Frequently Asked Questions

In the first few sessions (1-4), you will tell your story, determine the goodness of fit between yourself and your therapist, discuss goals and treatment plans, and build rapport. Effective long-term progress occurs after these items are established and cannot occur without them.

The Treatment Phase:

After the first few sessions, active engagement in the treatment goals and plan begins. This varies depending on the client’s presenting problem and the therapist’s training and clinical orientation.

In these sessions, you will work toward gaining insights, learning skills, expressing emotions, and more, which will help you make progress and see progress for long-term change. The therapist can guide you, but you are responsible for engaging in the practice. Your progress is directly related to your commitment to work outside the counseling office.

Consider your goals to choose the right therapist. Find a therapist who specializes in your specific concerns and goals. It is also important to find a therapist who is approachable and easy to talk to. 

Therapists often have bios online that you can read to determine what their training, education, and specialties include. These biographies give you insight into who the therapist is and what their style might be. 

Having a good fit makes a significant difference in making progress in counseling. It is recommended that you give your therapist 2-3 visits to find a connection unless you can tell immediately that the personality fit is not going to click, in which case it makes the most sense to make a switch at that time.

No, you do not need a referral to start therapy.

MFT or LMFT: Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a master’s degree in psychology,  counseling, psychology, clinical psychology, or marital and family therapy. Emphasis is placed on primary services in counseling and psychotherapy from various therapeutic orientations with individuals, couples, families, and groups.

LCSW: Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a master’s degree in clinical social work. Emphasis on primary service in psychosocial diagnosis, assessment and treatment, client advocacy, consultation, evaluation, and research.

Psychologist: Possesses a doctoral degree in psychology or a related field with a license to practice therapy and conducts psychological testing and research.

Psychiatrist: A medical doctor who specializes in psychiatry. Emphasis on primary service in prescribing and monitoring psychotropic medications and sometimes offers psychotherapy.

At Mopani Mental Health Services, we offer Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), EMDR, Acceptance Commitment Therapy Act, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and motivational interviewing. 

CBT is a widely used, evidence-based approach to psychotherapy that focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is based on the idea that our thoughts and personal philosophies influence our emotions and behaviors and that we can change how we feel and behave by modifying our thoughts and philosophies. Our sessions explore clients' attitudes toward life, circumstances, and themselves. By understanding these deeply held convictions, we can help clients modify their philosophies, leading to a more effective outlook and improved emotional well-being.

We also encourage exploration of the present moment and the future. By examining how our actions and decisions today may impact our future selves, we can make more informed choices that align with our values and goals.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an integrative therapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of traumatic life experiences and many mental health problems. The goal of EMDR Therapy is to process distressing memories, allowing us to move forward with healthy and adaptive coping skills.EMDR therapy aims to give people the tools to deal with past, present, and future trauma and to focus on the positive.

Acceptance Commitment Therapy ACT (pronounced as the word ‘act,’ not as the initials) is an evidence-based type of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy aimed at helping us live mindfully in the present moment and take action guided by our values. ACT gets its name from one of its core messages: accept what is out of your personal control and commit to action that improves and enriches your life.

ACT aims to maximize human potential for a rich, full, and meaningful life. It utilizes an eclectic mix of metaphor, paradox, mindfulness skills, experiential exercises, and values-guided behavioral interventions. Through ACT, we learn a range of mindfulness and acceptance skills to help us more effectively handle painful thoughts and feelings so they have much less impact and influence on our lives.

DBT focuses on helping people accept the reality of their lives and behaviors and learn to change them, including their unhelpful behaviors.

The length of the counseling cycle, from start to finish, depends on many factors. Questions to ask yourself: How long has this problem been occurring? How ingrained are my habits related to this problem? Has this problem ever had flair-ups after periods of feeling better? Suppose your presenting problem is related to a relatively new situation and set of symptoms that you have never experienced in your history and have relatively little to no habits associated with this. In that case, your cycle may be short (a few months). However, if you have long-term concerns, please recognize that counseling will help you experience and maintain long-term progress, which will take time. Therapists may give you a timeframe. Still, they cannot guarantee any specific timeframe as progress is predominantly determined based on how much effort is made to engage differently daily or even minute-to-minute outside of the office, based on what you learn in the appointments.

The initial appointment involves a detailed assessment to understand you and your particular situation, current problems, background, strengths, and resources in order to develop an appropriate treatment plan. Our aim is to help you feel comfortable and safe talking openly about your concerns.

Our assessments typically last one to two sessions. At the end of the consultation, we will provide you with our initial impressions and recommendations. If we recommend therapy, we will work with you to develop a treatment plan, including goals and approximate time frames. Sometimes, an individual’s primary concerns or symptoms are outside our area of expertise. If this happens, we will refer you to another professional who can help.

Therapists and social workers do not prescribe medications. Psychotropic medication is prescribed by Psychiatrists and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, who have the designations MD and ARNP, respectively. We are familiar with drugs but cannot give guidance or tell another practitioner what to prescribe. We often communicate with medication prescribers if you request us to do so to help them better help you.

Yes, we offer individual, couples, and family therapy. 

The law generally protects the confidentiality of all communications between a client and a psychotherapist. No information is disclosed without prior written permission from the client.

Yes, there are some exceptions required by law to this rule. These exceptions include: 

Suspected child abuse or dependent adult or elder abuse. The therapist is required to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately. 

If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person. The therapist is required to notify the police. 

Suppose a client intends to harm himself or herself. The therapist will try to work with the individual to ensure their safety. However, if an individual does not cooperate, additional measures may need to be taken. 

By using insurance, the client allows their insurance company to access confidential information. This is the only way insurance will pay for sessions.

Insurance companies often require access to therapy records to approve treatments and process claims. These companies usually review progress notes documenting the client’s treatment milestones and outcomes. Unlike psychotherapy notes, progress notes are shared more widely to facilitate healthcare operations.

Insurance companies use these records to ensure that treatments are necessary and practical.

They also help determine the coverage and reimbursement for mental health services.

No, your family doesn’t have access to your therapy information unless you sign a release of information.