Tag Archives: affordable counseling

New Years Tribute, NWA Marriage & Family Therapy

 

Happy New Year’s 2019.  Reflecting on  2018 I was thinking some times it is good to take a look back  to remember those folks who lived and came before us.  Way before us.  We are here because they survived and had the strength to carry on even in very difficult circumstances, often facing situations that in their time seemed impossible to  overcome or endure.  We as people, are stronger and more resilient  than we believe to face our situations.

Please call NWA Marriage & Family Therapy @ 479-225-0055 to set an appointment for couples or individual counseling, at your convenience.  If you need my services, in Fayetteville, Bella Vista, or Ft. Smith.please leave a voice message and I will call back.

Thank you  and I look forward  to hearing from you.

Happy 2019 New Year’s to all as we head forward.

Carmen

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Counseling, Therapy in the age of AI – Erica

Watching this you tube video of Erica an AI android, was eye opening as far as the speed at which AI is progressing and developing as a technology.  These “machines” at first seemed clumsy and slow.  Now they seem realistic and life like, with a better command of  language and a good sense of humor, complete with facial gestures.  Now Erica has her own face book account, and channel.  Soon,  I think humans will have  the option as far as doing therapy with AI versus a human being. The military is already experimenting with  AI’s for therapy.  It is  an interesting choice.

Counseling Research 

The dilemma is research on counseling for the last forty years shows that its not about techniques or theories used by the therapists that determine outcomes of clients,, but the relationship developed with your clients in session that helps them heal.  Will AI’s be able to mimic this situation? Will the create new ways to do therapy?

Basically,  what makes us fundamentally human is how we connect with each other, and share our experience, with others.  These interactions are all part of that human experience, hat helps us heal., and connects us to each other.

We are watching how  the AI phenomenon is developing at great speed and with surprisingly little social discourse.  You tube clip, stated that one AI received citizenship and that we needed to make space for new entities,, not human, not machine.  The  android needed its own space and place.   Wondering how this will all play out ? Any way thought I would share this clip today about Erica.  Still want to talk with a human being?

NWA Marriage and  Family Therapy

I am a licensed  Counselor and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist  available for individual or relationship therapy.,   Call for an appointment at  479-225-0055 and leave a voice message.  Evening and week end hours are available, serving  the North West Arkansas (NWA )area.

Thank you.

Carmen

“Get your facts first, ….”

“Get your facts first, ….then you can distort them as you please.”- Mark Twain

A great quote from the great social humorist and writer Mark Twain.  Using a little humor and not taking yourself too seriously at times can be a very powerful self preservation strategy for your mental health.

People get stuck in their attempts to prove themselves right and their partner wrong when fighting especially in couples situations. This in the end leads to resentments and feelings of being judged, undervalued, disrespected and over all unloved.

How about hanging up the usual factual argument by refusing to engage in the familiar back and forth dance that is so familiar?  Learn to manage your own frustration with a little calm humor and pick your battles wisely.   Please remember If you are in an emotionally manipulative or abusive relationship most general relationship strategies, may not apply.

I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Individual counselor, let me know if I can help  you or your couple  change your usual dance.

Call me at your convenience at 479-225-0055 and leave a voice message.  Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

Pre Marital Counseling Benefits

Don’t wait till weeks before your marriage to plan your premarital counseling. Knowing your partner well before marriage gives you assurances that the commitment and expectations are right for both of you. Couples spend so much time preparing the ceremony and all that surrounds it, that sometimes this important aspect may be lost.

Pre-Marital Counseling benefits are many:

Learning to talk more effectively to each other, fighting in a  more fair manner, discussing your expectations and wishes, exploring financial issues, and anything that the couple might be avoiding that is a “hot topic” subject.  When one marries another person often times the families have a bigger influence than the couple had previously thought.  Also there can be other issues as well.

I offer premarital session for couples that  are tailor fit with focus on your needs.  I think that it’s good to have a positive experience with a Marriage and Family Therapists, so you
can know that you have the resources to support you in the long run.  I see so many couples use coming to couples therapy as a threat to their partner in the middle of a fight.  Marriage and Family Therapy can be proactive, healthy and an over all smart move for your couple from the start.

I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) offering premarital counseling in the
NWA area as well as in Ft. Smith.  Call me direct at 479-225-0055 and leave a voice message if you would like to discuss your own situation.

Support, Self Improvement in Therapy

Finding Support for Self Improvement in a therapeutic environment is important.

How is support created in therapy?  Many times clients want to come in for one visit to make a variety of changes, often all at one time.  Self improvement happens at your own pace.  It’s usually best in small steps over the course  of your life time.

A variety of self empowering skill sets can be developed over s few sessions.  These skills will later be practiced  one your own with a continued focus on self improvement.   Having  a good  ongoing relationship with a therapist can pave the way to self sufficiency.   An occasional visit with some one who can support you can make your journey easier.

