral and emotional issues with the parents. After all, parents are the most influential model figures in the eyes of their children.
For child-focused therapies, FMCC is working on developing a team of qualified mental health professionals who perform diagnostics and deliver treatment therapies for children with various delays, disabilities, and/or disorders. Please see our “Children Services” page for more information.
FAQ’S ABOUT OUR CHILDREN’S SERVICES
Q: How does counseling and psychotherapy work?
A: Parents are the most important people in a child’s life. Therapy focuses on relationships and on understanding and improving your child’s relationship with you, with siblings, extended family and in the school setting. Practical advice and support are always offered to parents. However, this takes place in relation to understanding the context of family and relationship issues so that the advice can be most effective.
Aims of therapy
All behavior – both good and bad – has meaning. We can better manage children’s difficult behavior if we know more about why they behave the way they do. Diagnostic Assessments, followed by therapy and counseling, are concerned with understanding the presenting concerns and opening up communication to talk about the reasons for children’s difficult or challenging behavior. These reasons may be connected with what is happening at home, with divorce or separation, loss, bereavement, school and learning difficulties, or social and emotional stress. For these reasons, all assessments and therapies take into account your child’s age and what impact their development and environment have on their behavior.
Q: What happens at the initial assessment with parents only?
A: An initial assessment is always conducted first with you the parent or parents, without your child being present. The reason for this is that our center has a policy of involving and working closely with parents as much as working with children. It is essential for both parents to be part of this process from the beginning, as both parents play an equally important role in their children’s lives. The initial assessment is also an opportunity to understand how you view your child’s problem and the ways in which you have tried to deal with it.
We will talk about your child’s history from the pregnancy and birth as well as their experience of child care, kinder and transition to school, as these early experiences may have an impact on your child’s behavior. As part of the assessment it will also be helpful to hear about your own experiences of growing up in your family of origin, as how we were parented often influences the way we parent our own children. The aim of the assessment is not to identify one reason for the difficulties you and your child may be experiencing or to place blame on anybody, but rather to get as broad a picture as possible of the context of the problem.
In the course of this initial meeting we will also discuss how to prepare your child for the next part of the assessment which they will attend. It is important for both parents to participate in the initial meeting with their child.
At FMCC, our team of mental health professionals collaborate closely together to make sure that every family that walks into our center gets the best holistic care possible with our available services.
Q: How do I talk about counseling and therapy with my child?
A: It is important at all times to be open and honest with your child about why you are seeking help and why you are bringing them to the center. They will be aware of the problem and may themselves be asking for help, or they may be well aware of how concerned you are about them. This first appointment and the reasons for attending need to be discussed with your child (including very young children) well before the date.
Children do better in new situations when they are well prepared. Children need to know that in the course of this first session some problems with their behavior will be discussed without this meaning that they are in trouble or will be blamed. In the vast majority of cases, after some initial anxiety, most children are relieved to talk about what is troubling them and why they may be behaving the way they do. Therapy sessions can be a positive experience, and most children are also very pleased to have both parents present.
Ongoing therapy and counseling
Decisions regarding ongoing therapy and counseling will arise from the assessment and are made in consultation with parents.
Some of the outcomes of assessment may be the following:
Ending therapy
The ending of therapy is best undertaken through the mutual agreement of parents and the therapist in which we jointly focus on what has been achieved and what is in the best interests of your child for the future.
We ask that you do not make a decision to end the therapy for your child without giving them, and us, reasonable notice. It is important to take the opportunity to discuss why you have come to this decision so that the reasons for ending treatment can be more fully explored.
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