ADULT THERAPY How long do I have to be in counseling?
Length of time in counseling depends on what you’re coming in for. After you begin services, your clinician will work with you to set up a treatment plan and goals for counseling. Every three months, you’ll get to check in with your clinician about your treatment goals and revise or set new goals. You have the right to end services at any time, including when you decide that your goals have been met.
What happens in a typical session? Each clinician has a different style, and because we believe therapy is most effective when it is a collaboration, what happens in a typical session depends heavily on your preferences and goals for treatment. During the onboarding process, you’ll get to start thinking a bit about what kind of provider you’d want to work with and what you’d want to work on during your time in therapy.
Will what I share be kept private?
Yes! We keep all treatment information confidential, unless you give us permission to share information. If you disclose immediate plans to end your life or hurt someone else, or if you tell us a minor or elder is being harmed, we are required to report it, but will work with you the entire way to minimize harm and ensure your safety.If you are using insurance to pay for services, we are also required to share some treatment information for billing purposes. When you start the onboarding process, you’ll get to indicate who is allowed to communicate with us about your treatment through a consent form.
Will I have to take medication?
No–only if you decide it’s right for you. Expressive Arts Place does not have a prescriber on staff, so if you do decide medication might be a good option to explore, we can help with referrals to outside providers.
Do you take insurance? Yes! We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tufts Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim, Cigna, Aetna, and Allways.
CHILDREN AND TEEN THERAPY
I’m a young person who wants to start therapy, but I don’t want my parents to know. Can I still sign up?
If you're over 18 years old, yes! With a few exceptions, we keep all treatment information confidential and would not share any information with your parents unless you gave your explicit permission for us to do so. If you're under 18 years old, you do need a parent/legal guardian to complete the onboarding process and sign consent documents; we keep treatment information confidential after that, with the same exceptions as listed above.
How long do I have to be in counseling?
Length of time in counseling depends on what you’re coming in for. After you begin services, your clinician will work with you to set up a treatment plan and goals for counseling. Every three months, you’ll get to check in with your clinician about your treatment goals and revise or set new goals. You have the right to end services at any time, including when you decide that your goals have been met.
What happens in a typical session? Each clinician has a different style, and because we believe therapy is most effective when it is a collaboration, what happens in a typical session depends heavily on your preferences and goals for treatment. During the onboarding process, you’ll get to start thinking a bit about what kind of provider you’d want to work with and what you’d want to work on during your time in therapy.
Will what I share be kept private?
Yes! We keep all treatment information confidential, unless you give us permission to share information. If you disclose immediate plans to end your life or hurt someone else, or if you tell us a minor or elder is being harmed, we are required to report it, but will work with you the entire way to minimize harm and ensure your safety.If you are using insurance to pay for services, we are also required to share some treatment information for billing purposes. When you start the onboarding process, you’ll get to indicate who is allowed to communicate with us about your treatment through a consent form.
Will I have to take medication?
No–only if you decide it’s right for you. Expressive Arts Place does not have a prescriber on staff, so if you do decide medication might be a good option to explore, we can help with referrals to outside providers.
COUPLES THERAPY
How do I know if couples’ therapy is right for me and my partner? You and your partner can start couples’ therapy for any reason–whether it’s to deepen the relationship and gain more of an understanding of your dynamic, or to move past points where you feel stuck. During the onboarding process, we will work with you to establish goals and a treatment plan to help address your needs as a couple.
Why have a separate couples’ therapist? Couldn’t I just invite my partner to my therapy sessions?
There are a few benefits to having a distinct couples’ therapist–for example, working with a specialist (not all therapists specialize in couples’ therapy) and working with someone who is able to be more impartial/align themselves with the couple, rather than just one of you. Some individual therapists do allow clients to bring partners, family members, etc to individual sessions when appropriate. In this case, however, your individual therapist is on your side, which is part of what makes therapy effective.
What if the therapist tells us we should end the relationship?
Typically, we do not give advice that is that explicit; rather, our clinicians would help you explore all of your options as a couple so you can come to a decision that is right for you.
FAMILY THERAPY
What if one of my family members does not want to participate? That’s totally fine. You can start with two or more members of the family and bring in others as they feel comfortable. If you are the only member of your family open to participating in therapy, you might want to consider individual therapy and add family therapy when more family members are open to it.
Will the therapist take sides/play favorites?
No–our clinicians are aligned with the family unit over any individual member, and our priority is to help everyone feel more comfortable in the dynamic.