Support can come from many places, people, or even ideas and values.  Uncover who or what supports your integrity and authenticity,   One of my basic therapeutic goals is to self empower you.  Helping you to find a better way to support yourself emotionally as well as to enhance yourself to be your very best at this moment.

Call 479-225-0055 for a counseling appointment if you want help to self empower. NWA Marriage & Family Therapy is serving the Northwest Arkansas area and Ft. Smith.  Start transforming and self empowering your life.

Communication Problems

Often times one hears of couples saying they have “communication problems”.  Such a term is very often used and can be for the most part rather nebulous.   It can sometimes be a description for many other problems and or underlying issues in a relationship that have not been explored.

Couples for the most part to communicate very well either directly or indirectly their unhappiness, disappointment, resentment, contempt  or anger for each other.  Sometimes they punish each other by using avoidance, manipulation or intentional harm that they might be less than willing to talk about or admit to each other.  Often times in couples therapy the process of discovering the source of the discomfort  or negative patterns might take some time.

Many times the presenting problem of what the couple labels as the issue soon gets overridden by past wounds, hurts or betrayals that have been buried between them and unresolved. Often times these other issues come bubbling up.

Couples who have issues with “communication”  sometimes have been carrying these wounds or unfinished business in an indirect way for months or even years.  These unhealed wounds are often dragged along unresolved in the relationship and/or marriage longer than is healthy and this can impact their current relational health.

If left unresolved the couple may find that the misunderstanding can escalate very quickly and eventually destroy their relationship. Exploring these resentments, patterns of attachment styles and past wounds every so often sometimes can reconnect a couple.  Sometimes the help of a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists can be a good start for a couple to begin to tall openly and to reconnect once again and clear their communication channels.

Valentine’s Day is Every Day

Not all counseling visits are to work on problems, sometimes they are just to make a good relationship better?  What a great way to celebrate Valentines Day than with a counseling for your couple to celebrate  and  reconnect in your commitment.  Why is it that we shower our loved one with unconditional love, sweet words, acts of affection and gifts only once a year?   Make every day Valentines Day!!

 

 

Marriage Therapy in Fayetteville, Bella Vista & Ft.Smith

As we start the new years many people have resolutions made to start the year new and they want to improve or change their relationships and marriage.  You don’t have to struggle with the same old marriage or partnership you can create something new with the important person in your life.  Going to  licensed Marriage and Family Therapists can be a good start to the new year or to a new marriage.

I have flexible hours including marital therapy on week ends in offices  in Fayetteville,  Bella Vista, and Ft, Smith.  Don’t give up those new years resolutions just yet.  My  sliding scale fee makes it more affordable. Look forward to serving your unique needs

Insurance, Couples Counseling & the Affordable Care Act

Insurance, Couples Counseling & the Affordable Care Act

There was a time where insurance companies and your employer knew a lot less about what you did in your health provider’s office.  Now with the Affordance Care Act more and more people will get insurance and more mental health services are being covered.  Sometimes couples counseling is covered as such, sometimes one of the people in the couples session must be the “identified patient” for insurance billing purposes. Many clients do not know this.  If you use your insurance to covers your mental health services one of you probably will get a diagnostic code in order for you or the mental health care provider to be able to get reimbursement from the insurance company. No diagnosis code, no reimbursement. You may or may not be told or know what your diagnosis that you are being billed for.

Depending on the diagnostic code that might determine how many sessions you will be allowed, sometimes it can vary depending on your needs. Often time’s insurance company or employer will need an update as to your progress on your diagnosis, in order to determine if more sessions will be given.  All this information about you and your diagnosis is given to the insurance company and sometimes as to your employer.

In the past health care information would be kept for five or seven years.  In the paper days, this information would be kept by your health care provider, perhaps shared if referrals were made and then later destroyed. These days it is being most likely stored in the cloud for ever. This information will follow you along with the rest of your medical records, probably for life.  This should  clearly be explained to you.

This is one reason why many people still prefer to keep their mental health care outside of the insurance providers reach.  Having to meet insurance deductibles, having a high co pay and needing an “identified patient” for diagnosis makes using insurance less than appealing for some people.

A more attractive alternative model for many is to have an affordable, non diagnosis model as far as their mental health care. Many people thus prefer to keep their mental health information out of their employers or insurance company’s hands by not using their health insurance.

Remember that if you do use your insurance, be sure to inquire about the following contract details to make a better informed decision as a consumer as to which choice is best for you:

  • Is outpatient mental health covered? Is Couple’s counseling specifically covered? Or only individual?
  • Any preauthorization requirements before you begin?
  • What is your co-pay?
  • Is there a deductible that must be met yearly, before benefits will begin? What is it?
  • What credentials are required of the therapist? There are many types of mental health credentials; will my particular therapists be covered?
  • Will it be in either in network or out of network?
  • How many visits will be given per year?

Ask your therapists to explain your diagnostic code that they are using for insurance billing purposes, it could be one or several codes.  If you have any questions or need clarification ask.  It is important to be fully informed and protect your confidentiality. You have a right to know and make an informed decision.