GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE

Beginning January 1, 2022, federal laws regulating client care have been updated to include the “No Surprises” Act. Under the law, healthcare providers need to give clients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the bill for medical items and services called a “Good Faith Estimate” (GFE) explaining how much your medical care will cost.
This new regulation is designed to provide transparency to clients regarding their expected medical expenses and to protect them from surprises when they receive their medical bills. It allows clients to understand how much their health care will cost before they receive services. This applies to mental health as well. 

You and your therapist will continually assess the appropriate frequency of therapy and will work together to determine when you have met your goals and are ready for discharge. There are several factors that make it challenging to provide an estimate on how long it will take for a client to complete therapeutic treatment, and much depends on the individual client and their goals in seeking therapy. Some clients are satisfied with a reduction in symptoms while others continue longer because it feels beneficial to do so. Others begin to schedule less frequently and may continue to come in for “tune ups” or when issues arise. Ultimately, as the client, it is your decision when to stop therapy.

The Counseling Studio recognizes every client's therapy journey is unique. How long you need to engage in therapy and how often you attend sessions will be influenced by many factors including:

• Your schedule and life circumstances

• Therapist availability

• Ongoing life challenges

• The nature of your specific challenges and how you address them

• Personal finances

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According to the American Psychological Association, “on average 15 to 20 sessions are required for 50 percent of patients to recover as indicated by self-reported symptom measures." Additionally, through the working relationship between the client and counselor sometimes the preference is for “longer periods (e.g., 20 to 30 sessions over six months), to achieve more complete symptom remission and to feel confident in the skills needed to maintain treatment gains.” 
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Like any other relationship, it takes time to develop a therapeutic relationship with your counselor and identify your treatment goals, establish a plan of action, and work towards accomplishing them. Whatever your number of sessions will be, we will work together to meet your needs.