During therapy, patients work one-on-one with a licensed mental health provider in a safe, caring, and confidential environment.  During the therapy process, your therapist will assist you in exploring your feelings, beliefs, and behaviors.  Patients utilize therapy to work through life challenges and better understand themselves and others. Therapy is utilized to set personal goals and work towards promoting healthy change.

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. Coaches help people improve their performances and enhance the quality of their lives. The coach’s job is to provide support to enhance the skills, resources, and creativity that the client already has.”

Joshua offers secure, HIPAA compliant online video therapy sessions. Telemental Health sessions (also referred to as Telemedicine, TeleHealth, or online/virtual therapy) are able to be provided for patients who are physically located in the state of Indiana during sessions. You will need to have high speed internet access and a confidential room. For individuals choosing to utilize their insurance benefits, most in-state insurance plans cover Telemental Health sessions as a part of your mental health/behavioral health benefits.

The purpose of the first session is to fully understand what’s going on, important events in your life, what you’ve done to get better, and your options for treatment. This meeting usually lasts between 45-60 minutes and covers a broad range of topics. While it is important to be open and honest with your therapist, you also do not have to answer any question or provide any details you do not wish to disclose. 

The answer largely depends on the reason for the diagnosis. Some people are concerned a diagnosis will cause their therapist to lose sight of their individuality. Some people would like further understand their condition and like to explore resources with others who have experienced similar problems. Both options have their strengths and weaknesses. It is important to identify strategies that will be the most effective for you. 

Scheduling appointments can be done quickly and easily through your patient portal. Appointments are first-come, first-served, so please schedule in advance to have a consistent appointment time. Joshua strives to make sure he provides the appropriate amount of attention to each of his patients. 

Initially, therapy is typically recommended to occur on a weekly basis to allow patients to gain momentum on addressing their presenting issues.  Once the intensity of the issues you're addressing has decreased, both you and your therapist will discuss options for decreasing the frequency of sessions. The duration of therapy is determined by a variety of factors, including the type, severity, and nature of the presenting problem and each patient's response to treatment. Therapy can last as long as needed to reduce or eliminate the problem, which can range from a few sessions to years.

Therapists understand that for patients to feel comfortable talking about private and revealing information, they need a safe place to talk about anything they'd like, without fear of that information being disclosed outside of session. Joshua takes the privacy of his patients very seriously and will not disclose information without obtaining prior written permission from his patients.

It is important to note that there are some exceptions required by law to this rule, which are listed in the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices form that he will review with you during the initial session. 

Below, you will find a list of the most common exceptions to confidentiality:

• Suspected abuse or neglect of a child, dependent adult, or elderly individual.

• If a patient is threatening serious bodily harm to themselves or to another person. The provider is required to take actions to protect the patient and anyone else that may be in harm's way.

• Through a court order.  A court can order the release of mental health records or order a provider to testify in court.

• If a patient plans on using their insurance.  In some cases, insurance companies require us to send them a diagnosis, treatment goals, and how we plan on making progress towards those goals.

If you ever have questions or concerns about confidentiality, please be sure to ask your therapist.

This response is pretty normal in therapy. Patients can have positive thoughts and feelings or even negative ones. Some of these reactions can help accelerate the rate of your recovery and some can interfere with healing. It may be awkward and weird to interact with someone in such a direct way. However, Joshua is trained and experienced to listen to intense reactions directed toward him and about the relationship between therapist and patient. 

Absolutely! Joshua understands his patients live real and interesting lives and likes seeing them in different environments. With the issue of confidentiality, Joshua cannot initiate the contact first because other people may figure out Joshua is your therapist, and you may not be ready to tell them you are in therapy. But if the patient initiates contact, then they understand there may not be a right to privacy in a public setting. 

Research indicates that one of the most important factors impacting a patient’s response to therapy is the relationship between the therapist and the patient. If you don’t feel safe or understood or don't have a good connection with your therapist, then you likely won't benefit as greatly from therapy services with that clinician.

