“What is therapy?”

Therapy is an opportunity to discuss/talk about topics that are important to the client, while having a trained objective person (the therapist) help them process current topics and be better prepared for future situations. Therapists can help connect the past, present, and future. Therapy can focus on one topic, multiple topics and/or explore how things are connected.

Therapy is a collaborative event, it requires an active role from both the client and the therapist for change to occur. Therapists guides to help you get to your goals.

“Can I do virtual therapy or can I come in person?”

Rhiza is currently offering virtual or in person therapy. Each therapist manages their own schedules and will have their own designated days in the office.

“I see the words therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy - what is the difference?”

Not much! All of those phrases are pretty interchangeable and used as a personal preference by the therapist or practice. Sometimes we say we are therapists and folks start talking about their knee issues thinking of physical therapy. Sometimes we say counselor and folks think of school counselors. Psychotherapy is pretty straight forward but an intimidating word. Whichever way we describe it, we’re all here to help support you in this journey.

One word out there with a potentially different meaning is "coaching." There is no licensing requirement to market oneself as a coach, or life coach, however many licensed professionals offer coaching services. Be mindful of the training and experience of any practitioner you may consider working with.

“What can therapy offer me that reading a self-help book or talking to my friends and family can’t?”

Self-help books and our support people are great! However, books aren’t always fine tuned to your specific needs and our family and friend aren’t always objective. Therapy can help take topics from book and apply them to your life or help you think deeper about what you were presented with. Those closest with us can be influenced by our relationship and their thoughts and feelings. Therapists are trained to remain objective - we don’t allow our personal beliefs to influence therapy.

Therapy offers many individual benefits, such as building coping skills, changing old patterns, developing new patterns, improving communication, processing feelings, boosting self-worth, attuning with yourself, etc. Some of these things are best worked through and learned in the therapy space.

“What can I expect at my first appointment?”

First appointments are a great time to get to know one another. It usually involves quite a few questions about your presenting concerns and your history - but we try to make it as comfortable as possible and will go at your pace! We want to start building a relationship with you and are mindful of the level of trust and safety at a first session. You could also expect to learn more about what your therapist offers you, such as their therapeutic style or trainings they have completed. Sessions typically last 45-53 minutes. Therapy treatment planning happens during the beginning stages of therapy. It’s okay if you’re not sure what goals you have for therapy, your therapist can help with that too.

“How do I find the right therapist for me?”

Everyone needs something different out of therapy and their therapist. Take a look at each therapist’s bio - we have all written ours individually and personally. They give you a little bit of insight into what it would be like to work with that therapist. We welcome our clients knowing what they need from us and communicating that. We also welcome knowing if our expertise or style isn’t a good fit for you. We never take offense to not being the best fit for a client. We believe good therapy comes from a good therapeutic relationship. If you’re working with a therapist that isn’t right for you, please let them know so they can help you find a better fit and you can get what you need out of therapy .

“When can I expect to feel better?”

We wish we had a magic potion or a quick fix of some sort. Unfortunately, even good change can be hard and these problems can feel worse before they get better. Think about having a wound that never healed right. You might have to go in and clean it out before it can properly heal. In the meantime, you have pain from the wound, and sometimes more if you have to clean it out again. However, it will eventually heal properly and stop giving you so much pain. Therapy can look like cleaning out a wound and we don’t have a timeframe for how long it takes to heal again. What we do know is we will be there to support you through the process and provide you with tools to cope in healthier ways. This often brings people more immediate relief, but to truly feel better you have to see the process through.

“How often do I go to therapy?”

This depends on your personal needs. Typically, therapy starts with once a week. Seeing your therapist that often helps build a good relationship with them and get some good work done on your initial goals. At times some people even choose to do therapy a couple times a week. If therapy is needed more often than that a referral to more comprehensive treatment is usually recommended. Don’t worry though, your therapist will be happy to pick back up with you in our outpatient setting when you are ready to come back. You and your therapist can decide what schedule best meets your needs at any given time. Just like any good habit, therapy takes consistency or “practice” and too much intermittence can cause the need for more review and slower progress. We hope you will trust your therapist’s recommendations and when the timing is right some clients can engage in more of maintenance or as needed therapy. We are required to see clients at least once every three months for them to stay active on our caseload.

“What does therapy cost?”

We work with multiple insurance providers, each insurance plan, even within the same network can be different. While most therapists can accept the same insurance there may be some differences. Please reach out to our admin staff to verify which therapists work with your insurance. You may need to contact your insurance provider directly to determine your coverage/co-pay. If you would like to pay out of pocket, therapists may also provide a sliding scale service fee determined by each respective therapist.

“How do I know when I’m ready to stop therapy?”

Get ready for another typical therapist answer - it depends! Each individual has their own goals and treatment needs. You will decide with your therapist what it might look like when you are ready to move on from therapy. Sometimes that day doesn’t have a specific look or feel. Treatment plans can help us determine when we have met goals. We can either add new goals, or start a new journey.

“What are all the letters behind the therapist’s name?”

The alphabet soup describes our education and licensure. Most therapist have Master’s degrees and some have Doctorate degrees. MA and MS indicate Master’s degrees and PHD, PsyD, EdD indicate Doctoral degrees. Therapists typically are licensed as professional counselors or social workers - they are all able to do the same things in therapy. Three licensures you will see often are LPC, LCSW & LMFT. They stand for licensed professional counselor, licensed clinical social worker and licensed marriage and family therapist. You might notice NCC behind some names, which indicates they are a nationally certified counselor. Counselors may have other certifications behind their name. All licensed therapist are bound by state statutes and must complete continuing education hours.