How does therapy work?

Therapy helps you objectively look at behaviors, feelings and thoughts in situations you find problematic in your life. Together we will work to identify goals, discuss what results you can expect, how you will know when you are making progress, and the length of time it may take for you to see changes.

When is a good time to seek therapy services?

• When you feel like you can't do it alone
• When you feel trapped, like there's nowhere to turn
• When you worry all the time, and never seem to find the answers
• When you notice a change in your daily routine, your sleeping and eating habits, your job, your relationships and your everyday life is affected
• When your quality of life has change or diminished

Will I need medication, too?

Although many times psychotherapy alone will bring the desired results, in some cases medication may be recommended. Together we can address your concerns associated with medication options and help you make the decision to see a psychiatrist for an evaluation and medication management in line with your goals.

What about confidentiality?

At TCPS your privacy is important to us. The American Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a set of rules to be followed by health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. HIPAA took effect on April 14, 2003. In the health care and medical profession, HIPAA has created the assurance that all patient account handling, billing, and medical records are HIPAA compliant. TCPS is compliant with the HIPAA privacy rule, security rule, and transaction codes. As part of our informed consent paperwork, you will read about the provisions we have taken and how your "protected health information" will be handled should you choose to use health insurance to pay for part or all of your psychological services.

A brief consumer summary of the HIPAA privacy rule can be found at www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/consumer_summary.pdf. A more in-depth summary from the US Dept. of Health and Human Services is at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.pdf.