Can individual therapy help me?

Oftentimes people can manage life changes, stressors and/or mental health issues if they have a strong support group in their family, friends, or co-workers. When it feels as though the problems are overwhelming, getting in the way of your everyday life, or that you are suffering more than is comfortable for longer than you’d like; your informal support may not be enough. Or, it may be that you’d like to talk with someone who isn’t involved directly in your situation and who won’t take sides. Talk therapy can provide you with a nonjudgmental perspective as well as new strategies to help you manage your issues more effectively.

If you live in Kansas, I am currently accepting new clients. I have a wait-list for clients in New Mexico; I hope to complete the licensure process by late summer/fall of 2023.

Call or text me to set up a free 15 minute consultation so we can both gauge if we’re good fits for each other.

What is therapy like?

Our therapy sessions will all occur online, through a confidential and easy to use video format, called Simple Practice. You’ll need a private place to meet and a smartphone or a computer.

In our first meeting, or intake, we’ll review the online paperwork you will have completed. Then, I’ll ask you a lot of questions to get a broad sense of what is bringing you in, and what other resources and/or obstacles you have in your life.  We will likely end that meeting with a sort of “game plan” for future work together. 

Afterwards, we’ll typically meet weekly for 45 – 50 minutes at a time for a couple weeks until the specifics of the situation are better understood and we can gauge your need for care.  Depending on the situation, we could meet every other week or even monthly once we get going.  These sessions usually feel much more conversational and I’ll probably ask fewer questions so that you can freely share what’s on your mind (unless that’s uncomfortable for you!).

You may have some homework to complete in between sessions to keep momentum going and/or to practice skills that will help with what brings you in.  Sometimes, if there’s a question about the underlying causes of symptoms, you might be asked to consider doing some testing and we’ll discuss that in more depth before deciding what to do.  Once things begin improving, we’ll start to look at when and how to taper off, and eventually end, therapy.

What can intimate partner therapy do for me/my relationship(s)?

• having an unbiased mediator in the space while you discuss your issues can help your partner “hear” your intentions (and vice versa) and keeps things from getting too heated or off-topic

• it provides in-session coaching and practice with procedures for disagreeing with each other in the moment that doesn’t devolve into an argument or damage relationship(s)

• it helps find new ways of coping with your “perpetual problems”, those things that keep coming up and never seem to get resolved

• it can unearth a potential for more respect, for a stronger friendship and sense of emotional connection, and for greater mutual affection in the relationship

• it can provide strategies to enhance and enliven affection and/or romance and develop more satisfying physical intimacy

• intimate partner therapy can also provide a safe place for relationships where folx aren’t on the same page or who are breaking-up to explore respectful ways to interact with each other throughout the process, and to be healthier co-parents, if applicable

Can I afford therapy?

Dr. Carrie does not accept insurance at this time, but her services might be reimbursable at out-of-network provider rates, so check with your insurance provider to see.

Also, it may depend on what you are presenting for therapy with. Insurance coverage is based on what they consider “medically necessary” treatment. For instance, most insurance companies won’t cover partners therapy (unless it’s a time-limited Employer Assisted Program or EAP) or court ordered testing.

My office can provide what is known as a “superbill” which documents relevant information for you to provide to your insurance so that they could reimburse you for services if that is an option for you.

Please call or text me to set up a time to discuss the specifics of your financial situation and my hourly fee.

What about coaching?

Coaching, unlike psychotherapy, does not address mental health issues, although it may be very helpful in “problems in living” sorts of stressors. The work we do while coaching is more about collaboration to identify goals and implement strategies that can enhance your creativity, task performance and/or improve your personal satisfaction. In sum, coaching is about removing obstacles and, at times, naming vulnerabilities, but not treating them. Feedback from your coach will likely be more straightforward, with questions that are more direct and challenging than you might have experienced with a therapist. A coach’s job is to push you and your goals forward and, often, this means placing you smack dab into the areas of your highest discomfort. In contrast, a therapist’s job is more typically along the lines of helping you to soothe your discomfort or provide you with coping strategies to manage it.

Because of these, and other differences, the roles of a clinical psychotherapist and a coach are almost always at odds with each other. In my ethics code as a psychologist, I must avoid harmful dual relationships. This means that I can never be a therapist to a coaching client, or a coach to a therapy client - our relationship will always only be either one or the other.

Please call or text Dr. Carrie to set up a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if this kind of coaching is for you.