Q: What will I talk about in counseling?
At first Taylor Burdick works to earn your trust, learn more about you, and help you to set goals. After that, we figure out what method(s) of counseling work best for you and go from there. Because trust is important, Taylor will not push into areas you don’t feel ready to discuss yet. Some people dive right in and others take a little bit to get more comfortable being open. Either way is ok!
Visit our services page to learn more about the issues we can work on.
Q: How long do sessions last?
Typical sessions last for 45-53 minutes (insurance standards), but you may schedule for more time if you believe you need a longer session or need time to decompress from session before leaving the office. You can also schedule for less time if needed, although we suggest for maximum benefit that at least 45 minutes is best.
Q: Will my therapist keep my information confidential?
You will notice on many of our pages we reference HIPAA compliance, which simply means we follow the rules regarding client confidentiality of records and treatment just like a doctor’s office would. This is important, because this means we protect your records and information with the utmost care, so that your information does not become public knowledge or get released to someone who you do not want the information to go to.
You have a lot of control over your information, and you will give us signed paperwork indicating your consent before we contact anyone else or use your information in any way.
The only time we will not keep your information confidential is in an emergency situation where we are mandated to report. In Colorado that currently includes: 1. threats of significant self-harm/death to self or others, 2. Abuse or neglect of a minor, elderly adult, or vulnerable adult (e.g. an adult with a developmental or physical disorder), 3. Threats to place (violence targeted at public places)
Q: How do I know if this is helping, and what do I do if it isn’t?
You should see symptoms getting better, and that’s why it’s important to create goals and check in on them. You should also feel that you are processing things that have been stuck or that you haven’t been able to process before. For example, if you are working on social anxiety, you should start to see internal confidence, decreased panic, increased use of coping skills, increased social efforts, and an understanding of why this developed so that you can change the pattern.
At Twelve Stones Counseling we will always give you information on why we are doing what we are doing and why we think it will help. If it’s not helping, let’s talk about it and look at other options so that we honor your time and get you closer to your goals! We want to fit counseling to you, not make you fit into counseling.
There are many major styles of counseling that work, so if one doesn’t fit we will find one that does. It is a matter of making sure you click with what we are doing, and that is a result of both communication with your counselor and your counselor’s read on you. That’s why the relationship with your counselor is so important in the outcome.
Q: Is there any difference in counseling for a minor?
Yes, a little bit. Young clients can struggle online, so we typically start seeing minors when they are able to focus on the session well enough. Parents/guardians/others involved in care will be asked to join the intake session to go over paperwork, and we will get consent from the minor and the parents/guardians.
We will also have a talk about how to incorporate parents/guardians (e.g. how much should they be involved in session, what follow-up looks like, and what supports the minor the best). Some minors need a little time to themselves and others need parental/guardian involvement. Either way, the parents/guardians and minors are all have established relationships with the counselor.
There’s a very slim amount of cases where a minor may seek counseling without parental/guardian consent, and these are cases where it is in the interest of protecting a minor. In the vast majority of cases, it’s really important to include parents/guardians.
Here’s the bill that describes what minor clients can seek counseling without parental/guardian consent. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us.
Q: How frequently should I go to therapy?
The outcomes are typically best when you start off with a consistent session either every week or every other week. Anything past that can make you lose steam. The frequency of every week or every other week also helps to build the relationship and momentum. However, if this isn’t a financial option or doesn’t work with the schedule we understand. Talk to us and we can try to navigate those hurdles.
After you have been working at your symptoms and feel you might not need as much counseling, we start to talk about pairing back and seeing how you’re doing. Usually we drop to every three weeks or once a month, and then decide if you’re ready to be done.
Ultimately the schedule is up to you and what works best, but this is the general experience to expect.
Q: What is EMDR?
A: EMDR is an evidence-based treatment that is highly effective at dealing with both single-event and complex traumas. Single-event traumas are things that happened once, and complex traumas are either where you experience many single-event traumas or you have a continued pattern of the same trauma over years of exposure. EMDR can help with things that makes you have panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares, PTSD symptoms, some types of pain, and things your brain keeps making you relive or remember over and over. It has also been shown in some studies to help other issues like depression, anxiety, ADD, ADD with hyperactivity (formerly ADHD), and some other types of disordered behavior, thinking, and emotionality. If you have questions regarding your specific case to see if EMDR could be good for you, please contact us. To learn more about EMDR, check out the about EMDR page, visit this site or ask us and we can explain, clarify, and discuss if EMDR is right for you.
Q: Can you do other therapies besides EMDR?
A: Yes! In fact, the typical therapies we use are not EMDR. The nice thing about paying out of pocket instead of using insurance is that we can use both evidence-based and other therapy models, meaning we can fit counseling to what works best for you. We currently use models like CBT, REBT, Gestalt, Existential, Narrative, and Humanistic intervention techniques, but work with what works best for the client.