Every so often someone comes to me for therapy who has already been through counseling at their HMO. Often they blame themselves for not feeling resolved  about what it was that they went to a therapist for in the first place. Blaming your self is reinforced because you’ve been   discharged from their HMO as no longer needing therapy. “So what is the matter with me, I’m still feeling lousy?”

It is not uncommon that the person has been put on a psychotropic medication which they may indeed profit from. The problem is medications work better in combination with talk therapy. The therapy actually helps the medication  to be more effective,  and the medication definitely helps the person get the most out of therapy. In my opinion the person has been short changed. She, or he , could have gotten more help. Often, unfortunately, what they did get was a band aid to “stop the bleeding” but not induce a cure.

Why is this ? HMOs, due to their cost containment strategies, are set up to do short term therapy, which is fine if that is what you need. It can be all you need if you have a present situation which can be cleared up quickly with some help, and has no roots in your past. On the other hand if you are struggling with problems that exist in your life  because of your beliefs about yourself and your world,  it can be a relief to see how you learned these negative beliefs in your childhood.  Making the connection between the present situations and the past  is a doorway to changing in a real way. You deserve to have longer therapy.

I offer in-depth therapy that can get to the bottom of what troubles you. I’m not comfortable with skimming the surface, because most human problems  do have roots in our childhood. When that is obvious to me as a therapist, I can offer you the option of dealing with these underpinnings of the present problem. My commitment to you holds until you decide you are ready to leave therapy, and my investment in you is still there  if or when you want to return.

Going to your HMO therapist is often free or nearly so. I am aware of the expense of paying for insurance and then paying again for therapy out-of-pocket. I have devised a sliding scale that roughly correlates to the income into your household and the number of people that income supports. Almost always,  a fee that works for you will work for me.