FAQ Regarding Houston Mind Body Counseling Policies and Services
Q. What do you do in therapy?
A. This depends on the needs and desires of clients as well as the theoretical tendencies of the practitioner. In almost every method however, a discussion of the client’s difficulties is central to understanding the problem and how best to address it. So a brief answer could be “one talks about one’s problems.” There are various aspects of the mind such as thinking, learning, and feeling as well as various ways clients cope with problems such as denial, somatization, communication, and the development of deeply-held convictions and attitudes. Among other things, different schools of psychotherapy differ with respect to what aspect of mind and what coping capacities are targeted or emphasized. At Houston Mind Body Counseling, Dr. Rodriguez utilizes many different schools of thought but is particularly fond of psychodynamic and existential approaches, Transactional Analysis, cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal-process group therapy, and mind-body techniques.
Q. How much do you charge?
- Psychiatric Assessment/Case Formulation (50 Minutes) - $125
- Individual, Couples, or Family Therapy Sessions ( 50 Minutes) - $100
- Group Therapy (50 Minutes) - $50
- Individual Therapy ( 25 Minutes) - $50
- Letters, Reports, Applications - $1/minute
- Missed Appointments - 1/2 Price for length of scheduled session
- Workshops $50/hour
- Legal Work or Court Appearance - $150/ 50 mins
- Phone/Video Therapy Sessions - Same as in-person charges
- Returned Check fee - $20
Q. What’s a Meet and Greet Session?
A. A Meet and Greet Session is a session that is free of charge and usually lasts 30 minutes. The purpose of the session is for the client and therapist to meet one another and get a sense of whether they can work effectively together. There is also time for the client to discuss his or her needs and get feedback as to what services might be most appropriate.
Q. What should I expect on the first therapy session?
A. At the beginning of therapy an assessment and case formulation must be done. Clients will be interviewed relative to their current problems as well as past medical and psychiatric history. Later, sessions progress to accomplish an in-depth understanding of problems and to setting appropriate treatment goals.
Q. What’s important in choosing a psychotherapist?
A. It is very important that you feel comfortable talking to a psychotherapist. This cannot be over-emphasized. One should also look for credentials that establish whether the psychotherapist is adequately prepared educationally. In most disciplines, a Masters degree or a Doctoral degree in a helping profession is required to prepare therapists educationally. It is also important to discuss expectations because sometimes clients have ideas about therapy that come from TV that are not entirely correct. If clients have a particular interest in a school of psychotherapy, this is also good to mention because the therapist may not share those views.
Q. How many sessions will I need?
A. This depends on what goals the client sets for him or herself. If the goal is easy to achieve, short courses of psychotherapy will suffice. If the goals are more challenging, it could take a good deal of time. All things being equal, the more time one invests in psychotherapy, the better one’s end results. It is most important to realize that problems aren’t usually created in a week. Likewise, they cannot be fixed in such brief periods of time. It is very important for clients to discuss their notion of how many sessions they will need with the psychotherapist.
Q. Do you accept insurance?
A. Houston Mind Body Counseling accepts most insurances including MEDICAID, MEDICARE, HUMANA, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD, CIGNA, AETNA - Please contact us to verify if we are part of your insurance's network. Most health insurers however cover half of the out-of-pocket expenses when clients go out-of-network. Nonetheless, the client must pay for services up-front, in cash, check, or credit card (i.e., Mastercard or Visa). All clients are encouraged to check with their insurers regarding policies affecting out-of-network coverage. This is done by calling a telephone number listed on the back of the insurance card. Usually clients are required to inform their insurer about their need to seek treatment prior to engaging in treatment and to specify that they will be seeing an out-of-network provider. Houston Mind-Body Counseling will only bill your insurer if we accept your insurance. Clients seen on an out-of- network basis will be given a receipt for the client to file with the insurer. Houston Mind-Body Counseling cannot accept responsibility for the amount of money reimbursed by the insurer or for denial of a claim. That responsibility lies with the insurance carrier and client solely. Also clients should know that workshops are generally not covered under most insurance plans.
Q. I cannot afford the standard charge, can you do anything for me?
A. Yes! First of all, credit cards are accepted which allow clients to personally finance their services. Second, psychotherapeutic services are made available on a half-hour versus the usual hourly basis in order to cut a client’s cost by 50% if requested. Additionally, group therapy is offered at half the price of individual sessions making this modality particularly attractive financially. Finally in very limited situations where no other options are available and when requested by a client, the Center may, at its sole discretion, finance a client’s services thereby creating an affordable monthly payment plan for a client.
Q. Do you prescribe medication?
A. No. Although Dr. Rodriguez is an advanced-practice registered nurse with limited prescriptive authority, in Texas that authority is dependent on him working in collaboration with a physician. At this time, Dr. Rodriguez is referring all clients who need medication to the appropriate physician.
Q. Do you recommend not taking medications?
A. No. The mind-body methods espoused by Dr. Rodriguez are meant to complement a client’s medical care not replace it. Some illnesses and problems of living can be handled using non-medical techniques especially when the problem is not of a severe nature. Nonetheless, that decision is left up to clients and based on their individual needs and circumstances. Mind-body methods and psychotherapy are often more effective when used in combination with medications.
Q. How is it that psychotherapy can help with something like depression?
A. Depression is a complex mental illness with a physiological, genetic, environmental, psychological, and social web of causation. Thus, psychologically-based and behaviorally-based treatments can act to cause a remission or at least to improve symptoms and coping. Likewise, more medically-based treatments can do the same. Currently, research supports the combined use of these treatments for improved outcomes or for more severe cases.
