FAQ

5460 Ward Rd, #100, Arvada, CO 80002-1830

My office is located at 5460 Ward Rd, Ste 100, Arvada, CO 80002-1830.  Upon entering the parking lot, to the East of Ward Rd, take the first Right.  Circle around the first office building on your left and go to the back of the parking lot. There you will find 5460.  Go through the front doors, past the elevator and go Left down the hallway to the end where you will find Suite 100. 

I share office space with a number of other therapists. When you get to the front door will see my name, but it also says “Arvada Psychotherapy”.  You are in the right place.  Enter the main door, have a seat in the lobby and I will come out to greet you when it is your appointment time. 

Yes,  I realize my business name is Arvada Therapy and my office is technically in Wheat Ridge! My office was in Olde Town Arvada for 10 years, and now I’m only about 100 ft away. Just haven’t gotten around to a business name change…

At the start of couples counseling, I will meet with both of you for the first session. Naturally both of you will have a different idea of what is wrong and I will give you each time to discuss your concerns.  Although it is necessary to hear what your problems are, please be assured that most of our sessions won’t be focused on everything that is wrong. You may have different goals, priorities and couples often remember past events differently. Our first session is an Assessment – so we will go over some background information also, and talk about your relationship as a whole – not just what is difficult right now.  We will discuss general goals and attempt to agree upon what issues are most important.  After this initial couples session, I will usually ask you both to come back for 1 individual session with me.  This allows couples to bring any issues to the table without any reservations. From then on, the three of us will meet together and we will work on learning skills to communicate about difficult subjects.

Couples Counseling can focus on unresolved past events, healing emotional hurt and rebuilding trust, and help you to identify and change unhealthy behaviors.  For some couples this involves working through infedelity, communication problems, or disagreements about money, sex, or parenting. I have almost thirty years of experience and have seen countless couples make positive changes that they initially thought impossible.

For about half of people, then we taper off to every two weeks for a while, then every month, etc. We either resolve things along the way and agree to end sessions, or, if ongoing therapy is helpful to you, then we find a frequency that works best for you.

Everything is individually tailored to your experience. We are all different and unique and no “one size fits all.”

We can talk on the phone for a free consult prior to your first session. Often I can answer a few questions and provide some basic information that will help you decide if you want to schedule an initial session.  It is normal for most people to feel more comfortable once you meet in person with a therapist.  If it does not see like a good fit after 2 or 3 sessions, that is ok, I am not the perfect therapist for everyone.  After our initial assessment, I will be able to determine if my skill set matches the problems you are facing.  I will refer you to another professional if I feel like I am not the best person to help you. 

Periodically we will also review our progress. If things are not working, we will change strategies or apply diffierent therapeutic modalities. I listen to your feedback and we make changes based on progress toward goals. 

There is free parking to the South and West of 5460 Ward Rd.  Please note: 5460 is in the back corner, behind the first to buildings when you enter from Ward Rd. Turn right after turning off of Ward Rd, and follow the parking lot to the back. 

Please have a seat in the lobby. I’ll come out and meet you at our appointment time.

Please call me to find the earliest available appointment.  My schedule varies.

I typically have appointments open within 2-3 business days.  I have worked hard to create a practice in which I see fewer clients.  This allows me to focus more on providing high quality service for the clients that I choose to work with.  I do not have weekend appointments.

If you are Scheduling Online and see an appointment within 24 hours, you will need to Call Me to schedule.  Also, sometimes the online availability is not 100% accurate, Contact Me and sometimes we can find an appiontment time that will work for you. 

There are no stairs, and there is a ramp at the back door. The doors are not automatic however; so let me know ahead of time, and I will meet you at the door if you need assistance. There is one parking space for people with disabilities at the back of the building. All other parking in the back parking lot is for clinicians only.

We will create goals, review goals, and it is always up to you how long you stay. Some see me for 8 or 10 sessions on and off when needed. Some people see me every two weeks, or once a month for ongoing support. Some people see me 23 times and then never come back.

Individual and Couples Counseling sessions are $250 per hour.  

If you are interested in using “Out-of-Network” coverage through your insurance, I can provide forms that you can submit to your insurance to be reimbursed. 

For the most part, no.  I do help people by providing forms which they can submit for “out of network” benefits. Call to discuss details regarding Out of Network benefits.

Two exceptions to this.  1) Medicaid: I am a CCHA and Colorado Access medicaid provider. If you have Medicaid insurance, we will need to talk on the phone first so I can A) verify your benefits and B) make sure I am the best resource for your situation. 

2) I am now a Medicare provider. Original Medicare.  I am Out of Network for ALL Advantage plans.  In other words, if your medicare card says something like: “Humana Medicare” or “Aetna Medicare”, then I am NOT In-Network.  Some plans do have what we call “out of network” benefits.  Please call to confirm your benefits with me before scheduling. 

3) I am also a Workers Compensation provider. However, if you are using Workers Compensation benefits, you must get a referral from the Attending Physician first, before you can see me. Talk with your Attending Physician and ask about a referral for mental health.  

*If you found my information on any other insurance provider list, other than listed above, the information is out of date or innaccurate. I discontinued my participation with most insurance in 2017 due to low reimbursment, billing headaches, confidentiality issues, and what I considered (in many cases) unethical business practices.  One of these unethical practices is keeping providers on their list of in-network providers so that they can make it look like they have more mental health providers than they actually do. 

