(214) 247 - 6011
7800 Preston Road Suite 138 Plano, TX 75024
info@therapyhelps.me

What is Counseling?

Counseling or therapy, sometimes called ‘talk therapy’ or ‘psychotherapy’, is a process of personal exploration to help you identify goals, seek solutions for personal problems, develop self-esteem, promote behavioral change, relieve emotional pain and develop personal strengths. This is a collaborative process aimed towards helping you find ways to optimize your life goals.

Below is a short animated video, made by the American Counseling Association, to help explain the process of counseling

Do I need Counseling?

Everybody can potentially benefit from counseling since we all need an empathetic and objective listening board to bounce our ideas off. You might benefit from a counseling relationship if:

  • You need help identifying goals
  • You need help improving your relationships
  • You are finding it hard to make important decisions
  • You want to improve your self-esteem
  • You feel emotional distress
  • You have experienced traumatic situations in the past
  • You are struggling with mental health concerns

Counseling can help alleviate distress early and prevent potential mental health concerns from developing. Counseling can be beneficial for somebody struggling with mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorder, addiction, PTSD etc. It is advisable to seek help and not wait and sit on emotional pain or distress until it becomes hard to tolerate or starts interfering with our day to day life. Therapy Helps.

How long do I have to be in Counseling?

Some clients need only a few counseling sessions to achieve their goals; others may require months or even years of counseling. The amount of time you spend in counseling will depend on the severity of concern and our mutual understanding of the potential benefit of continuing counseling for you. As a client, you are in complete control and may end our counseling relationship at any time, though I request that you participate in a termination session. If at any time we realize that the counseling relationship is no longer beneficial we can terminate counseling and/or provide referrals for other services/providers that might be beneficial for you.

How can I book an appointment?

You can book an appointment online through our website or call us at 214-247-6011 or email info@therapyhelps.me. We are open on selected hours and will try to accommodate specific time requests when possible.

What is your intake process?

We value the importance of building a synergetic relationship that is beneficial to our clients therapeutically. For this reason we offer a 15 minute ‘building alliance’ initial session free of charge to our clients.

Your first session is your intake session. Intake session may be longer than a regular session and can take up to 90 minutes based on the severity of your concern. Please fill out the forms available to you online through our client portal prior to your first appointment. This will enable us to focus on specific areas of concern during your intake session. If needed we can add the 15 minutes of ‘building alliance’ to the intake session to allow time for a thorough clinical assessment. If you would like to avail this option please specify while booking your appointment.

In case of Child or Adolescent counseling, a parent needs to be present during the intake session for the first half hour, however we recommend that the parent allow the therapist some one on one time with the adolescent to help build therapeutic alliance. We have a waiting room right next to our office that the parent can avail during this time.

What can I expect from the first counseling session?

Your first session is usually your intake session. We will spend time discussing your goals and expectations and laying out your treatment plan. The first session is also our time to connect, establish a relationship and find out if we are a good fit for you.

How long is a counseling session?

The duration of a single session is 50 minutes. In case of family counseling session the duration can be anywhere from 60-90 minutes depending on the severity of the concern.

What are my payment options?

We are in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) PPO. For all other insurance plans, the payment will be private pay. The cost for a one-hour session is between $125 - $150 depending on the service being provided. We accept cash and/or all major credit cards for payments through our secure client billing portal. Should you choose to make payment by check you will be required to place a credit card on file. All return checks will incur a $25.00 return check fee.

Billing details will be discussed with you prior to the first session. We believe in making mental health affordable and accessible and offer sliding scale options when needed. Please reach out to us at info@therapyhelps.me if you would like to discuss details regarding billing and payment options.

What is your cancellation policy?

We require a 24 hour notice to cancel or reschedule an appointment. You will be responsible for the entire fee if cancellation is less than 24 hours. This is necessary because a time commitment is made to you and is held exclusively for you. If you are late for a session, you may lose some of that session time. We will make every effort to try and reschedule any appointments you miss/cancel due to an emergency. If a session is rescheduled 24 hours in advance no fees will be charged for the cancellation.