Q. What are mind-body techniques or therapies?
A. What is referred to here as “mind-body techniques” is also called “stress-management techniques” in other circles. Nonetheless, in Dr. Rodriguez’s opinion, the term stress-management underestimates the utility of such methods. For example, these methods are not just applicable to stressful situations. Mind-body techniques are being used nationwide to improve blood pressure and heart health, to help clients cope with chronic pain and other chronic disease processes like diabetes, even to improve fertility! Further, these methods are not voodoo. They work by causing changes in the endocrine, immune, and/or nervous systems.
Q. If I’m running late, can I have therapy over the phone?
A. Yes. Phone sessions are offered for convenience in individual therapy but require that the client pre-pay for services or provide credit card information over the phone so that charges are settled immediately. The charge is the same for in-person or telephone sessions and is based on the length of the session in minutes. Sometimes the desire to have therapy over the phone versus in-person is appropriate and necessary to discuss in sessions.
Q. My treatment is confidential right?
A. Yes of course, but only to the extent allowed by law. Although rather limited, there are situations where practitioners are obligated by law to disclose information. Some of these situations are as follows:
• When required to process an insurance claim or to provide care at the request of the client,
• When a client gives consent to release of information,
• When there is a potential for imminent harm to the client or others,
• When the situation involves abuse or neglect, and
• When ordered by a Court with the appropriate jurisdiction.
Further, all identifying information, such as a date of birth, will be kept confidential unless required in one of the above situations or at the consent of a client for whatever reason. Aside from this, clients’ personal and identifying data are never shared or sold to other businesses for marketing or any other purpose.
Q. What should I do if I’m running late or can’t make it to my appointment?
A. We ask that clients call as soon as possible to inform of any tardiness or inability to attend a scheduled session. Clients must understand that their therapeutic time cannot be extended to cover their tardiness. For example, if a client is 40 minutes late to a 50 minute appointment, the session will only last 10 minutes and will be charged at a regular rate. Clients should always be ready to discuss what is happening to cause them to be late or miss a session. This is important for many reasons. If a client misses an entire session for whatever reason without giving at least 24 hours notice, the client will be billed for half the missed session as time cannot be made up. Also, sessions will not commence again until payment for the missed session is made. Finally, treatment will be terminated by the practitioner if three sessions are missed without calling to cancel 24 hours in advance. It is very important that clients be aware of these policies.
Q. My treatment record is mine isn’t it?
A. A client’s treatment record belongs to the maker and keeper of the record, i.e., Houston Mind-Body Counseling. Clients have a right to see information in their record but must request that information ahead of time. Further, they must also specify what information they wish to access and pay for any copies necessary at 10 cents per page. Finally, if there is information in the record that the practitioner believes in good faith may have a negative impact on the client’s mental health, that information will not be released.
Q. What if I don’t like the therapist?
A. It is well known that not all people can work well with the same psychotherapist. For this very reason, Dr. Rodriguez provides a free Meet and Greet Session when a client is contemplating therapy in order to help clients make the best decision about pursuing therapy with him. This session is generally 30 minutes in length but can be shorter. It is also not uncommon for feelings to develop toward a psychotherapist – both positive and negative. Clients should and must feel free to discuss positive or negative feelings or attitudes toward Dr. Rodriguez in their treatment. This is expected and can help clients make great strides in their therapy. The only thing asked by Dr. Rodriguez in such situations is that these discussions be characterized by civility.
Q. Are there any side effects to treatment?
A. Yes. Going through psychotherapy sometimes causes anxiety. Sometimes the client doesn’t know “whether things are going well” and should discuss this with Dr. Rodriguez. Sometimes old traumas are revisited and can be accompanied by strong emotions. Sometimes clients change aspects of their lives as a result of treatment. Nonetheless, for most people, the end results more than warrant these mostly- temporary effects.
Q. May I call you outside of therapy if I need support?
A. Absolutely. However, please realize that Dr. Rodriguez may be in session or otherwise unavailable. If a client is in need of frequent support outside of his or her therapy, the client will be expected to increase the frequency of sessions to better meet these needs.
Q. What should I do in an emergency?
A. First of all, the client is primarily responsible for his or her safety. Thus, in any situation requiring emergency medical or psychiatric assistance, clients are to go to the nearest emergency department immediately! Houston Mind-Body Counseling cannot and does not function as an emergency room for either physical or psychiatric emergencies. Also, one should not worry about contacting Dr. Rodriguez during emergent situations. One should get help first and in a timely manner! All else can wait until later when the client’s safety and welfare are secured.
Q. How do online therapy sessions work?
A. The online therapy session allows flexibility to our patients to do treatment in the convenience of their homes. Patients must install a free application in their computers called Skype (www.skype.com). Ideally both parties should have a web camera turned on and this allows for sessions progress much like a visit to the office. * Contact us for more details on our online therapy sessions.
Q. What do I do if I need to reach you when the Center is closed?
A. Clients are to call and leave a detailed message on the answering machine. However, Dr. Rodriguez cannot be on call 24 hours-per-day. Again, if clients experience any kind of emergency, they are directed to go to the nearest emergency room immediately or call 911! They must not expect nor wait for Dr. Rodriguez to return their call after hours.
Still have questions? Please don't hesitate to contact Dr. Tom Rodriguez at 713-523-4333. If I'm in session or away from my desk please leave a message with a good number for me to reach you, and I will return your call as soon as possible.