Jeff Fine-Thomas : Starting Therapy

making an appointment | confidentiality | fees

Before a client calls to make an appointment with a therapist, the client often wants to know whether the therapist has experience or expertise dealing with a particular age group, a particular problem, or if the therapist sees individuals, couples, families, or groups. My practice includes work with individuals (adolescents 16 and older and adults), couples, and families. I have special interests in helping people who suffer from anxiety, trauma, depression, pregnancy-related problems such as postpartum depression, and marital problems.

Many people feel reluctant to start psychotherapy because they don’t know what to expect. When a client calls my office to set up an initial consultation, we spend a few minutes talking about the client’s life circumstance so that we can determine whether my expertise will be a good fit for the client. If we agree together that an initial consultation would be helpful we will schedule an appointment.

The initial consultation is fifty minutes long. During that time the client will receive forms that explain my policies on confidentiality, fees, and other aspects of my practice. Confidentiality is a pillar of building trust with a client. Thus, I hold my conversations with clients in the strictest confidence. The exceptions to the rule of confidentiality are dictated by law. During the initial consultation we discuss any questions the client might have about my policies and the law.

After discussing my policies, I often explain that the initial consultation is a time for us to get to know each other so that we can determine whether the services I provide are a good fit for the client. It is also very important to determine whether the client feels comfortable talking with me. To that end, I ask the client to keep track of the client’s comfort level as the consultation proceeds so that we can discuss it at the end of the consultation.

Then, I often ask the client to tell me more about the client’s circumstances so that I can begin to understand the nature of the dilemma. I may ask questions to learn more about the dilemma and to gain some history. I might also ask questions to help clarify a situation so that I can better understand it. Toward the end of the consultation, I summarize what was discussed to make sure I understood as fully as possible the nature of the client’s dilemma.

At this point, I ask whether the client has felt comfortable talking with me. If we agree that the client’s dilemma is an area in which I have expertise and the client feels comfortable talking with me, then we schedule a second appointment and start with the tasks of psychotherapy mentioned in the Therapeutic Approach section.

I have created a practice that is confidential and discrete in order to meet the special privacy needs of my clients. My communications with my clients are held in the strictest of confidence. I adhere to, and to the extent possible, exceed the mandates of state and federal law as well as professional ethics regulations regarding confidentiality. These laws and regulations are designed to create a safe environment for clients to openly discuss sensitive issues. During the initial consultation, the client receives forms describing the rules of confidentiality. At that time we discuss any questions or concerns the client might have about confidentiality.

Therapy frequently requires an investment in time, emotional and intellectual energy, and finances, just as other investments such as a college education might require. The initial consultation is offered at no charge to the client so that we can determine together whether the services I provide are a good fit. After the initial consultation, the fee for my services is $110 per fifty-minute session, to be paid at the time of the session. In addition to cash and check, I also accept Visa and Mastercard.

Many people are concerned about the cost of therapy and would like to use health insurance to pay for therapy. Although I do not accept insurance reimbursement directly, I can assist clients who would like to submit appropriate forms to insurance on their own. If a client would like to submit forms for reimbursement to their insurance, we can discuss their benefits and the insurance process during the initial consultation.