FAQ
For additional questions, please contact dr. tracy-banks
What happens in the therapy session?
We meet once a week or every other week, and our sessions are 45-50 minutes in length. In our first session I will meet with you to ask a lot of questions to get to know your family and what the issues are that bring you in to see me. In the subsequent sessions, depending on the presenting issue, I will meet with either your child alone or with you and your child. If I regularly meet with your child alone, I will set up parent appointments to discuss progress and ongoing concerns. If I am working with you in parenting consultations, the child will not be in the sessions unless we agree this would be beneficial.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one technique that I use to work with clients who suffer from Anxiety, Depression, Sleep Issues, PTSD, Relationship Issues, or Addictions. I help my clients learn new ways to look at their situation with different, more productive thoughts. Some of the thoughts we might explore include:
How to identify troubling situations in your life.
Become aware of your thoughts, emotions and beliefs about these problems.
Identify negative or distorted thinking.
Remove negative or inaccurate thinking.
CBT is a goal oriented, more short-term form of therapy to address the underlying thoughts and defective behaviors that follow them. I utilize this form of therapy with children, teens, and adults.
I also utilize Exposure Response Prevention to help eliminate the feared response and discontinue the escape response.
What is telemedicine?
Learn more about Telemedicine here.
Good Faith Estimate:
A Good Faith Estimate details how much your medical care will cost. Under the law, health care providers, including therapists, need to give clients who don’t have insurance or who are not using insurance, an estimate of the bill for medical services. The Good Faith Estimate will provide information on your expected out-of-pocket costs. As a client, you will receive your Good Faith Estimate when you receive your initial new client documents.
How long does counseling take?
My experience shows that each situation and family is different. Depending on the presenting issue, the length of time the problem has existed, and the motivation of the client, will all come into play when determining the length of treatment. It can vary from 3 months to 18 months. Some issues are resolved right away and still others are more chronic and take longer to treat. We will discuss this as the sessions progress.
Are you active in the sessions or do you just ask,"How do you feel"?
I am a very active therapist, both with kids and adults. I ask questions to figure out how to best solve the problem, but I know when to listen and hear what is going on. I believe the relationship between me and my client is key to a successful outcome. If you don't feel comfortable in the therapy room with me then it would be a waste of time. I have been told that my sense of humor and genuine ability to relate to kids and adults has helped ease the way for them to trust and heal.