I do not offer a sliding scale.  

There are low cost and discounted therapy options in the Denver Metro area. I am happy to help you find other referral resources.

I know you are taking a big step, things are difficult, and I am 100% committed to this process. 90% of what happens in therapy happens outside of the therapy session – what you do when you are not in the office makes a big difference.

The more you put into this, the more you get out of it. Sometimes we’re not ready for therapy, sometimes I’m not the right therapist for you – again, I’ll let you know if I think this is true for you.

The short answer is YES, definitely. Depending on your diagnosis, condition or reason for pain, therapy can have a very positive impact.  At the very least you will find emotional support from someone who understands the difficult situation you are going thought. I have over 30 years of experience working with people who have chronic pain for a wide range of reasons.  Many people can experience an actual reduction in pain, and in some cases of Neuroplastic Pain, the elimination of pain completely.  What type of pain you are struggling with will determine how much and in what ways therapy can help. 

During a Chronic Pain therapy assessment we will discuss your unique story, your diagnosis, your medical history and psychosocial history. These all may have an effect upon your current condition and what type of treatment is appropriate for you.  Pain Reprocessing Therapy, and EAET (Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy) can be helpful for many people dealing with Chronic Pain.  I will assess whether what you are experiencing is what we call “Neuroplastic Pain“, and may consult with your physician (s) to receive more information about your physical issue to assist in this assessment.  If what you are experiencing is Neuroplastic, then PRT and EAET can be very effective! 

Structural pain, or pain that is the result of recovering from injury, or chronic and terminal illness is often not neuroplastic.  For structural pain we will use what is called CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT will help you cope with your condition and help you find ways to help you fight the anxiety and depression that often accompany chronic and structural issues.  CBT helps people change behaviors and learn healthy ways to deal with stress.  

Whatever your condition, Chronic pain therapy can help your improve the quality of your life. Life can be meaningful and fulfilling, even if it also includes pain. 

Please note: I’m not a medication prescriber. I do not prescribe pain medications and I can not tell your medical doctor what to prescribe for you.  I am also not an addictions counselor. However, if you have been through addiction treatment, and are adjusting to live without pain killers, I can help you with that!

If I am worried about a safety issue, I will tell your adolescent, “Hey, this is something we need to talk to one of your parents about; let’s invite them in from the lobby.” Or we’ll call you on speaker phone. Of course, my goal is always to help kids and parents get along better/communicate more – so I encourage this when doing individual therapy with all my teens.

I was an insurance provider for many years. Gradually it became more of a burden and took more time and energy to work with insurance billing.  Often, a person has insurance benefits, but their mental health benefits are managed by a different company.  Attempting to navigated the myriad of credentialing and billing options for each person became almost a full time job. By not accepting insurance, I have more time to devote to focusing on quality of care, preparing for sessions, reading, going to trainings. I have more energy to focus on what I love, which is working with people. I understand that not everyone can afford more than a co-pay for counseling. I was in that boat at one time also. Luckily there are still many insurance accepting therapists out there. If you need a lower cost alternative, I would recommend calling your insurance company or going to their member website to find contact information for insurance providers in your area (but be aware, often these directories are out of date and inaccurate).

Privacy is another concern. In order to bill insurance, a therapist has to give you a diagnosis. Many people were uncomfortable with this. While legally an insurance company can’t share that information with your employer, and currently you can’t be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition, it is difficult to predict how health care laws might change in the future.  On top of this, insurance companies are doing more and more auditing of mental health providers.  Whereas 20 years ago it was uncommon, more often now, therapists to have to send notes or reports to an insurance company to prove that they are actually providing a needed service. Not only is this stressful and time consuming, it is also uncomfortable for clients not knowing who is looking at their private information or what is being done with that.

On a practical level, more and more people have larger deductibles that they must reach before insurance kicks in.  I began to find that for the first few months of every new client’s treatment, I had to spend a great amount of time keeping track of how much people owed on their deductibles. Also, people would feel deflated thinking that their insurance would cover mental health, only to find out that it would – after 23 sessions.  Not taking insurance eliminates any of this confusions.  And again, everyone’s insurance company dealt with deductibles differently. In short, if you have a deductible of $3600 and therapy is going to cost you $1500, you don’t get to use your benefits anyway (but the therapist still has to spend hours figuring that out).

Reimbursement.  When I began my first private practice almost twenty years ago, I was happy with what insurance companies were willing to pay me.  They almost always paid me without a hassle. Gradually the health care system became more complicated and insurers focused on finding ways to make more money.   Mental health providers have not seen rate increases, for the most part, for decades. The average reimbursment for a psychologist in 1975 was about $100, and that is what it is today through insurance. In some cases my reimbursement has even gone down, but in almost every case, I was being paid the same as I was when I started. If you hadn’t had a raise in 17 years, you would probably look for a different job, right? 

I completely understand that I am not affordable for everyone. I literally gave away my services for many years. You can find others who will do that now as well, just ask. What I have found is that when people make a solid investment in themselves, they get more out of therapy, they feel better and accomplish goals more quickly.