Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, Folktown Counseling works with just about every insurance carrier that reimburses for mental health.  As a practice we contract with an excellent billing service that helps us navigate the complicated waters of medical insurance.  We bill for both “in-network” and “out-of-network” carriers. This means that you as the client can avoid having to submit your own superbills or spend hours on the phone getting answers about your medical coverage. We bill “out-of-network” with Cigna, Aetna, United Behavioral Health, and most carriers that provides a mental health reimbursement, and we bill “in-network” with Premera, Lifewise, Kaiser’s PPO, First Choice Network and Regence.

In most cases yes.  Most insurance carriers do have a mental health benefit either in-network, out-of-network or both.

Simple, first we have you fill out a one page form with your insurance information and then our biller will contact your insurance to get a general quote of your coverage.  Your therapist will then explain in session what your insurance has quoted (deductible, out of pocket limit, copays etc) and begin billing insurance for your sessions so that you don’t have to worry about it. Each week we will charge your credit card on file for any copays so that your account stays manageable. Our biller will keep track of any credit / balance due during the course your treatment and you are welcome to ask questions to your clinician (or our biller directly) about your account .

Yes and no.  Health insurance does not actually recognize marriage counseling directly but it can cover “individual counseling with a family member present.”  That is how most marriage therapists bill for insurance.  However there are some issues with using your insurance this way that we feel does not compliment couples work.  Health insurance for requires an individual diagnosis in order for a claim to be processed. Therefor when you use insurance for marital or couples therapy it requires that the therapist diagnose one member of the couple with a mental health condition. We feel that this inevitably creates an imbalance in the couples work and it is for this reason that we choose to avoid  insurance when doing actual couples work.  There is a personal investment that is required for couple work to be successful and for both parties to work towards a good communication and emotional connection. We typically ask couples to split the cost of their therapy as part of that mutual commitment towards the process.

We work with a wide range of mental health symptoms. However before we list these various issues, we want you to know that we hope to work with you in more than just your symptoms. A good therapy experience is one that walks alongside you in both your valleys and your mountain top experiences. We see our clients holistically, more than just their problems. We want to both share in the burden of your sorrows and the celebrations of your life.

We treat: relationship issues, couples problems, life transitions, depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolarity, narcissistic, borderline or histrionic personalities (or trauma experienced from others with these conditions), PTSD, complex trauma, challenges to sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, perinatal concerns, parenting, grief/loss, general addictions (drug/alcohol, sexual,) and disordered eating.

If certain conditions appear acute, we will work alongside you to make additional suggestions to your therapy.  This may include a medical practitioner or specialist, a medication referral, a nutritionists or participation in a support group.

Our practice utilizes an electronic health records system (EHR) which is HIPAA compliant.  All of your client information is stored in this EHR for the protection of our clients.

No, but we can help advise you in getting a qualified medical assessment for medications if you feel they would be beneficial.  We can also partner with your medical provider if you would like to provide input on whether a medication is responding well and/or if you are noticing any side affects. Medications in mental health are prescribed by either a primary care physician (MD), Advanced Practice Nurse (ARNP) or a Psychiatrist (MD). We generally recommend using a psychiatrist that can provide a full 90 minute intake to give you the best possible assessment of whether medications could be beneficial for you.

Generally no, therapists and counselors are both terms that have been used interchangeably for the same vocation. There are many different types of counselors/therapists however, and you can read a little more about the history of these different types of approach in our Therapeutic Approach page. The term therapist has its roots in the psychoanaylitic tradition where as the term counselor was first utilized by Carl Rodgers in the mid 50’s to describe his style of psychotherapy.

Relational therapy is a general term that grew out of the psychodynamic tradition in which the therapeutic relationship is utilized thoughtfully by the therapist to help a client gain a better understanding of themselves.  This style of longer term therapy is generally weekly in frequency, and shows longer term results.  It might be best contrasted with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which is generally shorter term and focuses more on exercises for the client to do on their own in order to change their behavior or mental framework.