Frequently Asked Questions

Although we are knowledgeable about psychotropic medication, we are not qualified to prescribe medication as psychologists. We recognize the value of psychotropic treatment for many people. If medication is something you are looking for, a good resource might be your primary medical care provider who can discuss your concerns and refer you for specialty medication services if needed.

At Elara, a Psychological Consult is a chance for you to meet a psychologist to determine if they will be a good fit for your needs, and for the psychologist to complete an initial psychodiagnostic evaluation and provide an overview of recommendations.

During this evaluation, we use questionnaires and conversations with you to gather information about your experiences, symptoms, and history.    Unlike psychotherapy, a psychodiagnostic assessment is primarily an evaluation process so the focus is less on providing treatment in that visit, and more on developing an accurate understanding of your needs.

Yes, assessing for a diagnosis is standard practice when you receive a clinical/healthcare service from a psychologist.  However, we understand that for some people, a diagnosis may carry unwanted meaning or emotional reactions.  We want to assure you that the goal of diagnosis isn't to label you or box you in—it's to create a shared understanding of what you're experiencing so that treatment can be as effective and targeted as possible.  Because we aren’t in insurance networks, your diagnosis remains private unless you choose to share that information or give us permission to share it.

Psychotherapy is the technical term for treatment/therapy provided by a licensed mental health professional. Many people think of psychotherapy as 'just talking,' but it's more than that. It's a collaborative, structured, evidence-informed process. We work together to understand the thought, emotional, and behavioral patterns that may be keeping you stuck to help you make changes that support the life you want to live.  We focus on developing practical skills and new ways of responding to life's challenges so that you can create meaningful change.

We do our best to screen potential clients so that we offer a Psychology Consultation when we reasonably assume psychotherapy at Elara might be helpful for you.  Every now and again, there are times when we don’t recommend proceeding with psychotherapy at this time, or we end a consultation by recommending alternatives.

Some general reasons this might happen include:

• If you are generally symptom-free because psychotherapy primarily targets symptom reduction and improving your functioning.

• If you are regularly using THC/drugs/alcohol and are not ready to significantly limit your use/stop your use now.

• If your main reason for seeking therapy would be to just have someone to talk to, get advice from, or “vent” with.

• If we believe that there are treatment or other alternatives that are more likely to benefit you.  

That being said, we’ll support your right to disagree with us and seek a second opinion if you’d like.

We are versed in many evidence-supported treatments within the cognitive and behavioral therapy spectrum in addition to mindfulness-based interventions. We adapt these to your specific issue or condition. Cognitive and behavioral therapies are based on the idea that the way we interpret situations affects our emotional and physical reactions as well as what we do – and sometimes avoid doing. Treatment length is generally short-term.

We primarily offer short term psychotherapy, which means treatment that takes place over the course of weeks and months, as opposed to therapy that lasts more than a year.

Think of psychotherapy as any other healthcare service - you have active treatment when needed and end it when you’ve obtained specific therapeutic benefits.  Our responsibility to you is to set a timeframe for therapy that addresses your symptoms and functioning, and takes into account your input, while keeping in mind that except for certain conditions, long term therapy is rarely associated with better outcomes for most people.

With us, you’ll help design a treatment plan that includes goals and an estimate for how long we will work together. Rather than continuously ‘being in’ therapy, you return when (or if) it’s needed.

Feeling heard and supported is an important part of the therapy process. We can help you process emotions and talk through what's been happening in your life, but the focus is on using those experiences as opportunities for insight, skill-building, problem-solving, and personal growth. Instead of giving advice, we’d like to help you build the skills and confidence to support yourself effectively outside of therapy.

We invite you to visit our rates page for the most up-to-date overview information of the range of costs associated with our services.

We will provide a detailed estimate of costs for specific services, or what is known as a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) as follows: upon request, prior to scheduling services, at the time you sign an agreement for services, or any time there is a significant change in the estimated costs you might incur once you are an established patient.

We encourage you to speak directly with your insurance company by calling the number on the back of your insurance card to clarify what your specific mental health and out-of-network benefits are.

At your request, we can provide you a handout outlining specific steps you can take to gather this information from your insurance company.

At your request, we can create a “Superbill” after each session (or once per month) that you can submit to your insurance company for possible reimbursement of your out-of-pocket treatment expenses. Reimbursement is at your insurance carrier’s sole discretion.

We know there are many skilled clinicians out there doing great work in the same or different professional disciplines as our own.  As psychologists, we have specialized doctoral-level training in psychological assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based psychotherapy. This can be especially helpful when your situation is multi-faceted or your symptoms are disrupting your daily life.

At Elara, we’ve had over 30 years of experience working with a range of diverse people with complex needs and conditions. You can be assured we’ll put our experience to work for you -- helping you craft a responsive treatment plan which encompasses treatments that work while honoring your unique needs.

We understand that therapy is an investment of both your time and money. We honor that investment by providing focused, goal-oriented treatment that helps you gain insight, build practical skills, and turn those skills into meaningful actions that reduce symptoms and support lasting progress.

A good place to start is by reading the About and Meet the Team sections of our website. If our approach doesn’t resonate with you, it might be a sign you’ll find a better fit elsewhere. If you are offered a Psychological Consultation appointment and wish to ask additional questions before scheduling, we encourage you to call us. At your consult session, you will have a chance to see first-hand what it’s like to work with us and ask any remaining questions. If you decide we aren’t a good fit, you’re under no obligation to continue with us and we’ll happily discuss what you might consider instead.

Each psychologist and client work together in unique ways but in general, we are a good fit for people who are willing to:

• explore new ways to cope and grow despite their challenges;

• follow a treatment plan that goes beyond talking and support and provides clear direction for how therapy will help you achieve your desired goals;

• have mutual accountability and healthy boundaries in the psychologist-client relationship;

• implement ideas and practice skills between sessions.

Research shows that consistent therapy attendance and following the treatment plan gives you a better chance for treatment success. If you’re finding it’s not the right time to keep your commitment to this plan, please discuss this with your psychologist. If possible, we’ll help explore alternative solutions. 

We understand that every now and again you might need to reschedule or cancel one of your sessions, just make sure you’ve read over our late cancellation policy so you know what to expect.

Yes! Between session skill practice is critical to learning and mastering new or existing skills. You will collaborate with your psychologist to come up with ways to implement ideas and practice specific skills between sessions.

Getting started is simple. Got to the “Contact” tab on our website and submit a Request for Services Form. We will follow up with you to discuss the appropriate next steps.