Does your practice take insurance?

Our practice does not accept insurance and is considered private pay or self-pay only. We can provide you the paperwork you need to submit an Out-of-Network claim to your insurance provider for possible reimbursement. It is your responsibility to verify your out-of-network benefits and submit your claims to your insurance company.

Reasons to consider private pay vs. using insurance:

• Insurance will only pay or reimburse for services if the client or patient is given a diagnosis, regardless of the reasons you are seeking therapy services for you or your child.

• Any diagnosis you or your child receive can be considered a pre-existing condition and may impact you or your child in the future, such as when applying for health insurance, life insurance, employment, etc.

• Your therapy records become part of your medical records (or your child’s) when you choose to use insurance to pay for therapy. Insurance companies can request documentation from your therapist about your treatment which become part of the permanent medical record. Some insurance companies will request session notes in addition to the diagnosis to ensure your or your child’s treatment is deemed appropriate by the insurance company’s standards. Your therapist will work to protect your confidentiality but cannot control what the insurance company does with your information.

• Insurance companies can decide how many sessions you are eligible to receive and what treatment goals are considered appropriate for you or your child. Your or your child’s treatment will be dictated by the expectations of the insurance company and the diagnosis you or your child received. When choosing private pay, if any additional issues are uncovered during the course of treatment, you and your therapist can easily decide to change treatment goals or the approach to treatment without needing approval from your insurance.

• When using health insurance, there is additional paperwork, phone calls, and other time-consuming tasks such as checking your deductible and yearly limits, checking co-pays, and oftentimes wasting time on hold trying to contact someone at the insurance company. Some insurance companies will ask you to submit additional paperwork to “prove” that you still require services. After all is said and done, you may find that your insurance covers so little that you would have saved time and money in the first place by using an HSA/FSA card to pay for services instead of going through insurance.

• Bottom line - Choosing private pay provides more protection for your confidentiality and also allows you and your therapist more control over the course of your treatment.

What ages do you work with?

Taylor works with clients who are around 3 years old or older. She specifically enjoys working with young children, young adults, and adults looking for parenting support or their own counseling.

Jared is our teen and adult therapist at Redwood. He works with kids as young as age 12 or older.

How often are sessions scheduled?

Sessions are typically scheduled either weekly or biweekly (every other week). For play therapy clients - weekly is recommended. You and your therapist can determine any changes to your session frequency as your treatment progresses.

How long does the therapy process take?

Great question - though it really depends on the person, their goals for therapy, and their history. On average, many of our child clients and their families see change around 15-20 sessions. Sometimes this can happen in less time, sometimes it may take longer. Much of this depends on the work you are willing to put in outside of session - whether you’re a parent implementing new parenting strategies at home to complement your child’s therapy or you are in services for yourself and are practicing new coping skills or other strategies.

Will I be in session with my child?

For most play therapy sessions, no. Your child will receive individual play or activity therapy sessions one-on-one with their therapist. I do ask that you wait in the lobby or in your car for the duration of their session. It does not happen often, but there are rare instances when we might need to end their session early due to extreme behaviors causing safety concerns. Young children also sometimes need to use the restroom during session and may need parental assistance. Although you will not participate in your child’s individual sessions, part of the play therapy process includes regularly scheduled parent consultations. These are scheduled separately from your child’s appointment and typically occur every 4-6 weeks, during which we will discuss your child’s progress and you will have the opportunity to learn and practice new parenting strategies designed to support your child’s progress. For teens, parent meetings are scheduled less frequently unless requested and often may include joint sessions with your teen to improve communication and family dynamics.

In some cases, it may be beneficial for you to join your child in a play session. This is something you and your child’s counselor will discuss prior to it happening.

What is an intake appointment? What do I bring?

This is the initial appointment during which you will meet your therapist, discuss the therapy process and office policies, and provide an in-depth history of you or your child’s experiences leading you to seek counseling. During this time, we will discuss goals for your or your child’s therapy and make sure we both feel comfortable moving forward with the counseling process. If for whatever reason I determine I cannot meet your needs, I will gladly provide you referrals elsewhere to another professional who may be a better fit for what you are needing. Intakes are always for adults only. If you are seeking services for your child, please do not bring your child to the intake. If you arrive for your intake appointment with your child, your appointment will be rescheduled and you will be charged the full session fee.

