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How do I know when counseling would be helpful to me? Any time you are experiencing difficulties in your marriage or family relationships which distract you from having the kind of satisfying marriage you want, you can benefit from Christian counseling. Commonly given reasons for marriage and family counseling are:
In addition, if you are going through some individual struggles that are preventing you from experiencing the abundant Christian life you may benefit from Christian counseling. Common individual complaints are:
I'm a pastor. How do I know when it is appropriate for me to refer someone to Bethesda? Though the work of pastor may include a measure of counseling there is a significant difference between the counseling successfully done by a pastor and the counseling done by a professionally trained therapist. Most pastors are adequately trained to conduct short term, close-ended crisis counseling. However, pastors are not, generally, trained to do long term, change oriented therapy. Furthermore, the short term crisis counseling conducted by a pastor and the more long term clinical treatment done by a therapist is very different in terms of the contractual and ethical definition of the relationships between the pastor/parishioner and the therapist/client. Many pastors report, with some regrets, that when they redefined the "pastor/parishioner" relationship already established with a church member by moving into a "therapist/client" relationship they lost these people as parishioners. For this reason most pastors are wise to, as a rule, limit their "counseling" to no more than three sessions or occurrences. If more help is needed for the person to achieve their desired goals, then a referral to a Christian counselor would be appropriate. As a pastor, any time you encounter the following information or symptoms in a parishioner seeking help you are encouraged to consider referral to a licensed Christian therapist:
As a pastor you are invited to contact one of our therapists at any time for a brief phone consult on this subject. If I come to counseling how much will I have to pay? Our hourly fee is $105.00. However, Bethesda will file your session with your health insurance carrier. Each insurance policy is different in terms of coverage. Your insurance may require you to pay your deductible before your policy will begin paying the co-insurance portion. Or your plan may only require you to pay an office visit fee after each session. If you have not yet met your deductible you will be expected to pay $105.00 following each session until your deductible has been met. Most people end up paying anywhere from $9.50 to $47.50 out of pocket per session once they have met their deductible. Bethesda accepts most insurance. You are encouraged to contact your insurance company by calling the toll free number on your insurance card to verify the nature and terms of your coverage. Simply tell your insurance provider that you are seeking coverage information on "outpatient mental health" care. If you have no health insurance we have a sliding fee scale. Our minimum hourly rate is $5.00. We are currently not accepting Medicare and Medicaid clients. How long will I need to be in counseling? The best answer to give to this question is, "It depends." The duration of therapy all depends on many converging idiosyncratic issues such as the diagnosis, the history of the problem, the personality of the client, the collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist, the current barriers to health, the amount of homework given and completed, the treatment protocol used, the nature and degree of social support around the client, the level of skills already possessed by the client, and the client's financial ability, just to name a few. At the outset of your therapy your counselor will ask you for your goals for therapy. Therapy is concluded when your goals have been achieved or when you no longer desire to pursue therapy. Please keep in mind that therapy is a collaborative effort between client and therapist. Both have to work together to make for a successful and desired outcome. The average length of treatment for clients at Bethesda is 17 sessions. Please keep in mind, this is the average of all of our clients. Your length of treatment could well be shorter or longer. I'm concerned about someone I love and think that they need counseling. How can I get them to see someone at Bethesda? It is not uncommon that the person who has a serious problem fails to recognize how much pain and suffering they are causing for themselves and others by their problem. Many caring family members and others may want a troubled person to receive counseling long before the troubled are ready to admit they need help. This can be very worrisome and frustrating for the loved ones of the troubled person. The best you can do for your troubled loved one is to point out to them what you see and provide them with information on counseling. Inform them of the seriousness of what you see. If their behavior is damaging to you or others in the family, you may want to inform them that there will be unpleasant consequences for them so long as they choose not to get help. A period of separation until they seek counseling may be appropriate. Don't enable their problematic behavior by making the continuation of such behavior easy for them. However, the person with the problem must make the appointment. Don't try to make an appointment for another adult without their consent. This will, most assuredly, result in failure. Of course, if the person you are concerned about is a minor under your authority you can make an appointment without their consent. In the meantime, while you are struggling with the fallout of your loved one's problem, perhaps you could benefit from some sessions with a counselor. What things do I need to know to choose a qualified counselor that's right for me? First of all ask yourself how important it is for you that your counselor be a Christian. If this is a high value for you, you will want to ask for a counselor who intentionally follows Biblical principles in their counseling. You should be able to contact any counselor on the phone to ask them, personally, about this. In addition, you should also expect any counselor to gladly answer the following questions:
Ultimately, you may not know if you have the therapist that's right for you until you go for two or three sessions. If you have doubts at that point you are encouraged to bring up your concerns with your therapist. If your therapist refuses to respond to your concerns adequately, it is time to change therapist. |
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