Frequently Asked Questions

Therapy

  • Therapy is the process by which a licensed therapist engages in structured and consistent 1:1 conversation with a client. This process consists of many nuances, but in short, it is focused on compassionate and open discussion related to topics of the client’s choice. A therapist focuses on observing, asking questions, listening, and assisting clients in making life choices and changes that are consistent with the client’s values and goals.

  • A licensed therapist is someone who has received an undergraduate and graduate level of education in a field that is aligned with therapy. This is typically via education in the following areas:

    1) Mental Health Counseling.

    2) Social Work.

    3) Psychology.

    A licensed therapist takes a series of exams and works under the supervision of a licensed and experienced therapist before becoming fully and independently licensed. A licensed therapist holds a license to practice therapy, in their specific area of study, at the state level. The following credentials are most common:

    1) Licensed Mental Health Counselor.

    2) Licensed Independent Social Worker.

    3) Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.

    4) Licensed Psychologist.

  • Candeo Counseling Center welcomes the involvement of a person’s faith as a means of analysis and discussion in therapy. This process is client-centered and client-driven. If a client desires to include the topic of their faith in counseling, our providers are happy to do that. If a client declines and does not have interest in doing this, then our providers are also happy to respect that. As licensed therapists, it is a therapist’s obligation to respect the wishes of a client related to this topic. We most certainly do that. There will never be a scenario where a therapist at Candeo Counseling Center forces the topic of faith in a therapy session.

  • That is completely fine! Candeo Counseling Center in no way pressures clients to have any specific belief related to the topic of faith. We have many clients receiving our services that have no specific faith or religious belief. We are happy to treat that client and do so in a respectful and professional manner. We provide service to anyone and all walks of life.

  • If you feel your therapist is not a good fit, you can do a couple of things. Here are some recommendations:

    1) Share this with the therapist. Discuss with the therapist what makes you feel uncomfortable or disconnected from the therapist. See if your therapist can welcome this feedback and potentially adopt a new approach.

    2) Feel free to request a different therapist at the counseling center. This happens frequently and in no way, is a problem. This is very normal in the therapy space. It is important to feel connected to your therapist. A client feeling a strong alliance with their therapist is the single most important factor as it relates to positive therapeutic outcomes. It is crucial!

  • It can matter what orientation your therapist uses, depending on the content of your struggle or goal. Our therapists all communicate a certain speciality and that is the area they feel most fluent in. It is important to note that any licensed therapist is always engaged in on-going education and is usually eager to learn new areas of content. As stated above, the most important factor as it relates to positive therapeutic outcomes is the client’s perception of how well connected they feel to their therapist. Even above the orientation choice of a therapist! In summary:

    1) It does matter to a certain degree.

    2) Our therapists have their own areas of designated expertise.

    3) Therapists are always learning new orientations and techniques.

    4) Your relationship with your therapist is most important, even above orientation.

Ethics

  • A dual relationship is when a therapist engages in relationship with a client in any way other than that of a therapist. In a general sense, this is forbidden in the therapy space. Once a therapist becomes a therapist of a client, they are not able to be “friends” with a client outside of the session. There are many times when a therapist and client share some type of overlap in a social setting due to the small size of communities but even in that sense, it is important for the therapist to maintain a healthy and structured approach when outside of therapy.

  • If this comes up in session, it is important for the therapist to introduce a conversation about how you feel about this topic. Two things to make clear:

    1) You do not have to switch churches.

    2) The therapist does not have to switch churches.

    When this comes up in session, the therapist and client usually discuss the topic and assess for any needed or special boundaries in order to ensure the therapeutic relationship is not compromised and any dual relationship potential has been planned around and mitigated.

  • This is okay. Most therapists will pretend they don’t know you if they see you in public. This is to respect your need and/or desire for privacy. If you want to come up to your therapist and say hi, that is acceptable. If that happens, most of the time a therapist will keep conversation light and non therapy related. Your therapist will never disclose in public that you are his/her client but will simply engage on an informal and social level. We live in a small world, so this can be very common. As always, feel free to bring this what-if up in session, so you and your therapist are on the same page about what to do, how to speak, or how to act.