Prior to your intake, you will receive intake paperwork and an invitation to my secure client portal through TherapyNotes. Please complete all paperwork in its entirety prior to your first appointment and submit it back to me through the portal. Incomplete paperwork may require you to reschedule your appointment.

Do you require both parents to consent for services and participate in the child’s treatment?

Typically, yes. In cases where the child sees both parents regularly (e.g., both parents are living together with the child, parents are divorced and have split custody), therapy is most effective when both parents participate and are willing to make changes. It can be difficult for your child to make progress if only one parent is working to gain an understanding of their child’s behaviors or attempting to make changes at home.

If the child is not living with both biological parents, both adoptive parents, or only living parent, Texas law requires me to have a copy of the most recent legal document stating custody arrangements which is signed by a judge. This document will specify which parent has the right to consent for mental health services for their child. Oftentimes it states both parents have the right to consent, in which case I will require both parents to consent before starting services with your child. If one parent has the sole right to consent, I will still at least reach out to the other parent to inform them that their child is starting counseling and invite them to participate, unless this will cause harm to the child. I will be unable to start seeing your child until I have received this document and have had time to review it and gather the necessary consents as stated by the document.

What happens if my child misses school for an appointment with you?

I can provide a school excuse note for you to give to their school to excuse their absence. Most schools are understanding of the counseling process.

What do I tell my child about their therapy appointment?

It is important that you let your child know about their therapy appointment in advance and don’t spring it on them suddenly. You can tell your child they are going to a playroom filled with toys, games, and arts and crafts and they will be working with someone who can help them with their big feelings. Some children may already have some level of awareness of their struggles, so if you’ve talked about it with them before, you can be more specific.

Should I ask my child about their appointment after their session?

It’s natural to be curious about your child’s sessions. However, I encourage you to allow your child to take the lead on how much or little they share with you. Asking about your child’s sessions can be like the equivalent of your friend, partner, or spouse asking you to share what you talked about in your own talk therapy sessions. Sometimes it may feel okay to share, but sometimes sessions can be really heavy and you may be ready to take a break from the thoughts or feelings that were brought up in the session - the same goes for your child. If you ever have any questions or concerns about your child’s sessions, please reach out to your child’s therapist.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept most major credit cards, including HSA/FSA cards.

Do I have to put a credit card on file?

Yes. We require all of my clients keep a credit card on file. I currently accept payments through my secure client portal in TherapyNotes. This software is secure and allows you to put a card on file without me ever seeing your card information.

What do I do if I need to cancel or reschedule?

I am more than happy to cancel or reschedule appointments if I receive at least 24 hours notice. For example, if your appointment is scheduled for Wednesday at 5 PM, I will require notice by Tuesday at 5 PM for you to avoid a late cancellation fee. If you do not notify me and do not show up for your appointment, or if you notify me with less than 24 hours notice, you will be charged the entire appointment fee. I am mindful of unexpected emergency situations and will waive the fee on a case-by-case basis.

What do all of the letters/credentials mean?

Great question! MS stands for Master of Science and refers to the master’s degree I earned while in graduate school at the University of North Texas. LPC stands for Licensed Professional Counselor. RPT stands for Registered Play Therapist. RYT 200 stands for 200 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher.

To earn the LPC credential, one must complete a master’s program in counseling or a related subject, which typically includes over 700 hours of clinical experience prior to graduating PLUS an additional 3,000 hours of clinical experience post-graduation under the supervision of a board-approved LPC-Supervisor.

To earn the RPT credential, one must complete the above requirements to qualify for the LPC credential or other-related, independent license (such as LMFT or LCSW), complete at least 150 hours of play therapy-specific instruction, and complete a minimum of 350 hours of play therapy services under the supervision of an approved RPT-Supervisor.

To qualify for the RYT 200 credential, one must complete a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program at a Yoga Alliance-approved Registered Yoga School.

To maintain these credentials, one is required to complete a certain number of Continuing Education courses each year. This allows those who hold these credentials to stay informed about the latest research and techniques in the field.