Additionally, prior therapy experiences may not have been helpful if you felt your expectations were not met. It is important to discuss your expectations with your therapist early on and be honest with them about whether or not you feel your expectations are being met throughout the therapy process.

Joshua is considered an “out-of-network" provider for all health insurance companies. For individuals wanting to utilize their insurance benefits, he can provide you with a Statement for Insurance Reimbursement form (also known as a "superbill"), which has all the information you need to provide to your insurance company in order to be reimbursed based on your out of network benefits.  (See section Standard Notice: Right to Receive a Good Faith Estimate of Expected Charges Under the No Surprises Act under Services & Fees).

Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance plan.  Patients are responsible for paying any balance due by check, credit or debit card, or HSA/FSA card at the time of service. 

Although each insurance company may have some differences in how they operate, the way to pursue out of network reimbursement typically starts with obtaining your Statement for Insurance Reimbursement (“superbill”) form from the therapist.  Then, you submit this to the insurance company and they reimburse you directly for any benefit you have based on your insurance policy. 

OPTION ONE: SUBMIT FOR REIMBURSEMENT YOURSELF

1. Contact your insurance company and ask them if your plan provides any benefits for "out-of-network mental health therapy" by a licensed mental health counselor. Some insurance plans provide no mental health benefits while others cover a large percentage of the fee, which is completely dependent on your individual insurance plan. You will also want to ask what type of information your insurance company may require about your treatment in order to provide you with out-of-network benefits.

2. Ask your insurance company how to submit your Statement for Insurance Reimbursement form (also called a "Superbill").

3. Pay the full fee at the time of service.

4. At the beginning of each month, check your patient portal for your Statement for Insurance Reimbursement form from the previous month.

5. Submit this form to your insurance company as they direct.

6. The insurance company will then reimburse you directly for whatever benefit your plan provides.

OPTION TWO: USE AN APP SUCH AS “REIMBURSIFY” TO SUBMIT FOR REIMBURSEMENT

1. Contact your insurance company and ask them if your plan provides any benefits for "out-of-network mental health therapy" by a licensed mental health counselor. Some insurance plans provide no mental health benefits while others cover a large percentage of the fee, which is completely dependent on your individual insurance plan. You will also want to ask what type of information your insurance company may require about your treatment in order to provide you with out of network benefits.

2. Pay the full fee at the time of service.

3. At the beginning of each month, check your patient portal for your Statement for Insurance Reimbursement form for the previous month.

4. Use a third party app to submit this form to your insurance company. The app Reimbursify (https://reimbursify.com) is one option to get reimbursed for out of network benefits. See their website or download the app for information about how to use this service. (Note: Joshua is not affiliated with Reimbursify.)

It is strongly encouraged each patient to familiarize themselves with their mental health benefits as patients are ultimately responsible for any charges incurred.

Joshua understands that illness and other unforeseen events are inevitable. If you need to cancel and/or reschedule your appointment, please contact him via patient portal, call, or email him directly at least 48 hours before your scheduled appointment time. Cancellations received with less than 48 hours notice may incur a late cancellation fee.

Joshua offers some after-school hours. As with other professional appointments, there will be times when appointments will need to be made during the school day. You can pre-arrange the absence with your child’s school and Joshua can provide an absence note if needed.

Joshua cannot prescribe medication and does not provide medication management services. If medication is recommended or something you're interested in considering, he can provide you with information regarding the medication consultation process and assist you in identifying a prescriber (primary care provider, psychiatrist, or nurse practitioner) to discuss medication options for you.

If you need to contact Joshua between sessions, please leave a message on your secure patient portal, email, or leave message on his voice mail. He is often not immediately available; however, he will attempt to return your contact within 24 hours. Please note that Face-to-face sessions are highly preferable to phone sessions. However, in the event that you are out of town, sick or need additional support, phone sessions are available.

If a true emergency situation arises, please call the crisis hotline at 988, text HOME to 741741, call emergency dispatch at 911 or visit any local emergency department.