Frequently Asked Questions
When I make the first phone call to the clinic, what will I be asked?
How will I know whether your services are covered by my health insurance?
How long will the initial evaluation take? How long are the follow-up sessions?
What should I bring to the initial evaluation and the follow-up sessions?
Where will I wait before my appointment?
As parents, do we get to sit in on our child's session?
What are my privacy rights?
How do I know which therapist to see?
How do we know if therapy is working?
Do you have a particular philosophy or set of values that you work from?
When I make the first phone call to the clinic, what will I be asked?
We usually ask for some basic personal information (such as name, address, phone number, place of employment, name of your physician, and reason for calling) as well as your health insurance information.
How will I know whether your services are covered by my health insurance?
We accept most insurances and recommend that clients call their insurance company directly to ask whether our services will be covered, whether there is a deductable, and how much of a co-payment you will need to make as part of your plan; as a courtesy to prospective clients, we will also check with the insurance company regarding your mental health benefits.
How long will the initial evaluation take? How long are the follow-up sessions?
Typically one hour; we ask that for your first appointment, you come 20 minutes earlier than your scheduled time to complete the required paperwork. Follow-up sessions typically are 45 to 50 minutes long.
What should I bring to the initial evaluation and the follow-up sessions?
For your first session, bring your insurance card and any paperwork you may have already completed. The deductable payment and co-payments are requested at the time of each session.
Where will I wait before my appointment?
Each therapist has a a semi-private waiting area for your comfort and confidentiality. Our receptionist will show you which waiting area to go to; you can then sit down and complete the paperwork before your first appointment.
As parents, do we get to sit in on our child's session?
Every situation is different. Many times, the therapist will spend some time during the initial evaluation with everyone (parents and child) in the office, followed by some time for parents and child to discuss their concerns separately with the therapist. We welcome your questions regarding your child's therapy, and encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns with your therapist directly.
What are my privacy rights?
The fact that you are a client at our clinic, as well as the information you share with your therapist, is confidential. No information can be given to another person, including times of appointment or acknowledgement that you are a client here, without your written permission. There are a few exceptions to this rule which your therapist will discuss with you during the initial evaluation. For a detailed explanation of your privacy rights and the exceptions to confidentiality, please visit our Privacy Page.
How do I know which therapist to see?
Clients are assigned to their therapist on an individual basis, depending on their unique concerns and circumstances. We do our best to make the best possible match between you and your therapist. If you have a strong preference to see a particular therapist, or to see either a female or a male therapist, please mention this to our receptionist when you call and we will make every effort to accommodate your request. Our therapists have different areas of expertise that will also be taken into consideration when we try to make a good match. For more information on what each therapist specializes in, please visit our Staff Page.
How do we know if therapy is working?
Therapy is not like math. Answers are not as clear cut as 1 + 1 = 2. Quality care can be difficult to measure. At Doll and Associates, we use a measure called the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ) to track the progress of our clients. This means that each client who comes in to meet with a clinician fills out a simple, one-page sheet to let us know how you or your child are doing on a variety of levels. Then, each time you come to see us, you complete it (or use our hand-held device). It takes only about 5 minutes.
Benefits of the OQ
The OQ helps us and you identify problems. Certain symptoms point to specific problems. These problems can often be more easily and quickly remedied if we are aware that they exist. The OQ tells us in more detail the problems that are occurring.
It helps track progress. Looking back at the changes since the beginning of therapy is an excellent, visual way to see how things are going. You will most likely know already if things feel better or not, but this gives us a more concrete way to tell if we are on the right track or if we need to do something differently to help you better. Put simply: The OQ helps determine if your money is being spent wisely!
It helps direct treatment. If things are not changing, you’ll probably know that, too. Tracking your score using the OQ can let both of us know that we need to change course, possibly before we might otherwise be able to tell.
Identifies potential emergency situations. When completing the hand-held version of the questionnaire, answers are immediately entered into the system, so if there are issues like suicidality or other potentially dangerous issues, we are able to address them with you or your child right away.
Types of OQ Questionnaires
Adult OQ
This is for clients 18 years or over. We’ll have you complete a baseline questionnaire so we know where you are when therapy starts. This gives us a place to begin and to compare to how you are doing later in treatment. If you are coming in with your spouse or child, we will ask you to complete it for yourself as well. This helps with treatment of your family member, as situations occurring in families do not just affect the client, but have an impact on the entire family.
Youth Self-Report OQ
This is for clients from the ages of 12-17. The child will also complete this at the first session, and as many as possible after that. This gives us an indication of how the child feels and how he or she sees things. When compared to later answers, this can help everyone identify whether things are improving or if the direction of treatment needs to be changed.
Parent Report OQ
This questionnaire allows the parent of a 4-17 year-old to share, in a more concrete way, how he or she sees things for the child. This is another tool that provides us with the parent’s perspective of the child’s behaviors. Comparing this to the child’s answers can be enlightening for all involved. When working with children and youth, addressing family interactions can be an extremely helpful way to encourage positive changes for everyone.
Do you have a particular philosophy or set of values that you work from?
Quality care to clients
Time spent focusing on clients, not managed care paperwork-With managed care contracts, practitioners are faced with the challenge of having a large volume of clients to compensate for the deeply discounted rates. While higher volume may mean more money, we believe it does so at the expense of quality care. We have therefore made a decision to not place ourselves or our clients in a position where the pursuit of productivity and profit outweigh compassionate, quality care. While this may mean that some have a higher co-pay, we work with people so that the treatment is as fast and effective as possible, thereby minimizing the financial impact and ultimately helping them make changes that last.
Lower volume=more time for clients and the community
Good quality care means making collateral contacts, spending time preparing for each session, and successfully managing caseloads so people do not fall through the cracks. A high volume of sessions makes this impossible. As with smaller classroom sizes, smaller caseloads allow increased individual attention.
Multidisciplinary approach-This means that we coordinate with other professionals to ensure high quality care. Multidisciplinary treatment has been shown to be the most effective type of treatment. Having smaller caseloads allows us to provide this.
Giving to the community
We spend a great deal of our time involved in community initiatives, programs, and education. We realize that if we truly want to help people, we need to be part of helping our whole community. Each of us does this by giving of our time in the schools, on non-profit boards, and by providing community education through our website and presentations. We also provide some free services to clients.
Providing a workplace where practitioners can lead balanced lives
As clinicians, we all believe people should take care of themselves and we try to live out this value in our daily lives. When Doll and Associates was started in 2000, the goal was to create a place to practice where competent, caring professionals could provide the best quality of care possible to their clients. Each of us believe that lower caseloads, a multidisciplinary approach, and giving to the community while working in an atmosphere that is positive and balanced is best for all involved.
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