1.  What is a Marriage and Family Therapist?

2.  How do I choose a therapist?

3.  How do I know whether to get individual, couples, child or family therapy?

4.  What is play therapy?

5.  How can I pay for therapy?

1.  What is a Marriage and Family Therapist?

Marriage and Family Therapists are psychotherapists who specialize in relationship issues. MFTs are trained to diagnose and treat individuals, couples, families, and groups, and assist them in achieving more satisfying and productive lives. Each therapist’s practice may include individual psychotherapy, couples counseling, premarital counseling, child therapy, separation or divorce counseling, parenting issues, and a wide array of other issues or problems such as anxiety; depression; damaged self-esteem; dealing with the effects of physical, emotional or sexual abuse or neglect; substance abuse; grief and loss; coping with life transitions and other stressors. Therapists at AC draw from a wide range of treatment approaches including psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, and cognitive behavioral. You may want to discuss with your therapist which approach might be best for you.

Marriage and family Therapists are licensed by the State of California and have completed a master’s or doctoral degree, at least 3000 hours of supervised experience, and have passed a comprehensive written examination. To check license status, go to www.bbs.ca.gov.

2.  How do I choose a therapist?

Psychotherapy can help you change and improve your life, so it is important to choose a therapist who is a good fit for you. It is helpful to have a sense of what you want to accomplish — whether you want to address specific issues, understand yourself better, have emotional/psychological support, or all of the above.

It is useful to interview potential therapists and trust your intuitive reactions. Usually, there is an initial phone conversation, and if that goes well, an initial appointment.

Here are some things to think about:

• Do you find the therapist easy to talk to? Does the therapist listen to you? Do you understand the therapist? Do you experience a beginning sense of safety and trust?
• What are the therapist’s qualifications? What is the therapist’s level of education, training and experience?
• Are you interested in short or long-term therapy?
• What is the therapist’s way of working?
• What does the therapist charge? Will you be able to use insurance toward the charges?
• Where is the therapist’s office located? Do you feel comfortable in their office?

While a therapist’s education, training, and experience are important, your relationship with the therapist is the key factor in effective therapy.

3.  How do I know whether to get therapy for myself, my child, my relationship, or my family?

Individual therapy might work best for you if:

• you want your own therapist
• you want privacy and individual attention for your concerns
• people you trust have suggested you would benefit from therapy
• you have had relationship difficulties that have not been resolved over the years
• you have been the victim of physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect

Your child might benefit from his/her own therapy if:

• your child is showing signs of anxiety, irritability, sadness, hopelessness, poor self regard, school problems, fighting, etc.
• your child asks to see a therapist
• your family has recently experienced a death, loss, birth, or trauma
• there is marital discord at home or the parents are separated/divorced

Couple’s counseling might work well for you if:

• you and your significant other are in frequent or painful conflict, or have become distant
• you wish your partner understood you better and/or you need help understanding your partner
• you have become dissatisfied with aspects of your relationship
• you are thinking of getting married
• you are concerned about and want to improve parenting skills

Family therapy might work well for you and your loved ones if:

• your family is not united and there is high conflict among you
• there is little positive interaction between family members
• family members are available to meet for therapy at the same time

4.  What is Play therapy?

There are several significant differences between adult therapy and child therapy. Children need to play — that is how they express themselves, and that is how therapists need to work with them. It is unrealistic and potentially damaging to expect a child to tell the therapist verbally about their problems. Children just do not talk the same way adults do. They need to express themselves through their play and artwork.

Play therapy allows a child to act out (very often in symbolic ways) their emotional struggles. The therapist’s office provides a safe place in which the child can appropriately express a variety of emotions and experience without worrying about scaring or hurting someone. It is through acting out something in the sand or with dolls, soldiers, or trucks that the child begins to develop a sense of mastery over the frightening, confusing, or painful elements of his or her life. They start to gain a feeling of control and are better able to cope with the problems in their lives. As they get to know their therapist and feel more comfortable with her or him, they feel more accepted, supported and validated. This process provides the opportunity for psychological healing to occur.

Play therapists help children deal with a wide variety of life issues such as:

• parents’ divorce or separation
• death of a loved one
• new family members, i.e., birth of a sibling, families blending
• moving from one home to another
• changing schools
• learning difficulties
• academic and/or behavioral problems
• exposure to a violent and/or abusive environment
• exposure to substance abuse

At Associated Counselors, we have a playroom with a variety of toys and art supplies available for children of all ages. The therapists at AC who work with children welcome any additional questions you might have about child therapy.

5.  How do I pay for therapy?

Each therapist sets her own fee and will consult with you personally to make arrangements for setting the fee and payment.

Fee-for-service means you pay for service with your own money. Fee-for-service allows the maximum level of confidentiality since there is no exchange of your personal information with a third party such as an insurance company. It means that it is up to you and your therapist, not an outside agency, to determine how many sessions you have.

You may also choose to use insurance benefits to pay for services. Using insurance means that information about you, including a mental health diagnosis, will have to be provided to the insurance company. The number of sessions that an insurance company will pay for is generally limited.

When considering using insurance, it is wise to contact your insurance company to verify and clarify the following:

• What kind of coverage do you have for outpatient mental health services by a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)?
• Is your insurance through a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) or does it offer you more choices with a Preferred Provider (PPO) or Point of Service (POS) plan?
• Does your plan have a deductible? Are you responsible for a co-payment or co-insurance portion of the charges?
• Is your coverage limited to a specific number of sessions per calendar year?
• Is the therapist you are planning to work with on your plan’s provider list? If not, ask about reimbursement for an “out of network” provider. Typically, the out-of-network therapist collects her fee directly from you and then provides you with a “statement of services rendered” at the end of each month. You submit this statement to your insurance company which then reimburses you directly.