You Have Questions –

No, I do not take any insurance.
Please visit reimbursify.com for more information on how to get your sessions reimburse by your insurance.

It really depends on what your personal goals are and what your ideal life looks like.

For some, therapy is about recognizing what is realistic. For others, it’s about processing childhood trauma so that it isn’t always the lens through which you see.

Therapy can be helpful for a variety of circumstances. I personally believe that everyone can benefit from therapy with the “right person.”

The “right person” will help you determine what your goals are (if you don’t know already) and work with you to achieve them..

This is another “it depends” situation. Adjustment challenges (such as a new job or new baby) can be improved quickly, usually four to six sessions.

Trauma therapy takes much longer because there must be trust in the relationship for the brain to process the trauma.

Outside of a risk to yourself or others, you decide the frequency and you decide how long you’re in therapy.

And, if you don’t feel that you’re moving in the direction that you want to move as quickly as you’d like, let me know so that we can pivot and shift.Description text goes here

The purpose of therapy is improved quality of life. Imagine if you woke up and you had your ideal life. That’s what I want for you…or as close to it as we can get while being realistic!

Having an outside person that can ask the questions to help you make decisions or see things in a new way is priceless.

I am considered out-of-network. This means that payment is due at the time of service.

Some insurance plans will cover some of my services at 100%. Other plans do not have out-of-network coverage. Use this worksheet to call your insurance company

and find out if you have out-of-network benefits and what they are. There are also companies, such as Reimbursify, that can help you with reimbursement.

I used to accept insurance until it was no longer sustainable for my practice. While there were many reasons, the most impactful reasons are shared here.

First, under the medical model (which is the model that insurance companies utilize), I am limited by the services that I can offer and the duration of those services. It does not matter that, as a clinician, I have countless hours of education. It does not matter that you and I have discussed what methods and treatment are appropriate for you and we have agreed how to proceed.

We are boxed into that medical model. We must use the methods and duration of treatment that are “approved” by your insurance company. They do not know your personal history and the rules are somewhat arbitrary.

The medical model also assumes that you are “broken and need fixing.” I believe that behaviors and thoughts are coping skills for our experiences. You are not broken; you are doing what has worked. However, many of those “things” are no longer working or are holding you back from your best life.

Second, I typically spent one full day a week “balancing the books” and ensuring that insurance payments were made.

Should an insurance deny a claim, I spent countless hours on the phone “chasing payments.” The time frame for reimbursement for a denied claim was often several months out.

This created financial strain within my own household. Not only was this extremely frustrating for me personally, but it took time away from clients and, quite frankly, was leading to burnout. I cannot continue to serve you well if I am burned out.

Assessment sessions, which are the first time I see you, if there is a major change in your mental health and/or if there are more than three months between sessions) are $200 for a fifty-minute session. Follow up sessions are $150 for a fifty-minute session. Intensives are based on the length of the intensive.

If you are late or need to leave the session early, you will be charged the full fee.

Payment is expected at the time of service by a credit card that is on file.

If you cannot make it to a session, let me know as soon as possible. Cancellations made within 24 hours are subject to a late cancellation fee (which is the full cost of the session).

These fees are not payable by insurance reimbursement.

Most clients feel some relief after the first session. Many clients find that it is helpful to be able to share their concerns and create a plan to address them.

My goal is for every session to bring some relief. However, sometimes, as you become healthier, you recognize dysfunctional patterns in existing relationships and things may intensify as you renegotiate new patterns.

It is also not unusual to not have relief immediately after an appointment, particularly if we are working on trauma. My goal is for you to have coping skills to make the “hard therapy days” more easily tolerated.

Therapy is not a magic wand. It is hard work, but the result is worth it. If therapy isn’t progressing as quickly as you’d like or if you need to shift your therapeutic goals, let me know so that we can make another plan.

Sessions are telehealth sessions, except for intensives. You must physically be in a state in which I am currently licensed to have therapy sessions.

Those states are Maine, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The location of intensive sessions varies, as I rent office space by the hour to accommodate. Intensives can also be conducted via telehealth.

Yes. You may call me at 803-760-7490. Phone calls longer than 10 minutes are considered counseling sessions and you will be billed in fifteen-minute increments.

Weekly sessions occur on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. My first session is at 8am. My last session is at 6:15pm.

Evening sessions fill up quickly, but they are available. I do not see clients on the weekends.

You can schedule your appointment by visiting

https://footholdcounseling.clientsecure.me. You can also text or call 803.760.7490 or email sandy@footholdcounseling.com

Please note that I do not have office staff so the fastest way to get an appointment is to visit the client portal.

Please know that confidentiality is a priority for me but there are limits set by law.

If you are a risk to yourself or others, I have a duty to report. I must also report suspected child endangerment, and suspected elder or child abuse. Should your records be subpoenaed by a judge, I will have to release them, or risk being held in contempt of court.

Absolutely. Finding a good fit is imperative in your therapeutic journey.

Simply tell me. Ultimately, you get to decide what you talk about. However, progress may be limited if you are unwilling to “dive in” or avoid the hard topics.

No, not at all. Everyone has challenges, less than ideal behaviors, and a history that they don’t want to share with just anyone. To me, seeking therapeutic services is a sign of mental health.

Counseling is a second career for me. I was in the medical industry for almost eighteen years. For most of that time, I coordinated pharmaceutical research trials.

It was during that time I discovered that the mind, body, and spirit cannot be separated. My patients often experienced a “placebo effect.” In other words, they got better even though they did not receive any medication.

I have learned that the therapeutic relationship heals more than anything else and that we can “speed up” the healing process by using tools that are based on the body’s natural inclinations. The brain and the body want to heal. Sometimes, they just get stuck. I can help get them unstuck.