  • A mandatory reporter is usually a professional in the healthcare and helping field. This can range from a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, a police officer, a firefighter, a therapist, and many more. The thought behind a mandatory reporter is that these are a group of professionals that come in contact with people on a frequent basis. They are required by means of their licensure or profession to report any suspected abuse of a child or dependent adult to a state agency. Mandatory reporters are required to report suspected abuse and if they do not, they can face serious consequences. This process is designed to protect vulnerable individuals in our society who do not have the ability to speak up for themselves and protect themselves.

Privacy

  • Confidentiality means that what you say in the therapy office stays in the therapy office. As a blanket rule, a therapist is not allowed to share information that you share with others. There are a couple of exceptions to this:

    1) If you sign a release of information allowing a therapist to do this with someone specific.

    2) If a therapist is engaging in professional collaboration with another therapist they work with.

    3) If a therapist is issued a HIPAA compliant subpoena.

    4) If a therapist is required to break confidentiality due to specific content shared in session.

  • A therapist can typically break confidentiality under the following circumstances:

    1) If required reportable information is disclosed that aligns with the mandatory reporter category.

    2) If a therapist feels your life is in danger due to your plan or desire to seriously harm yourself.

    3) If a therapist feels someone else’s life is in danger due to your plan related to seriously harming someone else.

    Outside of these three categories, a therapist will not break confidentiality and what you say in session is completely private and confidential. Please be sure to ask your therapist to expand on this topic if you feel you need additional information or explanation.

  • A release of information is a formal document our office has. This allows you to note specific individuals you are comfortable with the therapist communicating with. You are able to make this form individual specific and content specific. A properly filled out and signed release of information makes the process of sharing information very clear to all parties involved. You can revoke a release of information at any time!

  • Candeo Counseling Center uses TherapyNotes for its Electronic Health Record, Google Suite for its internal communication, and Zoom for its phone system. We have signed a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with each of these entities and have ensured HIPAA compliance exists with each system.

Billing & Insurance

  • We work with a third party billing and credentialing company called Mental Health Management Inc. (MHMI) that is based out of Sandy, Utah. This company specializes in billing and insurance topics for mental health agencies. This organization credentials our agency with insurance companies, submits electronic claims for us, and collects client balances for us. We communicate with this organization on a daily basis and since the inception of our agency, have learned to work very well with this agency.

  • A co-pay varies based on insurance company and plan choice. In short, this is a client’s responsible payment for an office visit that occurs. This co-pay amount can change based on the insurance company the client has, the plan details of the client’s insurance policy, the provider type the client is seeing, and the specialty that a client is visiting.

  • A deductible is the amount that a client is responsible for prior to insurance covering services received. This is very similar to how a deductible on an auto policy works. Let’s say someone has a $500 deductible on their car insurance policy. This deductible requires the individual to cover the cost of the first $500 of damage to their care. Translating to healthcare: If you have a $2,500 deductible on your health plan, you will be responsible for the first $2,500 of charges to your plan. Be sure to call your insurance company and ask further questions about this.

  • Network status between a provider and an insurance company indicates the type of relationship a provider has with your insurance company. This affects the way your insurance company covers services that you are receiving. You can always call your insurance company to check if a provider is in-network or out-of-network with your insurance company. They will be able to tell you this, along with the potential financial impact to you and overall coverage of services. Our billing service, MHMI does a great job of credentialing our providers with most insurance companies and for that reason, we are in-network with almost every client we see. If you have an out-of-state employer, or an uncommon insurance plan, you may experience issues with our providers being in-network. The short answer here is to call your insurance company and ask about our providers.

  • A payment authorization form is a form that we use to securely store a credit card on file, electronically, in our private electronic health record (EHR). This is the most convenient way for us to collect on client balances after electronic claims have been processed.

  • As previously stated, we use a third party billing and credentialing service, known as MHMI to submit our electronic claims through our secure electronic health record (EHR). This company posts payments we receive and posts client balances. This company mails out monthly statements to each client and asks any and all questions related to balances on file, along with the balance collection process.

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