Is psychotherapy for me?

 

Debating whether or not to seek treatment, may be a difficult process. One way to figure out if psychotherapy will be useful for you, is to think about how your conflict is impacting your quality of life. Spending an incredible amount of mental energy on worrying or avoiding problems, may take away quality time you may better spend on yourself, others, and/or your career. Psychotherapy may be the place you need to help you channel your energy in a more productive way or help you find the energy needed to make changes that will improve your overall wellbeing. If you are still debating seeking psychotherapy, please call me at 470-344-5221 for a free phone consultation to discuss your situation and how treatment will benefit you.

 

Does meeting with a psychologist mean I have a mental illness?

 

No, coming to psychotherapy does not mean that you have a mental illness or that you will be diagnosed with a major mental illness. Some individuals need a nonjudgmental and third person perspective for self-exploration and to gently challenge them to view other perspectives. Additionally, some individuals may need skills based training for coping skills, distress tolerance skills, and stress management skills.

 

What is the difference between a psychologist – PhD/PsyD, LPC, LCSW?

 

A psychologist is someone who received a doctorate versus a master’s degree. Psychologists typically attend graduate school for 5-6 years versus 2-3 years, and thus, have longer years of supervised training. Additionally, the state of Georgia requires Psychologists to have an additional post-doctoral year (at least 1500 hours) of supervised experience even after they are awarded their doctorate.  

 

What If I do not want my medical record to have a mental illness diagnosis?

 

Not everyone who comes to therapy will receive a major diagnosis. Some individuals may have problems related to psychosocial, personal, and environmental circumstances that subside as soon as the situation is addressed or one learns how to better cope with the situation. Additionally, if you do not plan to use your out-of-network insurance, there is no need for your insurance company to know you are in therapy. Some insurances only reimburse for major mental disorders and is important to find out if you are planning to gain reimbursement (see Session Information for further tips about using insurance plans).

 

 

How long will therapy last?

 

The length of treatment is different for everyone and depends on one’s goals. Some individuals have very specific target goals and only need 8-12 sessions. For example, some individuals’ goals are to learn mindfulness skills for anxiety and may only need a few skills based sessions. Whereas others, may want to focus on learning where they learned negative patterns and want more in-depth psychotherapy to focus on early life experiences that shape their current schemata or behaviors.