How Do I know if I need Therapy? Therapy FAQ

CRIWB and its clinicians are not in-network providers for any insurance panels. Insurance companies have asked for complete records to be sent to them and multiple calls to verify the necessity of visits.  Insurance companies also attempt to dictate the treatment plan and how it needs to be delivered.

If you are planning to use your health insurance, you must call your insurance company to ask if and what is your out-of-network provider benefits.
Here are some questions to ask your insurance company:

• Does my policy cover out-of-network providers?
• What is the out-of-network rate?
• How much does my coverage pay per visit?
• Do I have a maximum number of visits or maximum dollar amount per calendar year?
• How much is my deductible?
• What is the reimbursement policy?
• Does my policy have a requirement regarding licensure and degree (i.e. MD, Psy.D., M.S.W, M.A.)?

If you chose to use your insurance benefits, a therapist is required to have a diagnosis because insurance companies will not pay for your benefits without one.  It is important that you are aware that any diagnosis used also becomes part of your medical health record.

In our experience, even people who have good social support, strong coping skills, and have handled other issues well, can be overwhelmed when life suddenly shifts.

New stresses or new challenges, even those considered positive ones, new job, new home, baby, or a series of difficult changes, such as illness for yourself or a loved one can cause a shift.

Therapy may add an invaluable layer of support so that you can re-assess, strengthen, or learn new coping skills. Therapy can also provide a supportive, caring, outside perspective.

At CRIWB, fully believe that when someone begins to contemplate and seek support, it is an indicator that an inner knowing is at play. Seeking therapy does not mean there is something wrong with you. Sometimes it means that you are ready to seek something new. 

Fighting may increase for a number of reasons. The fact is an average couple might be unhappy for six years before seeking counseling.

At that point, it can feel pretty tough to narrow down and fix any problem and the emotionality surrounding the issues is often quite high and may even feel volatile.

Couples many times choose not to talk about what is upsetting them for a long time because they don’t want to rock the boat or add more discord to their relationship.

Partners begin to withdraw and ignore what is happening, in the relationship and with themselves, in an effort to experience less pain.

Because counseling is a safe place, many times partners decide to go for it and share grievances and what is shared can be difficult to hear or even taken personally.

Fighting is not a sign of counseling not working rather it is a sign that what needs to be cleaned up and healed is coming to surface.

A well-trained couples’ therapist will contain the arguing and assist the couple in creating and holding space for one another so that the ‘fighting’ becomes productive and eventually healing.

A number of benefits are available from participating in psychotherapy. Therapists can provide support, problem-solving skills, and enhanced coping strategies for issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship discord, unresolved childhood issues, grief, stress management, body image issues and sexual functioning and expression.

Therapists can provide a fresh perspective on a difficult problem or point you in the direction of a solution. The benefits you obtain from therapy depend on how well you use the process and put into practice what you learn. Some of the benefits available from therapy include:

• Attaining a better understanding of yourself—including your wants, needs and deal breakers in your relationship with others.
• Developing skills for improving your relationships
• Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy
• Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
• Managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures
• Improving communications and listening skills
• Improving boundaries with others
• Connecting more effectively with Self-care and self-compassion
• Changing old behavior patterns and developing new ones
• Discovering new ways to solve problems in your family or marriage
• Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence
• Learning more effective ways to ask for what you want
• Letting go of no longer serves you

We don’t believe in rehashing everything that has ever happened to you. When appropriate, the past helps us understand how we got to where we are now.

When explore our clients’ past, including childhood, it is to gain a better understanding of a pattern or belief that may be causing a problem in the present.

How does a childhood issue continue to show up in relationships today? Are there judgments created in the past that get in the way of your full potential? Forgiving these past judgments of self and others can be very crucial.

For some, a combination of medication and therapy is the right and effective course of action.  What is well established is that long-term solutions to mental and emotional problems cannot be solved solely by medication.

Therapy addresses the root of our distress and the behavior patterns instead of just treating the symptom as most medication does.  An integrative approach to your wellbeing is our goal at CRIW.

There are specific laws that protect the confidentiality of all communications between a client and therapist. No information is disclosed without prior explicit written permission from the client.

However, there are some exceptions required by law to this rule. Exceptions include:

• Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse. The therapist is required to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately.
• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person. The therapist is required to notify the police.

If a client intends to harm himself or herself. The therapist will make every effort to work with the individual to ensure their safety. However, if an individual does not cooperate, additional measures may need to be taken.

Most people seek therapy, either individually or as part of a partnership, because they want to change a pattern, want to clear resentments and anger, are tired of being unfulfilled or are at a transition in their lives that may lead to the end of the relationship.

We cannot guarantee if your relationship will be saved or what will happen.

What we can say is that we will hold a sacred space where you (and your partner) can give voice to what is causing upsets, exploring what you want to change and have different, and most importantly how you can be different with yourself and your loved one.

Whether a couple decides to remain together or separate is part of the process, and both can be done from a place of kindness and love and not anger or fear.

For therapy to be most effective you must be an active participant—both during and between the sessions. People seeking therapy and sex therapy need to be willing to take responsibility for their actions, work towards change and create greater awareness in their lives.

Yes, we treat depression and anxiety among other personal and psychological issues. 

All clinicians at CRIWB are trained psychotherapists who are well versed in many areas of mental health who believe that your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship of all.

At CRIWB, we pride ourselves on being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious practice.  We are sensitive and experienced in helping clients from varying backgrounds in creating richer love and intimacy that honors their culture and religion.